Judge Jianli Song, one of the youngest members of China’s Supreme People’s Court, said Thursday that corruption remains a widespread problem in his nation, especially in local courts.
Song discussed China’s changing justice system, speaking to a group of University of Maine Law School students and faculty. China’s local court officials are susceptible to corruption, Song explained, because they depend on local governments for funding.
Responding to an audience question, Song underscored the threat corruption poses, stating, “Judges in China are appointed for life.”
Song identified insufficient independent institutions, insufficient culture based on the rule of law, and a legacy of local protectionism as leading challenges to a fully independent Chinese judiciary.
Judges continue to be viewed as agents of the central government and as a result, there is popular distrust of China’s courts.
Another challenge facing this economic giant is its human rights record. Though Song did not directly address international accusations of human rights abuses, he mentioned that the Chinese legal community is considering reducing the number of government death penalty cases. The move is seen as a response to international pressure.
According to Amnesty International, “[it is] estimated that at least 1,770 people were executed in China during [2005], although the true figures were believed to be much higher.
“A Chinese legal expert was recently quoted stating the figure for executions is approximately 8,000 based on information from local officials and judges, but official national statistics on the application of the death penalty remained classified as a state secret.”
Human Rights Watch reported last month that, “Two of China’s most prominent lawyers are currently facing prosecutions that seem to be politically motivated.
“Beijing lawyer Gao Zhisheng, an outspoken advocate of the rights of victims of government violations and abuse of power, was detained on August 15 on charges of alleged involvement in criminal activities. In 2005, authorities stripped Gao of his right to practice law.
“On August 18, the trial of another legal activist, Chen Guangcheng, turned into a mockery of justice when his lawyers were physically assaulted and then forcibly detained by Public Security…. The court, in Yinan county, Shandong province, has charged Chen with intent to damage public property and inciting others to join him to disrupt traffic.
“In a separate incident on August 18, Yang Zaixin, one of the lawyers who attempted to attend Chen’s trial, was beaten [and] placed in detention at a local police station.”
Affordable access to legal services is another problem in modern day China. Legal representation is extremely expensive and simply out of reach for millions of Chinese citizens. Song noted the United States faces a similar challenge.
China, like the U.S., has an overburdened court system, each year hearing approximately 62 million criminal, civil and administrative cases.
When asked about press access to the nation’s courts, Song explained that members of the media need prior permission in order to cover trials. Civilians, in contrast, have open access to most trials as long as they show a government ID.
China has come a long way since the Cultural Revolution, but there is ample room for improvement. One such reform was introduced in 2002, when the government unveiled the National Judiciary Examination, a new test administered to all those entering the legal profession. The test replaced the nation’s former bar exams and was introduced in an effort to increase the quality of candidates entering China’s judicial community. Of the 360,000 people who took the exam in 2002, only 24,000, or 7% of participants, passed.
In 2005, the government announced the republic’s second judicial reform plan. The goal of these reforms, Song said, was to render China’s judicial system independent and its decisions free from outside pressure.
China is also sending its judges abroad to learn from other nations. Song, for example, was a recent Visiting Scholar at the University of Cambridge and is currently a “Visiting Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania doing research on international commercial arbitration.”
Looking at China’s judiciary future, Song said that China needed more effective case management, better-trained professionals and greater transparency. China’s future looks bright. Judge Song emphasized that in recent years China’s dialogue with “the international community has deepened and widened.”
China is now an active player on the international scene. Consider its 2001 induction into the World Trade Organization – an induction that followed 15 years of negotiations, the longest in W.T.O. history.