On October 24, 2005, the Supreme People's Court of China
completed a preliminary set of guidelines, the "Judges' Behavior
Norms (Trial Template)," which is aimed at establishing a system of
regulation of the Chinese judiciary at all levels, and encouraging
and guiding towards meting out fair, efficient, honest and polite
justice.
According to Cao Jianming, vice president of the Supreme
People's Court, China is committed to regulating the behavior and
image of the judiciary within the next two to three years.
The Norms list 93 scenarios where a judge's behavior might
directly affect others. It also sets out the possible causes and
consequences of such behavior, suggests solutions and sets out
clear standards for judges to meet.
It calls for "justice for the people."
Here are some of the main points:
Judges are required to fairly and reasonably allow all parties
to make their representations and arguments, bearing in mind the
protection of their rights and interests.
Judges should also allow infirm complainants to give their
testimonies either from home or hospital.
Legal aid should not be unreasonably denied, especially not to
those who qualify for it, for example, the very old, the very
young, the disabled, and pregnant women.
Judges must be willing to teach people how to file lawsuits,
protect their rights, and explain procedure when a file has been
placed for investigation.
The Norms also set out to regulate judges' behavior in terms of
person-to-person interaction. "Judges are representatives of the
court. How they behave reflects how the courts treat people in
general," Li Ke, the director from the Politics Department of the
Supreme People's Court, told People's Daily.
According to the Norms, judges should avoid cold, tough or
procrastinating attitudes, and use polite gestures and language
when talking to parties and anyone else involved; and they
shouldn't do anything improper and unrelated when running the
trial; interrupt parties or their lawyers while they are making
representations; or use harsh words against someone
unnecessarily.?
Corruption is also an issue and the Norms highlight the need for
judges to always have their wits about them especially when they
attend functions, go to places of entertainment or speak at
symposia.
On October 25, Li told Xinhua News Agency that the Supreme
People's Court had been working on the Norms since June using "The
Judges' Behaviors Tips" drafted by the Shanghai Supreme Court as a
model.
The Norms were edited nine times before they were finally
approved for testing. They are currently being applied in the
courts but will only be announced to the public after this trial
period.
(China.org.cn by Zhang Rui October 28, 2005)