TOP JUDGE SAYS CHINA NEEDS MORE LEGAL REFORMS

March 11, 2012: admitting problems in China's judicial system, chief justice Wang Shengjun vowed to push forward reform to realize judicial justice. China needs to improve the work of courts and deepen the reform of its judicial system, Wang said in his report on the work of the Supreme People's Court in 2011 delivered at a meeting of the annual parliamentary session.
"Some courts have not done well in improving transparency of court affairs and promoting a democratic judicial system," he said.
Some judges behaved badly and had poor working style while irregular practice in court proceedings, delay of hearing could still be found, he said.
A small number of judges were even found taking bribes and perverting the law, he added. Wang said that in 2011, 77 judges and court staff were prosecuted for embezzlement, bribery or other crimes connected to their work, a 30 percent drop from the year before.
Under the current law, all death sentences should be submitted to the supreme court for review.
The supreme court also strengthened its supervision over local courts in cases involving serious crimes, Wang said. "We have seriously implemented the principle of 'combining leniency with rigidity,'" he said. The supreme court had made sure that capital penalty only be imposed on "very few criminals in extremely serious cases," Wang said. (Sources: AP, Xinhua, 12/03/2012)