Beijing court takes steps to improve handling of domestic disputes

Beijing No 1 Intermediate People’s Court signed cooperation agreements with a children’s legal aid and research center and a women’s federation on Thursday to more effectively deal with domestic disputes.

The agreements with the center and the federation, both based in the capital, will help improve the quality of domestic case hearings, “because the more professionally we conclude such disputes, the better we can protect the rights of children and women and maintain family harmony”, the court’s president, Wu Zaicun, said.

Tong Lihua, head of the center and also a legal aid expert with the All China Lawyers Association, applauded the cooperation. He said handling domestic disputes, especially those involving minors, is different from hearing other cases.

“Making a verdict in a minor-related case is not difficult, but judges have to spend more time to ensure the ruling can contribute to the involved minors’ growth and future,” he said, adding that was why professional skills such as psychological support are more significant is such hearings.

Lu Weimin, the court’s vice-president, said it had arranged for a third-party institute to conduct surveys about children’s backgrounds to improve its understanding of minor defendants or victims before trials.

Meanwhile, the court has also invited psychologists to test and provide aid for minor offenders and victims to prevent them from being harmed in case hearings, he said.

A juvenile-crime tribunal established by the court in June 2009 has heard 3,938 civil and criminal cases involving minors, according to statistics from the court.