SPP pledges to deepen supervisor system

The Supreme People's Procuratorate pledged to deepen the work of the people's supervisor system and public hearings to promote democracy in the judicial sector.

The people's supervisor system－an external mechanism to oversee the case-handling activities of procuratorates－guarantees orderly public participation in judicial activities and the practicing of democracy, Li Xuehui, spokesman of the top procuratorate, said at a news conference on Thursday.

Procuratorial organs began to explore a trial of the system in 2003. As a part of the country's reform of the judicial system, the judicial administrative organs were given the responsibility of electing and managing people's supervisors since 2014.

The people's supervisors are selected based on their age, educational background, political status and professional characteristics. The candidates come from individual applications and organization recommendations. China has about 23,000 such supervisors, according to the Ministry of Justice.

Tong Jianming, executive deputy procurator-general of the SPP, said that in 2019 the SPP reviewed the practice of the people's supervisor system and adjusted its scope, methods, procedures and levels of supervision. Now, there are 10 ways for people's supervisors to participate in supervision, including public hearings, itinerant procuratorial inspection and case quality evaluation.

From August 2019 to the end of 2021, procuratorial organs nationwide had invited more than 180,000 such supervisors to oversee more than 100,000 cases, according to the top procuratorate.

Some procuratorial organs are exploring supervision over the investigation of public interest litigation, judicial aid, petition reception and other case-handling activities, expanding the scope of supervision by people's supervisors, said Tong.

Procuratorates attach great importance to the supervisor's opinions and promptly inform them of the adoption of their opinions. In 2021, procuratorates accepted 99.3 percent of nearly 70,000 opinions raised by the supervisors, he said.

Procuratorates at all levels are urged to adopt the people's supervisor system, invite the supervisors to oversee the issues of procuratorial work as well as major cases this year, and hear, handle and give feedback to supervisors' opinions in strict accordance with legal procedures.

In addition, public hearings were adopted to resolve problems, through which prosecutors could hear the opinions of the participants on issues such as fact-finding, the application of law and case handling, Tong said.

"The broad participation of the masses can help resolve disputes and publicize laws and policies, so that the people can feel that fairness and justice are around them," he said.

The openness of procuratorial work also guarantees the public's right to know, participate, express and supervise, and enhances judicial democracy and transparency, he said.

Since 2020, procuratorial organs across the country have invited 515,000 people to attend hearings on more than 135,000 cases with controversial or social impacts, and about 93 percent of cases were resolved after the hearings, according to the SPP.