By Xie Chuanjiao (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-09-08 10:06

Chinese judicial departments are piloting a State compensation system in more than 10 provinces to help crime victims and their dependants in a bid to extend it across the country.

Supreme People's Court (SPC) sources have said courts in 10 provinces such as Shandong, Zhejiang, Hubei and Guangdong sanctioned 7.8 million yuan ($1 million) in relief funds to 378 victims and their families last year. More courts are likely to join the pilot project this year.

One of the beneficiaries is 67-year-old Li Zejie of East China's Shandong Province. Li, whose only son was stabbed to death last April, was supposed to get 160,000 yuan ($21,225) as compensation from the murderer.

But since the convict is poor and couldn't pay even a penny of the compensation, the government gave him 20,000 yuan as relief payment.

Shen Liang, vice-director of SPC's criminal case trial division, said, "Since China's overall comprehensive capacity is constantly growing, the time is ripe to demonstrate the feasibility to compensate victims nationwide with government input."

But owing to the unbalanced development in different regions and the complicated nature of the work, it has to be carried out gradually, with "funding being the key".

Shen welcomed the practice in some cities where the local treasury provides courts' compensation funds as special expenditure. Earlier, they came from fines and confiscated property.

Part of the funds comes from social charity.

Shen said priority should be given to victims' dependants living in "dangerous and difficult conditions" and to victims who are severely disabled.

The measure, considered a big step forward in the country's legal system, has been emphasized on the work agenda both of the highest court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate this year.

"Without such a system to help the victims, the courtrooms will be nothing more than an arena for legal professionals to exercise their litigation skills", Chief Justice Xiao Yang said earlier.

Under the Criminal Procedure Law, victims who suffer material losses in a crime have the right to seek compensation by filing incidental civil action case alongside the criminal proceedings.

Public Security Research magazine statistics show that since 2001 nearly 2 million crime victims every year don't get their due.

Chen Guangzhong, a professor in criminal procedure law in China University of Politics and Law, said: "Law has brought justice, but 'victory' in fact brings nothing to victims, except the endless wait for payment."

(China Daily 09/08/2007 page3)