Shanghai pioneers quality approach to judicial reform

China's first judge and first prosecutor to be selected from a new pool of seasoned legal professionals were appointed in Shanghai on Thursday as part of a reform aimed at building a highly capable and professional judicial team.

Shang Jiangang, a veteran lawyer, was appointed as senior judge at Shanghai No 2 Intermediate People's Court, and Bai Jiang, associate professor at Fudan University Law School, was named senior prosecutor at Shanghai No 2 People's Procuratorate, at a meeting of the standing committee of the Shanghai People's Congress.

The two were selected from 21 applicants after the city's top prosecuting agency and high court published notices in April seeking high-performance legal professionals. The selections represent a key step in implementing the city's judicial reforms, which started in July last year.