'Urgent and necessary' court reforms suggested

Draft insists on independence of judiciary, prohibits case interference

A series of judicial reforms, including the further establishment of intellectual property courts and orders preventing interference in cases by governmental departments, have been added to a draft amendment of the Organic Law of People's Courts for consideration by China's top legislature.

The current law, enacted in 1979, has not kept pace with the country's rapid development of justice, "so the revision is urgent and necessary", said Wang Shengming, vice-chairman of the Internal and Judicial Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress.