Independent judges vital
 Updated: 2004-08-23 08:29

A series of prohibitions recently issued by the Higher People's Court of the Beijing Municipality on judges' dealings with cases are expected to help maintain justice if strictly implemented, says an article in Beijing Youth Daily. An excerpt follows:

Recently, the Beijing higher court promulgated orders to its judges that they must not accept money or entertainment from litigants or their lawyers, not leak to litigants or their lawyers specific progress of cases, or participate in cases related with their own relatives or colleagues. They should also not separately meet litigants and their lawyers, among other bans.

Obviously, these actions are aimed at isolating judges from litigants and their agents, in an attempt to free them from unnecessary influences while dealing with cases. The bans can also reduce chances for judicial corruption.

The call for judicial independence has become a heated topic.

With the development of the market economy, the establishment of a fair judicial system has increasingly become the most important prerequisite to maintaining social justice.

However, China's current judicial environment, such as judicial corruption and its serious intervention by administrative powers, cannot cope with such social changes.

The bans ordered by Beijing's higher court, if executed, can effectively maintain judicial independence from the two litigants in dealing with a concrete case.

A judge with personal ties to the plaintiff and the defendant cannot be expected to make an independent and just judgment.

Certainly, the bans published by the court will mean that judges, as a special group, will have to be sometimes isolated from ordinary people. But in a sound legal society, such isolation exactly demonstrates the sublime character of being a judge.

But, under the current social circumstances, these bans are impossible to be completely implemented.

Possibly it is easier for a local judge to refuse entertainment or money from litigants, but it is more difficult for him to cut ties with the local government.

If the local government is a party in a legal case, how can a judge prevent himself from tilting to the government?

(China Daily)

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