Top court moves to further enforce judicial accountability

BEIJING -- China's Supreme People's Court (SPC) has issued a document on enforcing judicial accountability.

The document covers the use and supervision of judicial power, as well as punishments for violations, the SPC said in a statement Monday.

The document calls for full respect of the role of judges and collegiate benches in trials.

Chief judges of courts and tribunals should hear cases in person on a regular basis, but they are not allowed to sign judicative documents or give instructions on trials in cases they did not personally hear, the document said.

The document also requires strict implementation of systems to keep record, report and give punishments in cases of leading officials or judiciary staff meddling in judicial proceedings.

It also called for serious investigation and punishment for judges that violate their judicial duties.