Beijing court enhances legal support for cultural relic protection

A Beijing court has pledged to continuously improve the quality of handling disputes over immovable cultural relics, making every effort to provide more solid legal support for the protection of antiques in the new era.

"During the trial of 261 cases involving immovable cultural relics in the past three years, our judicial professionalism has also been further strengthened," Xu Jing, chief judge of the First Civil Division with the Dongcheng District People's Court, told a news conference on Friday.

"We've established a professional judicial panel for cultural relic protection. They conduct on-site investigations at the scenes where the disputes occurred," she said. "Meanwhile, we've set up a follow-up system for the concluded cases to ensure the rulings could be effectively implemented."

In addition, the court has helped enhance the public's legal awareness on protecting cultural relics by organizing legal activities and working with government departments in law education, she added.

With four influential cases disclosed, the court vowed to strictly enforce the newly revised Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics, which has come into force on March 1, emphasizing that the legislation marks China's antique protection has entered a new stage of governance.

While requiring judges to explore better ways to further improve the quality of handling antique-related cases, Zeng Jin, an official from the court, also called more focus on dealing with disputes related to the Beijing Central Axis.

The Central Axis, added to the World Heritage List in July, has emerged as a must-visit attraction for travelers. Stretching from Yongdingmen Gate to the Bell and Drum Towers, the axis links iconic landmarks such as the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven and Jingshan Park.