Top court, ministry drawing up rules to implement assessors law

China's top court and the Ministry of Justice said on May 29 they are mulling specific rules to effectively implement the Chinese People's Assessors Law, which was enacted last month.

The law, which aims to regulate the selection and clarify the duties of people's assessors - citizens who observe case hearings and share their opinions on the evidence presented in court - was adopted at the bimonthly session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the country's top legislature, on April 27.

Wang Chaoying, vice-chairman of the NPC Standing Committee's Commission for Legislative Affairs, called on the Supreme People's Court and the ministry on Tuesday to address the specifics of implementing the law, such as making related judicial interpretations and selection regulations, as soon as possible.

"Enforcing the work of people's assessors is a systematic project, and the legislation is the first step," he said. "There is more and long-term work for us to do."

Supreme People's Court President Zhou Qiang said it was drawing up rules to ensure the personal safety and home security of people's assessors and their relatives.

Courts should order employers who fail to pay assessors to rectify the situation urgently, he said.

Justice Minister Fu Zhenghua said his ministry is studying specific and practical rules to implement the selection of people's assessors, in cooperation with the top court and the Ministry of Public Security.

The top court and the Justice Ministry said they are also making efforts to apply technologies in the selection and education of people's assessors to ensure the quality and efficiency of their work.

Chinese citizens who are 28 years old or above, uphold the Constitution, obey the law and are honest and well-behaved are eligible to serve as people's assessors.