Highlights of work report from SPC

(chinadaily.com.cn) Updated : 2016-03-15

Highlights of the work report from the Supreme People's Court (SPC) which was delivered Sunday.

1. Intensify legal mechanism to prevent miscarriages in justice

SPC:The top court will strictly enforce the ban on illegally obtained evidence, improve legal aid system on review of death sentence, enhance judicial aid system and strengthen judicial protection of human rights.

Interpretation:

In 2015, many wrong criminal judgments passed by courts were redressed, such as the cases of Chen Man and Yang Ming. More steps suggested in the report this year will reduce the number of miscarriage cases.

2. Severe punishment on extreme violence

SPC: The top court will impose strict punishment on crimes that provoke threaten unity of nation and violent terrorist attacks.

Interpretation:

In Jan, an arson attack on a bus in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region, shocked people nationwide. The suspect brought gasoline on the bus and then lit up, causing severe injuries and dozens of death. The SPP makes it clear to severely punish individual extreme violence to enhance people's security.

3. Improve executive ability

SPC: The top court will improve its executive ability in two or three years to carry out every measurement and punishment on the people who try to escape the law enforcement.

Interpretation:

It's shame to see many efficient verdicts haven't been executed very well. The SPC now is paying much attention to execute all the verdicts thoroughly.

Highlights of work report from SPC

A staffer makes a presentation at an informatization seminar focusing on artificial intelligence held by the Supreme People's Court on Feb 25. [Photo by Sun Ruofeng/chinacourt.org]


4. Build information-based judicial process

SPC: Pushing forward information-based judicial process. The top court aims to establish a full-coverage, mobile Internet-connected, transparent, convenient, safe and reliable intelligent information system by 2017.

Interpretation:

Transparency is the best way in fighting against corruption and is essential to make people feel equity of judicial practices. To build an information-based court system will allow litigants to clearly know why they win or lose, and will prevent corruption from happening.

5. Prevent abuse of power

SPC: Zero tolerance in the fight against judicial corruption. The top court will implement regulations on preventing government officials and judicial personnel from intervening judicial activities and court recordings.

Interpretation:

Abuse of power in judicial process harms credibility of judicial system. Now, the SPC and the SPP have taken a tough stance against judicial corruption, which give the public confidence in the judicial system.

6. Fight against financial crimes

SPC:Cracking down financial crimes to ensure the healthy development of the capital market.

Interpretation:

The fight against crimes in the field of securities has attracted public attention in the past year. Some securities employees took illegal behaviors in trades and some were suspected of fabricating and spreading fraud information. Police have started investigations into such cases. This year, the SPP has clearly said that it will fight against financial crimes to better maintain market orders.

7. Criminals in illegal fundraising to be punished

SPC: Punishing economic crimes, such as illegal fundraising and private lending. Courts will enhance the research and guidance in cases involving illegal Internet financing.

Interpretation:

At the turn of the year, online peer-to-peer broker Ezubao's illegal fundraising case attracted wide attention. Preliminary investigations have shown that the P2P platform collected some 50 billion yuan ($7.7 billion) from around 900,000 investors. The SPP said it would fight against such economic crimes relating to lots of people. The SPC pledged to punish illegal fundraising to regulate the Internet financing and private lending.

8. Targeting crimes of damaging environmental resources

SPC: Establishing a judicial mechanism in protecting environmental resources and trying public interest litigation cases according to laws, in an aim to build a beautiful China.

Interpretation:

Nowadays, some places play down the environmental destruction cases by not reaching out to judicial authorities, not filing a case, or imposing administrative fines instead of criminal punishments, which hampers efforts to rectify behavior that harms environment. It needs judicial authorities to deeply investigate into the environmental destruction cases to find out the criminals behind. The SPC and the SPP have announced plans to crack down the environmental destruction cases, sounding an alarm for the criminals.

9. Few sentences differentiated to similar cases

SPC: Improving three platforms on judicial transparency and a data center. Enhancing the big data analysis and unifying the judge criteria to boost adopting similar sentences on similar cases and deciding the sentence due to criteria.

Interpretation:

Similar cases having different sentences are not rare, which confuse people and also impair the dignity of law. How to fulfill the goal of giving similar sentences to similar cases? The SPC's answer is to enhance the big data analysis and unify the judge criteria to reduce the number of similar cases having different sentences.

10. Improper intervention with judicial process to be stopped

SPC:To set up circuit court of the Supreme People's Court; to continue the reform of hearing major cases across administrative regions.

Interpretation: The two SPC circuit courts that opened last year prevented judicial process from being influenced by relations and money. The SPC will keep pushing forward the reform.

11. The working environment of judges to be improved

SPC: To punish those who attack judges; to further cultivate professional judges.

Interpretation: Judges are the defendant of social justice, but they are faced with dangers arising from their work. SPC aims to provide a safer working environment for judges by punishing those who hurt judges.