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2007 Assessment

China: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

China: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Rule of Law
Indicators		Score
74	Is there an appeals mechanism for challenging criminal judgments?	50
75	In practice, do judgments in the criminal system follow written law?	50
76	In practice, are judicial decisions enforced by the state?	50
77	Is the judiciary able to act independently?	63
78	Are judges safe when adjudicating corruption cases?	100
79	Do citizens have equal access to the justice system?	61

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Is there an appeals mechanism for challenging criminal judgments?

74a: In law, there is a general right of appeal.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Criminal Procedure Law [ LINK ]

74b: In practice, appeals are resolved within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: 1): Chen Junying "Some Problems Civil and Administrative Law Have" Zhengyi Wang, April 2006 [ LINK ]

2): "Insisting Appeal Finally Redressed" Shenghuo News, April 27, 2007 [ LINK ]

74c: In practice, citizens can use the appeals mechanism at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: 1): Chen Junying "Some Problems Civil and Administrative Law Have" Zhengyi Wang, April 2006 [ LINK ]

2): "Insisting Appeal Finally Redressed" Shenghuo News, April 27, 2007 [ LINK ]

In practice, do judgments in the criminal system follow written law?

75: In practice, do judgments in the criminal system follow written law?

Score:

100

Comments:

References: 1):Jim Yardley "A Judge Tests China's Courts, Making History" Nov. 28, 2005 [ LINK ]

2): He Weifang "The Independence of Judges Should Be Protected" The Beijing News, April 18, 2005 [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: I believe judgements are often arbitrary, especially when a powerful unit or individual is involved. Furthermore, judges are not well-paid or well-trained and they are known to take bribes.

In practice, are judicial decisions enforced by the state?

76: In practice, are judicial decisions enforced by the state?

Score:

100

Comments:

References: 1): He Weifang "The Independence of Judges Should Be Protected" The Beijing News, April 18, 2005

2): Editorial "Independent Judicial System Should Be Established to Solve Enforcement Difficulties" Southern City News, March 28, 2007 [ LINK ]

Is the judiciary able to act independently?

77a: In law, the independence of the judiciary is guaranteed.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: There is no such guarantee.

Peer Review Comments: Although the independence of the judiciary is ensured by such statutes as Public Procurators Law of the People's Republic of China, Judges Law of the People's Republic of China, and Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, the leadership of the CPC in China is still guaranteed by the Constitution of the People's Republic of China and by a network of its political and legal affairs committees supervising the judiciary.

77b: In practice, national-level judges are protected from political interference.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: 1): He Weifang "The Independence of Judges Should Be Protected" The Beijing News April 18, 2005 [ LINK ]

2): He Weifang "The Independence of Judges And the Supervision of People's Congress" Faxue Pinglun Wang, May 19, 2006 [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: I don't believe that judges are typically independent, and certainly not in politically related cases.

77c: In law, there is a transparent and objective system for distributing cases to national-level judges.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Chapter 2 of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China

77d: In law, national-level judges are protected from removal without relevant justification.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Chapter 3 of the Judges Law of the People's Republic of China

Peer Review Comments: I believe a judge can be removed without justification. The CPC does not have to justify anything it does.

Are judges safe when adjudicating corruption cases?

78a: In practice, in the last year, no judges have been physically harmed because of adjudicating corruption cases.

Score:

YES

Comments: It is very rare that officials/judges are physically harmed or killed due to investigations into corruptions, but it is possible that officials/judges are killed by the defendents who regard judges to be corrupt.

References: 1): "On the Death of One Judge in Shanxi Province" Radio Free Asia, 2007 [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: I also believe that it's possible that officials/judges could be harmed by local party officials who are not happy with a judgement.

78b: In practice, in the last year, no judges have been killed because of adjudicating corruption cases.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no documented cases of judges being killed related to their involvement in a corruption case during the study period. YES is a positive score. NO: A NO score is earned if there were any documented cases where a judge was killed because of his/her participation in a corruption trial. The relationship between a mysterious death and a judge\'s involvement in a case may not be clear, however the burden of proof here is low. If it is a reasonable assumption that a judge was killed in relation to his or her work on corruption issues, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments:

References: 1): "On the Death of One Judge in Shanxi Province" Radio Free Asia, 2007 [ LINK ]

Do citizens have equal access to the justice system?

79a: In practice, judicial decisions are not affected by racial or ethnic bias.

Score:

100

Comments: In the case of the Chinese judiciary, judicial integrity is vulnerable to corruption and political intervention but not as much to racial bias.

References: 1): Wang Zhuqing "Researches on the Retirement Issue of Female Professionals" Gender and Law in China, May, 2007 [ LINK ]

2): Wang Geya "The Protection of Women's Rights" Gender and Law in China, December 2005 [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: I think there is a bias in dealing with minority groups, such as Tibetans, Uighurs or Mongolians.

79b: In practice, women have full access to the judicial system.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: 1): State Council "Gender Equality and the Development of Women's Status in China" August 2005 [ LINK ]

2): "A Case of Protecting Women's Rights" Yanzhao City News, Sept. 12, 2005 [ LINK ]

79c: In law, the state provides legal counsel for defendants in criminal cases who cannot afford it.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Chapter 1 of Regulations of Legal Aid

79d: In practice, the state provides adequate legal counsel for defendants in criminal cases who cannot afford it.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: 1): Chen Jian "Policy Suggestions about Legal Aid to Criminal Cases" China Court, July 18, 2007 [ LINK ]

2): Lu Yi "China's Legal Aid System" Human Rights Journal, 2003 [ LINK ]

79e: In practice, citizens earning the median yearly income can afford to bring a legal suit.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: 1): Du Hansheng "The Expenditure of Going to Court Will Be Reduced" People's Court News, Dec. 30, 2006 [ LINK ]

2): "Why the Expenditures of Going to Court Are Still High" China Reform, June 17, 2005 [ LINK ]

79f: In practice, a typical small retail business can afford to bring a legal suit.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: 1): Du Hansheng "The Expenditure of Going to Court Will Be Reduced" People's Court News, Dec. 30, 2006 [ LINK ]

2): "Why the Expenditures of Going to Court Are Still High" China Reform, June 17, 2005 [ LINK ]

79g: In practice, all citizens have access to a court of law, regardless of geographic location.

Score:

100

Comments: In each county, there must be a court. In some places, a court is even established in towns.

References: 1): Chen Ruihua "The Judicial Trial Should Be Open" Caijing Magazine, June 19, 2007 [ LINK ]