Jurors are becoming increasingly important in Chinese courts, where they form at least one-third of a collegial panel. (Photo : Reuters)
President Xi Jinping has pledged to advance judicial reform in the country and attain social justice as he emphasized that the efficiency of reforms in the judicial system is best measured by public trust.
The president made this pronouncement during the study session of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee's Political Bureau on March 24, Tuesday, according to Chinadaily.com.
Xi said that the key to success of modernization in state governance lies in having an efficient, fair and authoritative judicial system.
The chief executive said that although problems in the legal system exist, these problems must be addressed at once otherwise it would prevent the rule of law from progressing and may result in social injustice.
Xi added that the reform intends to boost public confidence in the judicial system, and the effectiveness of the reforms will be determined by the public's confidence and satisfaction.
The Chinese leader said that accountability is crucial to judicial reform, and urged judges and prosecutors--whose power must be supervised and checked--to be responsible for cases they handle.
He called on the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Central Committee and other authorities to set a plan to carry out effective reform measures to be implemented in localities and departments as well as review them to identify potential flaws.
"With judicial reform, we are still walking the road of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics," the leader was quoted as saying.
Xi said that judicial reform should balance power with responsibility, justice and transparency, as well as respect for the legal system.
