IMPARTIALITY, efficiency and intelligence are all required of a competent judge, but according to one court chief from Henan, good culinary abilities should also be on the list.

    The ability to prepare good food will not only increase productivity, but preclude court officials from being wined and dined by individuals who have a conflict of interest in court cases, according to Zhang Liyong, chief of the Henan Provincial Higher People’s Court.

    “A chief judge of the court must learn to cook some dishes. This should be embedded in the [performance] evaluation system,” Zhang said during an inspection of county courts in Henan.

    “If people involved in the case are buying [the meal], chances are that judges will go to the lunch. It has to do with the image of the court and the [potential for] corruption,” Zhang said.

    Zhang said lunches were also important in ensuring good performance in the afternoon as they give energy.

    The Henan Provincial Higher People’s Court yesterday clarified on its Weibo page that Zhang simply made a “demand [for] court police to have a nice lunch and a recommendation for chief judges to learn how to cook to prevent judges from accepting banquet [invitations] from the parties involved in a case.”

    It said the existing evaluation system “of grass-roots-level courts do not include whether the judge can cook.”

    The lower courts have responded warmly to Zhang’s advice, according to the Southern Metropolis Daily.

    The Nanyang Intermediate People’s Court reportedly ordered officials from lower-level courthouses to “have a meal and inspect how well the judge cooks,” and added culinary skills to the criteria for the “outstanding judge” title announced at the end of the year. A court in Nanzhao County, under Nanyang, said judges would receive one-month training and judges who could not cook “would be transferred.” (SD-Agencies)