|
Han Ximin
ximhan@126.com
THE Supreme People’s Court (SPC) opened its first circuit court in Shenzhen yesterday as part of the country’s efforts to promote judicial independence and reduce interference by local officials.
A total of 13 judges appointed to the court were sworn in yesterday.
The court, which will start hearings Monday, will handle major administrative and civil cases across Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan, and will act as the region’s final appellate court, with the same power of final adjudication as the Supreme Court.
Zhou Qiang, head of the SPC, said at the opening ceremony that the opening of the circuit court marked the start of China’s judicial system reform.
Liu Guixiang has been appointed president of the circuit court in Shenzhen.
SPC spokesman Sun Jungong said late last year that by setting up such circuit courts, local courts would get more power to “help solve local disputes and allow the Supreme Court to concentrate on making judicial policies and judicial interpretation.”
“The choice of Shenzhen as the venue for the first circuit court came from considering Guangdong’s economic development and its geographic adjacency to Hong Kong and Macao, whose courts handle a variety of cases, a large amount of which could be applied to creating unified legal standards,” said Kong Xiangjun, vice president of the first circuit court in Shenzhen, yesterday.
Kong said Shenzhen is an ideal place for the SPC to explore operational mechanism reform in regards to judicial power.
According to the pilot scheme, China’s second circuit court is expected to be set up in Shenyang, capital city of Northeast China’s Liaoning Province, by the end of this month,
Since 2010, the SPC has handled around 10,000 cases per year and received 60,000 to 70,000 visits.
The establishment of the circuit court, which will handle lawsuits locally, could save costs and better safeguard the public’s interest, according to Kong. It could also handle lawsuits involving Hong Kong and Macao citizens on the mainland.
|
