China's new era puts forward new requirements to judicial authorities: official

Chen Junsheng, deputy director of the Judicial Reform Office of China's Ministry of Justice. [Photo provided to China Plus]

The new era heralded by the recent 19th National Congress of the CPC put forward that law-based governance is an essential requirement and important guarantee for socialism with Chinese characteristics and China must further the reform of the judicial system.

China has carried out a series of measures to deepen judicial reform since the 18th CPC National Congress, and witnessed remarkable progress over the past five years.

The report delivered at the opening session of the 19th CPC National Congress presents the overall goal of comprehensively advancing law-based governance to establish a system of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics and build a country of socialist rule of law.

Chen Junsheng, deputy director of the Judicial Reform Office of the Ministry of Justice, said judicial authorities need to adapt to the evolved principle contradiction facing Chinese society, which is between unbalanced and inadequate development and the Chinese people's ever-growing need for a better life.

"People's demand for legal services has increased. They want the services to be in a more accurate, more convenient and in a more timely manner. We should increase people's sense of gain and security by the legal services that we provide."

Chen also mentioned that over the past five years, China's judicial correction mechanism has also achieved significant progress. He said cases in which people were unjustly charged are a great harm not only to the people involved but also to justice.

Chen Junsheng (L), deputy director of the Judicial Reform Office of China's Ministry of Justice, receives CRI's exclusive interview, November 17, 2017. [Photo provided to China Plus]

"According to incomplete statistics, over the past five years, a total of 37 significant cases with 61 people involved have been corrected. For example, the Hugjiltu case, the case of Nie Shubin and the case of Chen Man. By correcting these cases, we hold the bottom line of judicial fairness."

Chen explained that most of the miscarriages of justice happened in the 1990s.

"The causes of these cases are complicated. Objectively, the investigation was insufficient, while subjectively, some of the law-enforcement officers did not understand the correct concept of justice and the system was also deficient."

According to Chen, the fourth plenary session of the 18th CPC National Congress in 2014 proposed a total of 190 measures to develop the law-based government of China, among which 84 were about the judicial reform.

In the report delivered at the opening session of the 19th CPC National Congress last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that China should deepen the comprehensive reform of the judicial system.