Material for the Press Conference of the State Council Information Office

Background Material for Solidly Advancing

 Judicial Administration System Reform

(November 5, 2014)

Ministry of Justice, P.R.C.

The judicial administration system is a legal system that provides services and guarantees to a country’s judicial activities and development of rule of law, and an important component of socialist judicial administration with Chinese characteristics. To  solidly advance the reform of the judicial administration system, adhere to and perfect the socialist judicial system with Chinese characteristics, is of great significance for deepening judicial system reform, managing state affairs according to law in an all-around way and building a socialist country with the rule of law. Since the 18^th CPC National Congress, the Ministry of Justice has fully carried out the principles adopted by the 18^th CPC National Congress, the third plenary session of the 18^th CPC National Congress, and the fourth plenary session of the 18^th CPC National Congress and the important decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee on the reform of judicial administration system, and earnestly implemented the requirements in a series of important speeches and instructions on judicial administration by Xi Jinping, General Secretary of CPC Central Committee, strengthened organization and leadership, drawn up opinions about reforms and plans on division of responsibilities, proposed to improve community corrections system, reform lawyers system, improve legal aid system, strictly enforce rules and regulations on commutation, parole, temporary release from prison, and follow up the work relevant to abolishing reeducation through labor, push forward experiment program on opening of prison affairs to the society and management of the selection and appointment of people’s inspectors. The Ministry of Justice has made arrangements to push forward reforms in judicial administration system with its efforts in developing and introducing 12 reform documents, holding national community corrections conference and videophone conferences on strictly standardizing commutation, parole, and temporary release from prison. At present, all these reforms have been smoothly implemented with positive outcome.

Firstly, improve community corrections system. Community corrections in China has gone through pilot and overall trial operation, and entered a comprehensive promotion stage. Since the beginning of this year, the Ministry of Justice, together with the Supreme People’s court, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, and the Ministry of Public Security, has convened national conference on community corrections, jointly issued Opinions on Comprehensively Promoting Community Corrections Work and made arrangement on comprehensively improving community corrections and perfecting system in this regard. Party committees, governments and judicial administration organs at all levels have earnestly implemented the requirements of the conferences and opinions. Some provinces (municipalities) held work meetings and issued opinions and measures to comprehensively push forward community corrections work. The Ministry of justice has also actively promoted community corrections legislation with Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council and the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Central Committee to establish and lead a coordination group on community corrections legislation consisting of members from 12 relevant departments. The group has made work plans, conducted legislative researches, studied deeply the main issues of the legislation and reached important consensus. At present, 731,000 offenders serve their sentences in communities, and totally 2.113 million have been received. The recidivism rate maintains under 0.2% during correction period. Offenders can have a normal family life, which is helpful for social stability. Sound legal and social results have been obtained.

Secondly, reform the lawyer system. To strengthen lawyers’ professional ethics, the Ministry of Justice has formulated and issued The Opinions on Further Strengthening Professional Ethics of Lawyers; All China Lawyers Association issued Basic Code of Professional Ethics for Lawyers to improve standard system and long-effect mechanism of professional ethics of lawyers. In order to further strengthen education management of lawyer’s team, the Ministry of Justice has formulated and issued the opinions on further strengthening education management work of lawyer’s team and put forward detailed measures on strengthening education management. To complete guarantee system of lawyers practicing rights, the Ministry of Justice has worked with relevant departments to research and promulgate Regulations on Several Issues Concerning Criminal Defense of Lawyers. After much coordination, more and more consensuses have been achieved.

Thirdly, perfect the legal aid system. To enlarge the scope of legal aid, The Ministry of Justice has pushed the issuance of Opinions of the State Council and Central Military Committee on Strengthening Legal Aid for Servicemen and Their Families, jointly promulgated and issued Opinions on Strengthening Legal Aid Work in State Compensation with the Supreme People’s Court and pushed provincial governments to adjust the scope and standard of legal aid matters. At present, 23 provinces have enlarged the scope of legal aid supplementary matters, 19 have lowered threshold of economic difficulty. Quality control of cases has been further improved. Quality supervision and control mechanism for handling cases has been improved through case reviews, return visits of recipients and consultations with case-handling organs on their opinions. Construction of windows has been given priority to further improve public legal service network. The establishment of grassroots legal aid work stations has been actively pushed forward and efforts on supporting areas short of lawyer resources have been intensified. Based on comprehensive researches and studies, the Ministry of Justice has drafted Opinions on Improving Legal Aid System.

Fourthly, strictly enforce rules and regulations on commutation, parole, temporary release from prison and further deepening opening of prison affairs. The Ministry of Justice has strictly implemented Opinions of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Central Committee on Strictly Regulating Commutation, Parole, Temporary Release from Prison and Effectively Preventing Judicial Corruption, promulgated and issued notice on fully implementing the opinions, amended Regulations on Work Procedures of Prisons Proposing Commutation and Parole, worked together with the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security, and the National Health and Family Planning Commission to issue Regulations on Temporary Release from Prisons, organized and carried out special rectification and conduct random inspections on cases of release on bail for medical treatment. In 11 prisons of 9 provinces and municipalities, pilot programs on deepening opening of prison affairs have been conducted. Enclosing conjunctions with important and hot issues in prison law enforcement to which prisoners, their families and the public pay high attention, the Ministry of Justice has consistently publicized law enforcement information, which the public concerns and needs to be known by the society, in accordance with the principle of opening under law in a timely and accurate way and accepting supervision. Meanwhile, innovations have been made in the opening ways and methods, work system of the opening of prison affairs has been improved, and internal, legal and social supervision has been strengthened.

 Fifthly, complete follow-up work after the abolition of reeducation through labor. The Ministry of Justice has earnestly implemented policies made by the CPC Central Committee, the decisions of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and arrangements after the abolition of reeducation through labor of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Central Committee. High attention has been given to the work related to the abolition of reeducation through labor so that this work could be completed in an active and safe manner. On the basis of in-depth research and comprehensive survey, the Ministry of Justice has issued the opinions on completing work related after the abolition of reeducation through labor. The arrangements were made with the people serving reeducation through labor, utilization of facilities, management of properties and enterprises, stability of the team of police and officials and readjustment of functions. Regulations and regulatory documents related to reeducation through labor have been sorted out and guidance has been provided for provinces to dismiss people serving reeducation through labor so that the follow-up work after the abolition of reeducation through labor could be handled in a stable and orderly manner. The Ministry of Justice and judicial administrative organs at provincial (regional and municipal) levels have transformed their functions and established Bureau of Drug Rehabilitation Administration. Most of the reeducation through labor facilities in the country have been transformed into compulsory drug rehabilitation facilities.       

Sixthly，advance pilot programs to reform the method to select, appoint and manage people’s inspectors. According to the arrangements of judicial system reform made by the CPC Central Committee, The Ministry of Justice and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate of China reached a consensus that the judicial administrative organs will select, appoint and manage people’s inspectors and carry out pilot programs of reform in this regard and got the approval of leadership of the CPC Central Committee and the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Central Committee. On September 10^th, 2014, the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate of China jointly drafted and issued Opinions on the Pilot Programs to Reform the Method to Select, Appoint and Manage People’s Supervisors.  The Opinions deploys pilots programs to reform the method to select, appoint and manage people’s inspectors in 10 provinces (regions and municipalities) such as Beijing and Jilin Province and make clear requirements for the objectives, the main content, the implementation procedure and the strengthened guidance and leadership provided for these pilot programs.  

At present, China’s reform has entered the deep water zone and a critical stage. The judicial administration still faces arduous tasks in deepening reform. Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Several Major Issues of comprehensively promoting the Rule of Law, which was deliberated and adopted by the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18^th CPC Central Committee, draws up a new blueprint of strategic arrangements for comprehensively deepening of the reform in the field of the rule of law and makes new arrangements and puts forward new and higher requirements for the judicial system reform of china, which includes the judicial administration system reform. The judicial administrative organs nationwide deeply understand and implement the principles adopted by the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18^th CPC Central Committee, adhere to the road of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics, as well as bring success to organizing all actions, planning all measures and implementing all tasks in deepening the judicial administration system reform, so as to make due contribution to advancing governing the country in accordance to law and construction of the China of rule of law. The Ministry of Justice of China perfects the system of community corrections, actively promotes the legislation and comprehensively improve the work in this regard; further reforms the lawyers’ system, integrates the safeguard system for the rights of lawyers in practice and perfects the disciplinary system of the illegal or undisciplined behaviors of lawyers in practice, enhances the professional ethics of lawyers, and promotes the government lawyer system and the corporate lawyer system; improves the legal aid system, pushes forward the legislation on legal aid and formulates supporting  rules and norms for legal aid; and improves the system for opening of prison affairs and make arrangements for comprehensively promote the work of opening of prison affairs nationwide on the basis of the experience accumulated through pilot programs. As required and arranged by the CPC Central Committee, The Ministry of Justice of China participates in and supports the reform-related work and further adheres to and perfects the socialist judicial administration system with Chinese characteristics.