China reforms people's supervisors rules for transparency

A judicial reform plan to strip the people's procuratorates off their right to appoint and manage people's supervisors was initiated on Tuesday in a bid to ensure transparency and fairness when handling cases.[Special coverage]

The people's supervisors will be selected and assessed by the justice authorities in the nation, a statement from the Ministry of Justice said Tuesday.

The supervisors will see to it the cases that should be registered are officially filed and the prosecutors are not breaking laws when performing duties, according to the plan, which was approved by the 10th meeting of the central leading group for deepening overall reform.

The justice authorities are required to set up a database for people's supervisors, according to the statement.

People who qualify for being supervisors can recommend themselves to local justice authorities, which marks a big difference from the previous rules which only allowed organizations, including government organs and enterprises, to nominate.

The rules mandate that the members selected from these organizations should account for no more than 50 percent of all appointed supervisors.

In specific cases, the supervisors will be chosen within the database at random. Those who are related to the cases they are supervising will be excluded, according to the rules.

The statement said the new rules would be conducive to preventing errors in power-abuse cases and close the relationship between procuratorial organs and the public.

The Supreme People's Procuratorate launched a pilot program to establish the system of people's supervisors in 2003. The system was comprehensively implemented in procuratorial organs throughout the country in 2010.