The 11th session of the Standing Committee of the 10th National People’s Congress, which opened on August 23, is expected to approve the Draft Decision on the Perfection of the People’s Assessors System this Saturday. A blueprint for selecting assessors for specific cases will soon be drawn up.

According to current Chinese law, the people’s courts select a certain number of people’s assessors from groups of citizens recommended by work units and organizations. The people’s assessors serve the same function as juries in some Western courts: they review evidence, hear testimony and arguments of counsel, and share equal rights with the judges.

Shen Deyong, vice president of the Supreme People’s Court, said that the existing regulations give only a vague description of the people’s assessors, lacking specific requirements for their qualifications and procedures for their selection. According to incomplete statistics from 26 district courts, China has a total of 23,918 people’s assessors. “But in many places, the system exists only in form,” Shen said. “Some local courts even omit the process of having people’s assessors for cases. To meet the needs of the new situation, there must be a law that improves the people’s jury system.”

In the revised draft of the decision, the nature of people’s assessors and their position and responsibilities in judging cases are all clearly defined. It also requires that the important criminal, civil and administrative cases that have a substantial impact on society be heard by a collegiate bench of judges and people’s assessors, and the assessors must account for at least one-third of the bench.

Investigations show that among the current people’s assessors, 41.5 percent are assigned by the people’s courts; 23.7 percent are recommended by various organizations; and very few are elected, as is allowed by the law. The draft decision requires that the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress assign people’s assessors for a term of five years.

A people’s assessor should have at least a community college education.

Hu Kangsheng, vice chairman of the Law Committee of the National People’s Congress, believes that the draft decision is practical and useful. At group discussions held on August 24, opinions were positive and it seems likely that it will be passed on August 28.

(China.org.cn by Shang Rongguang, August 27, 2004)