Shanghai has appointed 763 people's jurors to handle criminal and civil cases before China's first law regulating its jury system goes into effect on May 1, officials with the Shanghai Higher People's Court announced yesterday.

The standing Committee of the National People's Congress issued rules for the jury system last August, stipulating the necessary qualifications to become a juror and the selection and appointment procedures.

"This is the first time for China to issue a law on the people's jurors specially though the system has been used in the country for decades," said Sun Jianguo, director of the court's discipline inspection group.

The approved jurors can be called to hear a trial at any time, and are allowed to hear up to 10 cases a year. They don't sit on a large panel of jurors, as is done in many western countries, but take the place of one or two judges listening to a case.

In a typical criminal case, the trial is heard by three judges. The new law allows defendants for the first time to request a jury trial.

If that happens, one or two of the judges are replaced by jurors, who are often seen as more sympathetic and fairer than judges.

About 40 percent of the jurors approved by the city volunteered for the job, while the others were recommended by their firms.

Nearly 98 percent of them have at least a college education and many have expertise in various fields such as finance, intellectual property, medical treatment and architecture.

"In this way, the jury candidates can make up for the judges' shortage of professional knowledge," said Tu Guoming, one of the newly appointed jurors.

(Shanghai Daily April 23, 2005)