On October 24, 2005, the Supreme People's Court of China completed a preliminary set of guidelines, the "Judges' Behavior Norms (Trial Template)," which is aimed at establishing a system of regulation of the Chinese judiciary at all levels, and encouraging and guiding towards meting out fair, efficient, honest and polite justice.

According to Cao Jianming, vice president of the Supreme People's Court, China is committed to regulating the behavior and image of the judiciary within the next two to three years.

The Norms list 93 scenarios where a judge's behavior might directly affect others. It also sets out the possible causes and consequences of such behavior, suggests solutions and sets out clear standards for judges to meet.

It calls for "justice for the people."

Here are some of the main points:

Judges are required to fairly and reasonably allow all parties to make their representations and arguments, bearing in mind the protection of their rights and interests.

Judges should also allow infirm complainants to give their testimonies either from home or hospital.

Legal aid should not be unreasonably denied, especially not to those who qualify for it, for example, the very old, the very young, the disabled, and pregnant women.

Judges must be willing to teach people how to file lawsuits, protect their rights, and explain procedure when a file has been placed for investigation.

The Norms also set out to regulate judges' behavior in terms of person-to-person interaction. "Judges are representatives of the court. How they behave reflects how the courts treat people in general," Li Ke, the director from the Politics Department of the Supreme People's Court, told People's Daily.

According to the Norms, judges should avoid cold, tough or procrastinating attitudes, and use polite gestures and language when talking to parties and anyone else involved; and they shouldn't do anything improper and unrelated when running the trial; interrupt parties or their lawyers while they are making representations; or use harsh words against someone unnecessarily. 

Corruption is also an issue and the Norms highlight the need for judges to always have their wits about them especially when they attend functions, go to places of entertainment or speak at symposia.

On October 25, Li told Xinhua News Agency that the Supreme People's Court had been working on the Norms since June using "The Judges' Behaviors Tips" drafted by the Shanghai Supreme Court as a model.

The Norms were edited nine times before they were finally approved for testing. They are currently being applied in the courts but will only be announced to the public after this trial period.

(China.org.cn by Zhang Rui October 28, 2005)