The Supreme People's Court of China Wednesday unveiled a program on reforming China's court system in the 2004-2008 period, initiating a new round of comprehensive reforms.

"The reforms aim to tackle existing problems in the judicial system," said an official with the court.

The program lists 50 reform measures in eight fields aimed at ensuring justice and improving the efficiency of the court system, including measures to strengthen the enforcement capability and beef up both internal and external supervision over the performance of the courts.

Some of the reform measures listed in the program, said the official, had already been in implementation in 2004.

China has made "building a harmonious society" a major target of its overall economic and social development plan to avert social impediments to its development.

The call for court reform has been growing in recent years. Chinese scholars say unfair sentences and low court efficiency tend to give rise to social problems, as victims may be impelled to seek illegal means to address their grievances.

(Xinhua News Agency October 27, 2005)