Improved legal environment highlighted in judicial reform

Creating a better legal environment for the nation’s reform and development, as well as for litigants from home and abroad, is high on the agenda for the next five years, under a reform guideline issued by the Supreme People’s Court on Wednesday.

Fostering a better legal environment by improving judicial services will be the priority for courts nationwide, according to the top court’s guideline for 2019-23.

“We must keep in mind how important the rule of law is in promoting the country’s economic growth and policy implementation,” Hu Shihao, director of the top court’s judicial reform office, told China Daily after a news conference.

Since the beginning of this year, bankruptcy courts have been unveiled in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, as well as in Beijing and Shanghai, aiming to effectively help enterprises that are heavily in debt to either restructure or cease doing business.

Over the past three years, judicial protections of private enterprises and entrepreneurs were strengthened, and a series of wrongful property-related cases were also corrected after reviews by courts.

Based on these achievements, the new judicial reforms require courts to set up a regular review system to overturn wrongful convictions involving enterprises and open them to the public in a timely manner.

“We’ll also create specific rules to ensure that key policies, such as the Belt and Road Initiative and supply-side structural reforms, are implemented more effectively, and litigants from home and abroad can be given a sound business environment,” said Li Shaoping, vice-president of the top court.

The judicial reform follows on President Xi Jinping’s remarks at a meeting earlier this week. On Monday, Xi called for efforts to create a favorable legal environment for the country’s reform, development and stability when addressing the second meeting of the Commission for Overall Lawbased Governance, which was organized under the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. Xi is the head of the commission.

The meeting stressed that the rule of law stabilizes expectations and brings long-term benefits.

Liu Junhai, a professor of commercial law at Renmin University of China, was glad to see the rule of law highlighted at the meeting. A favorable legal environment will encourage more people, including foreigners, to invest; it will also ensure safety in the financial industry, he said.

“We need to promote sound economic growth with high-quality legislation and better law enforcement,” Liu said.

Ruan Chuansheng, a law professor at the Shanghai Administration Institute, said the reform will provide a clear image for courts to help improve the legal environment. It is also useful in enhancing public awareness of the rule of law, Ruan said.