Sichuan Legislature Promotes Rule of LawThe Standing Committee of Provincial People's Congress of southwest China's Sichuan Province is busy revising local laws and regulations to be ready for the country's grand plan to develop the west, a senior official said Friday.The provincial legislature is also planning to promulgate 15 local laws on environmental protection and other areas, said Meng Junxiu, vice-chairman of the standing committee of the provincial people's congress. This is only part of the most recent efforts made by the Sichuan legislature in promoting the rule of law in the province, Meng said in an interview. In April 1997, the provincial legislature adopted a resolution on promoting the rule of law, and enforced it afterwards by formulating a more comprehensive legal framework, and strengthening supervision over the government, court and prosecution bodies. By 1998, more than 80 percent of the people's deputies, from provincial down to township level people's congresses, were organized to assess the work performance of government officials, judges and prosecutors. As a result, procuratorates redressed 250 mishandled cases and meted out punishments to 161 prosecutors for their mistakes. Courts across the province corrected 500 misjudged lawsuits and 51 top level court officials have been replaced. And today, a redress mechanism for misjudgment and injustice has been instituted in all the courts and procuratorates in the province, and complaint centers targeting judicial unfairness are emerging throughout the province, Meng said. |
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