SMPC Oks Court Report on Second Deliberation in Shenyang

At the 5th Session of the 12th Shenyang Municipal People's Congress (SMPC) held on August 9 in Sheyang, capital of Northeast China's Liaoning Province, the whole legislative body finally on its second deliberation sanctioned Shenyang Intermediate People's Court Report on its plan for rectification and 2001 work agenda. This must be a special session ever called, seeing satisfaction on the part of deputies attending the 12th Shenyang Municipal People's Congress with improved performance and work report by Shenyang Intermediate People's Court after their first rejection during a previous session held early in February.

At four o'clock, Thursday afternoon, 439 deputies attending the 5th Session of the 12th Shenyang Municipal People's Congress pushed the buttons of the voting machine after careful deliberation over the "Report on the Plan for Rectification and 2001 Work Agenda of Shenyang Intermediate People's Court" at the Liaoning People's Hall. It turns out that 395 vote for, pointing to an 89.9 percent of approval, significantly showcasing the progress of China's democratic and legal system construction.

Court Report Rejected: Unprecedented in People's Congress History

On the morning of February 14, the 4th Session of the 12th Shenyang Municipal People's Congress was called at the same place. The voting procedure was going through as scheduled. Items were approved smoothly one after another. However, vote taking on the report of Shenyang Intermediate People's Court shown on the electronic screen shocked the Congress: among the 474 deputies present at the Session, (509 supposed to), 218 votes for, 162 against, 82 abstention and 9 deputies did not push on the voting machine. The affirmative votes failed to reach majority and the court report failed to be approved by the People's Congress.

The People's Hall was no longer calm as usual. Some deputies were shocked. Some wondered and had discussions conducted. What's more dramatic, Jia Yongxiang, ex-president of Shenyang People's Court who just sat on the chairman platform at the opening ceremony in the morning, was investigated by the Central Discipline Inspection Commission in the afternoon. The court report had to be delivered by Yu Bo, vice president of Shenyang Intermediate Court. "It is extraordinarily abnormal", said some deputies. When Yu Bo was delivering the report, some deputies were making phone calls outside the hall, some were chatting, and more others paid close attention to serious corruption cases they learned in Shenyang.

Deputies Set Against Corruption

Feng Youwei, deputy and professor from the Mental Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences had previously held a negative view of the court report. He told the journalist bluntly that Jiao Meigui and Liang Fuquan, vice presidents of Shenyang Intermediate People's Court, were investigated for being suspected of involvement in severe violations of laws and regulations. On the opening day of the Congress, Jia Yongxiang, court president, was disciplined by the Central Discipline Inspection Commission. Since juridical corruption was so serious, how could this report be approved? Many deputies also said that the NPC now use voting machine instead of vote by a show of hands nowadays. It is a very important step taken to sufficiently ensure the rights invested in exercising functions of NPC deputies on behalf of the people's masses, he said.

"Rejection": a Wholly New Subject

What can be done when the People's Congress should reject a court report? On the morning of February 14, Zhang Rongmao, chairman of the Standing Committee of the Municipal People's Congress of Shenyang, immediately convened an emergency meeting of the Presidium. Members of the Presidium took vote by a show of hands and decided to keep on discussion on the report of Shenyang Intermediate People's Court and to report the result of the discussion to the next Session of the NPC. A related cadre of the Standing Committee of Shenyang Municipal People's Congress also noted that when there is no explicit legal basis, the decision is appropriate.

The issue has aroused great attention of domestic and overseas personages. "It is an advancement", said Xu Chongde, constitution expert in China. Han Dayuan, professor on constitution research, thought "it is a symbolic event of China's democratic politics". Some foreign media also reported that rejection of the court's report by Shenyang Municipal People's Congress shows that the function of China's NPC has been strengthened.

Some jurists thought rejection of the court report raised a new problem to the legislative work. Liu Ducai, professor of the College of Law Science, Liaoning University, said that the People's Congress exercises the function of supervising the "government, procuratorate and court" in accordance with the "Constitution" and the "Organization Law of Local People's Congress and Local People's Government". However, there is no clear ruling on how to deal with the rejection on the report by the "government, procuratorate and court".

For this reason, the Standing Committee of Shenyang Municipal People's Congress convened directors meetings for several times. They believed it is feasible for the Standing Committee to discuss the court report according to the "Organization Law of Local People's Congress and Local People's Government". But proceeding from the practical situation of Shenyang, it is more appropriate to let the Municipal People's Congress discuss the report. After a series of study on law and helped by the NPC and Liaoning Provincial People's Congress, Shenyang Municipal People's Congress held its 25th Standing Committee meeting in early April. On August 9, the Municipal Congress called its 5th Session in reviewing and passing the report of Shenyang Intermediate People's Court.

It is generally recognized that a court's work report should fail to be approved is because there must have occurred serious corruption problems in the court's leading group. The rejection substantially reflects the dissatisfaction of the NPC deputies towards the leading group and work performance of the court. Since the "rejection" has become an accomplished fact as legal judgement, it is unnecessary to revise the work report and submit it for discussion. According to the "Local Organization Law", Shenyang People's Court should carry out rectification in accordance with the opinion raised at the 4th session of the 12th Shenyang Municipal People's Congress. It also should report the situation of rectification and 2001 work agenda to the 5th Session of the Congress. All of these are in line with the ruling that the annual work agenda of the "government, procuratorate and court" should be reported to the People's Congress of the same administrative level and passed by the NPC Congress. Chen Gang, NPC deputy and general manager of Northeast Pharmaceutical Group (NEGP), said that it is unusual to convene a People's Congress session twice in one year. It is of realistic and historical significance for the progress of China's democratic and legal construction.

Shenyang Intermediate People's Court Rebuilt its Image

The Standing Committee of Shenyang Municipal People's Congress thought that the veto by the deputies reflects the enhancement of their awareness of democracy and responsibility that are entrusted by the Constitution and law. However, the veto is absolutely not the final purpose of the People's Congress. Both the Standing Committee and Shenyang Intermediate People's Court should give first priority to the consideration on how to supervise and promote the court to rectify and reform, and, how to retrieve the loss and rebuild the image of the People's Court. During the half of the year after the report was rejected, Shenyang Intermediate People's Court has carefully investigated on problems, made a thorough introspection and vigorously improved their working attitude and daily job.

"Court leaders including Jia Yongxiang, ex-president of the court, should bear the most responsibility,'' said Ding Renshu, acting president of the court in his rectification report on August 9. Jia Yongxiang, Jiao Meigui and Liang Fuquan have been investigated for being suspected of involvement in major violations of laws and regulations. It is unprecedented in the history of Shenyang, Liaoning Province and even the whole country. It fully exposed the serious problems in probity construction of the leading group of the court. When severe corruption cases in judiciary became so intolerable, how could the NPC deputies understand and approve the report?

Ding Shuren analyzed that the fundamental reason for the "rejection" underlies the prominent problems in justice work. Qualitatively speaking, some trials were not satisfactory. Some judgements were not fair. Some cases were delayed for a long time. Some judges handled "relationship cases", "favoritism cases" or "money cases". Some officials lack necessary professional ability and sense of responsibility. All of these problems, with no effective restraint and settlement fulfilled, directly hampered the judiciaries in carrying out the maximum principle of just jurisdiction, and impaired the credit of the People's Court. This cannot be simply covered by corruption problems of the court's leading group. When juridical injustice became a social problem which aroused sharp complaints from the masses, how could the deputies be satisfied and approve the report?

Because the court failed to manage the law and the police strictly, Ding added, the "prohibitions" and sanction prosecutions simply became empty talk or fight on paper. Edict became "decoration" in dealing with higher authorities and frightening the lower levels. "High-voltage wire" became "clothesline". When juridical injustice was not restrained effectively, how could the deputies be satisfied and approve the report?

In such situation, Shenyang Intermediate People's Court sought unity of thinking, probed into the problems, analyzed the causes, and drew lessons from the rejection. On the basis of these, it quickly adjusted the leading group under the support by Shenyang Municipal Committee and the municipal People's Congress. According to law, Shenyang Municipal People's Congress appointed acting president and two vice acting presidents to the court and dismissed Jia Yongxiang, Jiao Meigui and Liang Fuquan from their posts respectively.

Besides, the court unfolded professional ethics education, straightened out the leading group, consolidated the judgement disciplines and rectified the working style. It also investigated and affixed the responsibility of 15 persons for illegal justice and 12 officers for discipline violation. Liu Naitong, disregarding the fact and law therefore making wrong verdict in an infringement case of construction project, was removed from his post of chief justice. Between May and July, the court altogether closed 260 cases which have exceeded the trial limit. The rate of settlement hit 98 percent. Among the 661 delayed executive cases, 440 have been concluded.

Besides, the Court also set up a special liaison office for handling of the proposals, draft resolutions, opinions and suggestions put forward by deputies and CPPCC members. So far, 285 cases, which are delivered by the People's Congress, have been closed, accounting for 83.8 percent of the total number of the cases.

On the afternoon of August 9, warm applause found echoes in the conference hall when the 5th Session of the 12th Shenyang Municipal People's Congress finally approved the Court report on its plan for rectification and 2001 work agenda. The applause expressed an aspiration: to exercise the democratic power of the deputies and exercise the power on behalf of the people as masters of the country.

Zhang Rongmao, Chairman of the Standing Committee of Shenyang Municipal People's Congress, said that since the People's Congress gives rise to such a legal administrative setup of "government, procuratorate and court" it should be placed under the supervision of the People's Congress. The progress from rejection to final approval of the court report re-emphasizes the relationship. As an enlightenment and acceleration to the job of the People's Congress, it will vigorously promote the progress of China's democratic and legal construction.



By PD Online Staff Du Minghua


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