BEIJING, Feb. 27  -- China will begin blacklisting and punishing officials who interfere in judicial activities, under plans approved by the country's top reform planning committee on Friday.

The new system will act as a "firewall" to safeguard the independence of judicial departments, said a statement issued after a meeting of the Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Continuing Reform.

It forms part of a broader legal reform package adopted by a key session of the Communist Party of China Central Committee in October.

Party and government officials bear an important responsibility for realizing the rule of law in China, and should refrain from meddling with judicial investigations and trials, the statement said.

It said that officials' clean records in this regard will be a key index in their performance assessments, but provided no further details on how the system will function.