Top court publishes cases on judicial protection of minors involving school bullying, child abuse

BEIJING, May 30 (Xinhua) -- The Supreme People's Court (SPC) on Thursday published five cases concerning judicial protection for minors to help lower-level courts better handle relevant cases.

The cases, two criminal ones and three civil actions, involve multiple issues such as school bullying and child abuse. The publishing of the cases came ahead of the International Children's Day on Saturday.

In the bullying case, a 14-year-old middle school student, who was a victim of bullying, used a knife in self-protection when facing a group attack, causing injuries to three.

The court, taking into account the overall circumstances of the case, concluded that the behavior was legitimate self-defense and, thus, not criminally liable.

According to a statement issued by the SPC research office, the release of this case is meant to help better protect victims of bullying, and ensure school bullying cases are properly handled, thereby, effectively preventing and reducing incidents of this nature.

The guiding cases also involve some high-profile cases concerning child abuse by a family member, the illegal sale of alcohol to minors, custody rights, and visitation rights for grandparents.

Thursday was the first time that the SPC has published guiding cases that specially concern the protection of minors.

A revised law on the protection of minors, which includes improved prevention measures to stop school bullying, as well as stipulations on the responsibilities of left-behind children's guardians and enhanced social protection of minors, took effect on June 1, 2021.

The SPC research office expects the cases to serve as a reference for lower-level courts to support their work, and provide stronger judicial protection for minors.