Based on the Judicial Transparency Index Assessment (2019 and 2020) conducted in China by the Institute of Law of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, this book summarizes and analyzes the current situation of judicial openness in China, using a sample of 218 courts across the country for the study. The book analyzes the ideological and institutional origins of judicial openness and examines the operation of judicial openness through the practical experience of role replacement. By analyzing evaluation data in the fields of audit information disclosure, trial information disclosure, judicial enforcement data disclosure, and judicial reform data disclosure, the book points out that the current judicial disclosure has made significant progress, but there are still problems such as unclear disclosure standards, insufficient rigidity in disclosure requirements, and the scope of disclosure still needs to be expanded. The book recommends accelerating the disclosure of judicial legislation, public standards, and strengthening assessment and accountability.
Author(s): Yiming Wang, He Tian
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 358
City: Singapore
Foreword
Contents
1 Justice: From Mystery to Openness
1 Judicial Openness in Ancient China
1.1 Movement of Enacting Statutes and Openness of Laws
1.2 Public Trials in Ancient China
1.3 Dissimilation and Extension of Public Trials: Open Trials, Publication of Judgments, and Open Enforcement
2 Judicial Openness in the Ancient West
3 All Roads Lead to Rome: Value Selection and Practice of Ancient Judicial Openness Centered on the Establishment of Judicial Authority
4 Judicial Openness in Modern Times
References
2 Development of Contemporary China’s Judicial Openness System
1 Tradition of People-Centered Judicial Openness
2 Evolution of Judicial Openness After the Founding of the PRC
2.1 From “Justice by the People” to “Justice for the People” After the Founding of the PRC
2.2 General Secretary Xi Jinping’s Remarks on Promoting Judicial Openness
2.3 Building of China’s Judicial Openness System
2.4 Judicial Openness Prescribed by the Supreme People’s Court
3 Informatization Construction of People’s Courts and New Development of Judicial Openness
References
3 The Rationale Behind Judicial Transparency
1 Judicial Transparency and Judicial Openness
2 Practical Significance of Judicial Transparency
2.1 Effective Implementation of the Policy of Justice for the People
2.2 Protection of the Public’s Right to Know and Legitimate Rights and Interests of the Parties
2.3 Prevention of Judicial Corruption and Realization of Judicial Justice
2.4 Enhancement of Judicial Credibility and Maintenance of Judicial Authority
2.5 Improvement of Judicial Personnel’s Competence and Judicial Proficiency
3 Judicial Openness in Controversy Firmly Moving Forward
3.1 Scope of Judicial Openness
3.2 Live Broadcasting of Court Hearings, Judges’ Free Evaluation of Evidence, and Formation of a Judgment
3.3 Disclosure of Judgments and Potential Negative Effects
3.4 Judicial Openness and Protection of Personal Information and Privacy
3.5 Disputes Over Judicial Openness Caused by Court Informatization
References
4 Methodologies for Researching Judicial Transparency
References
5 The Overall Situation of China’s Judicial Transparency
1 Steady Improvements in Judicial Openness
1.1 Openness is an Important Means of Furthering Judicial System Reform
1.2 Information Involved in Judicial Openness is Expanding
1.3 Informatization Construction Has Expanded Judicial Openness
1.4 Judgment Disclosure Has Become the Highlight of Judicial Openness
1.5 Judicial Openness of Many District Courts Has Improved Steadily
1.6 Judicial Openness of the Courts Nationwide Has Fluctuated Slightly.
2 Remaining Problems in Judicial Openness
2.1 Large Gap Between Courts and Between Sections
2.2 Relatively Slow Progress in Judicial Openness
2.3 Insufficient Judicial Openness in Primary people’s Courts
2.4 Judicial Openness in Some Courts Incommensurate with Local Development
2.5 Erratic Performance in Judicial Openness by Some Courts
2.6 Further Efforts to Be Made for Judicial Openness by Specialized Courts
2.7 Problems to Be Solved Regarding Judgment Disclosure
2.8 Weak Disclosure of the Information About Enforcement and Judicial Reforms
2.9 Less Advanced Construction of Judicial Openness Platforms
References
6 Status Quo of Judicial Transparency in Various Fields
1 Disclosure of Personnel Information
1.1 Overview
1.2 Information on Court Leaders
1.3 Information on Business Department Heads
1.4 Information on Administrative Department Heads
1.5 Information on Quota Judges
1.6 Information on the Members of a Judicial Committee
1.7 Information on Enforcement Judges
1.8 Disclosure Channels
2 Roster Information
2.1 Overview
2.2 Mediation Rosters
2.3 The Roster of Authentication Institutions
2.4 The Roster of Evaluation Institutions
2.5 The Roster of Bankruptcy Administrators
2.6 Disclosure Channels
3 Information on Office Disqualification
4 Results of the Handling of Motions and Proposals
5 Litigation Guides
5.1 Overview
5.2 Adequacy of a Litigation Guide
5.3 Accuracy of a Litigation Guide
5.4 Popularity of a Litigation Guide
5.5 Disclosure of the Guidelines in Response to the Epidemic
5.6 Places of a Litigation Guide
6 Disclosure of Judgments
6.1 Overview
6.2 Disclosure of the Data on Judgment Disclosure
6.3 Judgments Disclosed in the Full Text
6.4 Reasons for Not Disclosing the Full Text of Judgments
6.5 The Time When Judgments Are Published Online
7 Disclosure of Enforcement Information
8 Disclosure of Judicial Reform Information
9 Disclosure of Judicial Data
10 Construction of Openness Platforms
References
7 Promoting More Transparent Justice
1 Analysis of the Reasons for the Problems in Judicial Openness
1.1 Insufficient Attention to Judicial Openness
1.2 Gap in Understanding Judicial Openness
1.3 Lack of a Regular Mechanism for Judicial Openness
1.4 Low Ranking of Scattered Provisions Governing Judicial Openness
1.5 Low Standardization of Judicial Openness
1.6 Lack of Strict Requirements for Judicial Openness
1.7 Insufficient Pressure in and Outside of the Courts
1.8 Inadequate Informatization of the Courts
2 Ways to Further Judicial Openness
2.1 Unifying Various Understandings of Judicial Openness
2.2 Detailing the Standards for Judicial Openness
2.3 Attaching Importance to the Supply-Side Reform of Judicial Openness
2.4 Establishing a Regular Mechanism for Judicial Openness
2.5 Strengthening the Assessment of and Supervision Over Judicial Openness
2.6 Promoting the Construction of Judicial Openness Platforms
2.7 Enhancing Informatization to Promote Judicial Openness
2.8 Promoting Legislation on Judicial Openness
Afterword
