In China, Criminal Cases are disposed of in 1 month and Civil Cases in 6 months
Beijing.—Perhaps for the first time ever in its modern history, China lowered its iron curtains over its judiciary, revealing to a delegation of international jurists a rich blend of technology steeped in ancient traditional values. Several surprises tumbled out of the closet, too.
While civil and corporate case accounted for 68 of total cases in China, only six per cent are criminal cases. Civil cases are heard and disposed of in six months, whereas criminal case take just one month to three months. China had 1.9 lakh judges and one-third of them are women. Besides, the four-tier judicial system of China has on its rolls a total of 3.2 lakh staff members. Together, the judges handled a million cases annually, said justice Jing Hanchao, vice-president of the Supreme People’s Court of China, to a delegation of the International Council of Jurists (ICJ).
Lakhs of new cases are being filed owing to economic and social developments. But the number of judges is not enough to hear and dispose of all these cases, Justice Hanchao said.
The jurists delegation was led by justice V.S.Sirpurkar, Judge, Supreme Court of India, and comprised the ICJ president Dr.Adish C.Aggarwala, director S.Prabhakaran, justice Ali Hameed Mohamed of the Supreme Court of Maldives, and justice PR Walagama of the High Court of Sri Lanka, Lok Sabha Member from Mizoram CL Ruala and Tamil Nadu Advocates Association vice-president Antony Selvaraj were also among the members.
The delegation, which visited the sw*nky Supreme People’s Court in Beijing and Shanghai, was explained as to how every particular of a case is displayed on screens the moment a case is called for trial. In criminal trials, finger prints, witness and defence depositions, weapon details and the specific charges and provisions faced by the accused come alive on screen in front of every stake-holder in the court. “The low incidence of criminal cases reflects the fact that there are fewer crimes taking place in our nation,” said justice Ms. Herong, vice-president of the High People’s Court in Beijing.
Justice Sirpurkar, astonished at the advanced mediation techniques and the use of information technology tools in the administration of justice in China, told the senior judges of China that the two countries had several things in common. (Source: Times of India, Chennai, dt.24-12-2010).
