Ahead of the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, the Supreme People's Court has recently released a document which calls for resolute implementation of judicial independence and resistance to all forms of local and departmental interference. This shows the importance China attaches to reiteration of judicial independence, but at the same time it also reveals that it has yet to be fully guaranteed, says an article in Beijing Times. Excerpts:

Although different countries have difference judicial systems consistent with their respective national conditions, judicial independence is universally acknowledged because it is the premise and the bottom line to guarantee justice.

The United Nation's Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary stipulates that judicial independence is the rudimentary requirement for all member states. All countries have to ensure the independence of their judicial authorities and judicial independence must be built into the constitution and laws.

In practice, however, judicial authority enjoys equal status to political authority on the one hand, while on the other, it is subjected beneath political power. Sometimes, due to the reliance on local finances and local human resources, cases of extrajudicial disturbances on verdicts are not uncommon.

With people's increasing awareness of safeguarding one's legal rights through judicial means, citizens, governments and social groups all take their disputes to the courts, with the confidence that judiciary can play a vital role in promoting social justice. It's high time to put an end to extrajudicial interference during judicial process to promote social justice.

(China Daily 11/06/2013 page9)