Respect for human rights and protection of human rights are significant rules in the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China. In 2015, judicial administration departments at all levels legally exercised their duties, implemented the principles and rules in constitution, and kept strengthening propagation of human rights through creation of contents and methods which had acquired great effects. What they have done contributes significantly toward the development of human rights in China.

 

 

 

The education and publicity of constitution are  key parts of the national law dissemination work in 2015. In May, 2015, the Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the CPC, the Department of Justice, and the Legislation Publicity Office released the notice on initiating the activity ‘learning constitution and observing and complying with law’ in the whole nation, which had made clear deployment and requirements on the education and publicity of constitution. The departments concerned organized activities on the education and publicity of constitution during the period of constitution day on ’12.4’, 2015, and the Department of Justice, together with the central national organ work committee and the national people’s congress law work committee, held a keynote speech on ‘promoting constitution spirit and strengthening the enforcement of constitution’. ‘The power of rule of law’ evening was held and broadcasted on CCTV 1. After exhibition, publicity and selection, the central national organ work committee, the China law society together with the People’s Network, organized an activity on ‘the Most Popularized Character and Story in the Central National Organs’. Over one hundred million people had participated in the ‘Legal Knowledge Contest’ on ‘Knowing Laws, Obeying Laws and Using Laws’ supported by network stations and Wechat public number held by the National Cyberspace Administration Office and the Legislation Publicity Office. For the sake of the publicity of constitution, the National Cyberspace Administration Office and the Legislation Publicity Office held the ’The 12th National Legal Animation Micro Film Selection Activity’ which had increased the art types for the publicity of constitution. New media technology had been performed in the publicity of rule of law in human rights, and subjects on the publicity of the constitution had been set up in legal information Chinese websites and English websites, legal information Wechat public number, and microblog. Activities keeping to the subject of ’12.4’ constitution day had popularized the education of constitution, promoted the effect of the publicity of rule of law in human rights, and made civilians understand the constitution and have a sense of the constitution concept.     

 

 

The ‘sixth five-year plan’ should be strictly implemented and the education and publicity of rule of law in human rights should be strengthened in order to enable civilians to express their interest demands, defend their legal interest according to law, respect others’ legal interest, conscientiously fulfill legal obligations, and undertake legal liabilities. A good circumstance of protecting human rights by law should be created by the constitution of rule of law, governance according to law and the promotion of administration and management level in local areas, industries and civil servants at the basic level. Key people should be familiar with the education and publicity of rule of law in human rights, and departments at all levels should adopt different kinds of ways in education and publicity of rule of law in human rights, effectively improving the sense of human rights protection for leading cadres at all levels, administrators, and judicial officials in order to let them protect civilian’s legal interest when enforcing public power, and improving the abilities in administration, dealing with affairs and social public service. The education and publicity of rule of law in human rights should also be promoted to teenagers, females, and the aged and the disabled in order to promote their sense and abilities in defending legal interests.     

 

 

Achievements and effects of law dissemination work should be demonstrated in foreign publicity of rule of law in considering the 30th anniversary of public law dissemination. A legal information English website specifically introduces laws and regulations on human rights, and interpreted concrete actions of human rights protection in China. China Daily has set up a foreign publicity of rule of law column, instituted a subject on rule of law in China Daily website, published English and Chinese version of the book Common Legal Knowledge for Foreigners in China and gave free for foreign consulates and administrative bodies in China introducing achievements of human rights protection in China, letting the world hear China’s voice and know stories in China. 

 

 

    

Sticking to the principle ‘combination of punishment and correction with the intention of reforming criminals’ , the penal administrative organ should promote the quality of education and correction, finish the special amnesty work well and deepen the construction of law enforcement system. The system of commutation of sentence, parole, and temporary execution outside prison work should be strictly regulated, and ‘six prohibitions’ for jail guards should be rigorously performed in order to protect criminals’ legitimate interest. Suggestions on the publicity of the prison work should be published to deepen the publicity of prison work, strengthen supervision of law execution and promote credibility of law execution. A good penal administrative organ internal management is supposed to be strictly promised, prohibited goods and illegal stuff in prison should be investigated and education on ‘discipline and duties’ must be initiated. Criminals’ sanitary and medical security has to be guarded in order to improve their punishment circumstance, promote their food and medical security, and defend their legal interest. Education of jail guards has to be implemented and jail guards in grass-roots unit should be increased achieving the result that over 75% of jail guards serving in substratum which could directly administrate criminals and make jail guards normal, specialized and professional.

 

 

In order to protect the legal interests of prisoners in the community and help them adapt to the society, the People’s Supreme Court, together with the People’s Supreme Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Justice, held a meeting on management of criminals’ correction and education. Education, supervision, correction, and social support are proposed to be strengthened in areas to protect criminals’ legal rights, rehabilitate their social relations and protect their legitimate interest. There are a total 470 thousand prisoners in community, while there were 480 thousand relieved prisoners in community in 2015. The psychological treatment of prisoners in community is very important in various regions and psychological treatment, psychological guidance and psychological crisis intervention have been adapted to improve prisoners’ social ability. Rate of recidivism is less than 0.2% for prisoners in community.     

 

 

A publicity platform has been established to introduce judicial administrative rehabilitation work. Legal Daily has set up a judicial administrative rehabilitation column and assisted CCTV in filming a feature programme demonstrating the achievements of judicial administrative rehabilitation. Before and after ‘6.26’ the international day against drug abuse and illicit trafficking and ’12.1’ the World AIDS Day, various kinds of publicity and education activities have been implemented positively introducing rehabilitation and medical assistance work and achievements of AIDS treatment on patients abstained from drugs to the public.

 

 

 

On August 20th and 21st, 2015, the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Service, and the Ministry of Justice held the national lawyers’ meeting in Beijing deploying the protection of lawyers’ rights, constructing a framework for equal relations between judicial officials and lawyers,  mutual respect and mutual support, and emphasizing lawyers’ function in the progress of rule of law. Suggestions on reformation of lawyer system have been made to elaborate the reform task and measures from the perspective of perfecting lawyers’ practice rights as a safeguard mechanism and performing lawyers’ functions. On September 15th, 2015, “suggestions on reformation of lawyer system” was approved in the 16th China Central committee for Overall Reformation. “Regulations on protecting lawyers’ practice rights by law” have been published by the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Service Security,  the Ministry of States, and the Ministry of Justice perfecting the guarantee mechanism on lawyers’ interviewing clients, reviewing case files, deposition and court debate, which had promised the protection of lawyers’ litigious rights. In order to improve the quality and level of lawyers’ criminal defense, lawyers’ defense work should be promoted and all kinds of training class should be initiated by judicial administrative organs at all level and bar association. Lawyers are obliged to legally perform their criminal defense and agency function, and also to safeguard defendants’ and criminal suspects’ legal interest.   

 

 

“Suggestions on Perfecting Legal Aids System” was first drafted and then the CPC Central Committee General Office and the General Office of the State Council published the “Suggestions on Perfecting Legal Aids System” making deployment in improving legal aids work and perfecting legal system from extending the scope of legal aids, improving the quality and guarantee capability. The Ministry of Justice and judicial administrative organs at all level actively promote legal aids reformation tasks and strive to provide effective and convenient legal aids for people in dire circumstance. Legal aids have benefited more people in dire circumstance and the quality has been improved. Legal aids have been more convenient and special groups like rural migrant workers in cities, laid-off workers, females, teenagers, the aged, the disabled, soldiers and soldiers’ families have benefited from this work. In 2015, 1.32 million legal aids cases have been handled, 1.47 million people have benefited and 7.04 million have counseled through interview, telephone call and letters. The publicity is based on the “Suggestions on Perfecting Legal Aids System” published by the CPC Central Committee General Office and the General Office of the State Council. Two columns “Rule of Law in China, Legal Aids Benefit People” and “My Stories with Legal Aids” have been set up in Legal Daily and Legal Information Website. Public service advertisements on legal aids have been shown on channels like CCTV, and four feature films including “Sunshine of Rule of Law’ and “the 5th Anniversary of ‘Legal Aids are Going On’” were filmed and used for foreign publicity. “Legal Aids Lawyers”, including ten episodes, was jointly produced with CCTV, and a micro film “Secrets behind the Photo Frame” was filmed. Video database on legal aids was constructed and collaborating with Legal Daily.  A legal aids English website was constructed and the album of painting “Legal Aids in China’ with English and Chinese version was published.   

 

 

In 2015, the judicial expertise work keeps performing its function in litigation, and the volume of business grows with stability. The volume of judicial expertise business is over two million, of which the volume of civil litigation and criminal litigation keeps increasing each year, so that it now will occupy over 60% of all the business. The judicial expertise work has guaranteed the safeguard of the process of litigation and legal interests of people. The judicial expertise work should be continued, as the volume of judicial forensic assistance keeps increasing. Assisting and guaranteeing the litigious rights for the disadvantaged groups and people in financial difficulty like rural migrant workers in cities, laid-off workers, females and children should be promoted. The environmental damage judicial expertise was brought into unified management. The Ministry of Justice together with the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate published the “Notice on Bringing the Environment Damage Judicial Expertise into Unified Management”, and then together with the Ministry of Environmental Protection released “Regulations on Management of Judicial Expertise of Environmental Damage’, which had fulfilled the needs of environmental damage litigation and supported the ecological civilization construction. For fitting the reformation of trial in the litigation system, the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme People’s Court jointly constructed the mechanism of engagement of judicial expertise management and its enforcement which had further performed the function of judicial expertise system. Starting from the amendment of “General Rule of Judicial Expertise Procedure”, the construction of judicial expertise system should be consummated. The improvement of the quality of judicial expertise should be focused on the formulation of “Standards of Human Body Injury and Disability” and the construction of standardization of judicial expertise making it scientific and normative.     

 

 

In virtue of locating in grass roots and closer to mass, the Office of Justice focuses on defending legal rights of disadvantaged groups and organized various kinds of publicity and education of rule of law supported by publicity platforms. By solving disputes among people, people’s mediation could not only protecting legal interests of parties involved but benefit the restoring of social relationship of parties concerned. In dealing with marriage and family disputes and labor disputes, people’s mediation focuses on protecting legal interests of females, children and rural migrants working in cities which have contributed  toward protecting rights and interests of disadvantaged groups. Emplacement and education help emancipists adapt to the society and solve their own problems. During the last five years, 312 thousand emancipists have been benefited from emplacement and education. Prisoners’ children need help. In 2015, there were a total 308 thousand prisoners’ minor children,  30 thousand of which have been supported and 15 thousand for which support activities have been organized. 

 

 

Together with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes and the Australian Human Rights Commission and Organization of EUCCAP Program, the Ministry of Justice has held an International Seminar on Criminal Legal Aids, an International Seminar on Quality Assurance of Legal Aids, and on two occasions the China-EU Legal Aid Policy Dialogue which has enhanced the international position of China. During the period of the 13th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, the Ministry of Justice held an activity on exhibition and publicity of legal aids in China. Relying on legal aids projects between China and Canada, China and Europe, and China and Australia, China has participated in international activities on legal aids and sent a delegation to the 11th meeting organized by the International Legal Aid Association. The delegation interviewed in Britain, Ireland, Germany and Finland which has enhanced China’s right of speech and influence on international legal affairs. Participating in the dialogue on human rights organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice explained issues put forward by foreign countries and positively introduced achievements of rule of law in China which have achieved better results.

 

(Translated by Xu Xinyan)