China's judiciary is to set up a system to expose interference from local party and administrative officials in court decisions.
A notice jointly issued by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China, the Supreme People's Court and the Ministry of Supervision ordered courts to report swiftly any meddling by local cadres in the enforcement of court rulings.
Party officials have been found abusing their power to illegally meddle in or hinder the execution of court rulings, seeking to protect vested personal or departmental interests.
Some officials refuse to cooperate with local courts despite their legal obligations in the execution of court rulings, while others have been known to incite riots to resist the enforcement.
The notice instructs judicial officials to build a report system, under which all local courts should report promptly all kinds of interference from local cadres to their party committees, or to courts of higher levels if necessary.
Local courts should pass on allegations and evidence of illegal interference to discipline and supervision departments, and officials involved in these cases should be held accountable, according to the system.
(Xinhua News Agency June 22, 2006)
