China Judicial Review Forum. Volume 2

Author: Bi Yuqian
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-11-01
Features: [Content Summary] Achieving fairness and efficiency is a timeless theme that courts should uphold in their judicial activities. With China's entry into the WTO, the nation has become practically integrated into the global economic landscape. As significant transformations occur within this economic sphere, they inevitably bring about profound changes in China's political, cultural, technological, and educational domains. As China's modernization efforts continue to advance, the public, including foreign investors, entrepreneurs, and residents, has placed realistic demands and expectations on the fairness and efficiency of the judicial system. These urgent and fervent demands and expectations not only create a favorable atmosphere for fostering a new image of the courts as the "temple of justice" and the "palace of fairness" in the eyes of the public through judicial reform, but also encourage us to innovate our perspectives and strive proactively to align with this grand historical trend. With a commitment to historical responsibility and the well-being of the people, we must work diligently and steadfastly to achieve judicial fairness and efficiency while maintaining social stability and continuous development.
The comprehensive development and progress of China's socialist market economy and society have placed higher demands on judges' political, professional, and cultural knowledge. To adapt to the needs of the times and implement the fundamental strategy of governing the country according to law, and to build a socialist rule-of-law state, the courts must strive to develop a highly qualified, professionalized judiciary capable of fully embodying fairness and efficiency through judicial adjudication. This professional judiciary should possess a strong sense of social justice and a firm belief in fairness, along with a sound and rational legal knowledge structure and a rigorous, insightful legal thinking approach. By effectively regulating judicial conduct, it can promote judicial fairness, enhance public trust in the law and respect for judges, and comprehensively elevate the authority of the law and the judiciary. This, in turn, will contribute to cultivating and nurturing the legal consciousness, rule-of-law spirit, and reverence for judicial fairness throughout society.
Faced with pressing real-world tasks and the opportunities and challenges of the new century, cultivating a group of scholar-judges who combine practical experience with theoretical expertise is the most urgent priority. This is a foundational project for building the judiciary and an effective and crucial means of improving the overall professional competence of judges, enhancing their law enforcement capabilities, and achieving judicial fairness and efficiency.
The purpose of China Judicial Adjudication Forum is to uphold the great banner of Deng Xiaoping Theory, starting from the realities of China's socialist market economy and the ongoing efforts to establish a rule-of-law state, and to vigorously absorb and learn from the outstanding legal heritage and judicial adjudication experiences of the past and present from around the world. Focusing on the key, hot, difficult, and controversial issues encountered in current judicial adjudication practice, the forum strengthens the close integration of judicial adjudication and theoretical research, as well as legislative practice. It presents outstanding works by judges with rich adjudication experience and solid theoretical foundations from courts at all levels across the country, as well as excellent research achievements by experts and scholars on judicial theory and practice. Through this academic platform, the forum aims to promote a series of research outcomes of significant reference value and importance to judicial reform and adjudication work, advancing the study of judicial adjudication theory and practice to a new, higher level, and contributing to the establishment of a judicial system that the people trust.
The ancient Chinese thinker Zhuangzi said, "Without accumulating small steps, one cannot reach a thousand miles; without accumulating small streams, one cannot form great rivers and seas." We will make our utmost efforts and are willing to start with small steps, but we hope that China Judicial Adjudication Forum can become a cradle for nurturing and cultivating a large number of scholar-judges. At the same time, we eagerly anticipate that this academic platform will serve as a bond for experts and scholars to deeply root their profound insights in the fertile soil of judicial practice.
For this, we are particularly grateful for the guidance and care of senior legal scholars, as well as the support and assistance of middle-aged and young scholars, as well as the broader judicial workers and relevant departments. China Judicial Adjudication Forum wishes to join hands with friends and colleagues from all sectors of society to create a glorious and splendid future together.
The publication of this volume, as well as the theoretical and practical seminars and research projects held to support its editing and publication, were funded by the Ford Foundation of the United States. We extend our sincere gratitude to the foundation and project officer Ms. Liu Xiaodi.