People's Courts' Implementation Measures for "Provisions on Protecting Judicial Personnel in the Lawful Performance of their Duties"

【来源】http://www.legaldaily.com.cn/index_article/content/2017-02/07/content_7003935.htm?node=5954

These Measures are drafted so as to put in place the "Provisions on the Protection of Judicial Personnel in the Lawful Performance of Their Duties" issued by the CPC Central Committee General Office and the General Office of the State Council, to establish and improve mechanisms for the protection of judges and auxiliary adjudication personnel in the lawful performance of their duties, ensuring the people's courts lawful, independent, and just exercise of the adjudication power, and summarizing actual conditions in the courts.

Article 1: Judges lawfully handling cases are not to be interfered with by any administrative organ, social group or individual, and have the right to refuse to carry out any unit's or individual's requests that violate legally prescribed duties or procedures, or impede judicial fairness. Judges shall follow the "Provisions on Recording, Notification and Accountability of Leading Cadres Interfering with Judicial Activities or Tampering with the Handling of Specific Cases" and Provisions on the Recording and Accountability of Internal Personnel of Judicial Organs for Their Intervention in Case Handling" and their relevant implementation measures to make a record of letters, correspondence, or oral comments involving cases sent by any unit or individual outside of litigation procedures.

Article 2: People's court's shall refuse arrangements made by any unit or individual for judges to engage in matters beyond the scope of their legally prescribed duties such as attracting investments, administrative law enforcement, public security patrols, traffic control, health administration, or appraisal of the professional atmosphere; and must not make arrangements for judges to engage in such activities in any other name.

The participation of people's court staff in local commerce or joint law enforcement is strictly prohibited, as is advance intervention in administrative management activities such as land expropriation or housing demolitions; participation in all types of locally led "leadership groups on demolitions" , "project command teams" and other temporary organizations is to be completely stopped.

Article 3: Judges lawfully performing their legally prescribed duties receive the protection of law, and have the right to independently opine on issues in cases they are hearing such as what evidence is adopted, what facts are ascertained, the application of law, the verdict, litigation procedures, and so forth.

With the exception of participation in professional judges meetings, judges have the right to refuse to express opinions on cases that have not yet entered litigation proceedings or of which they did not personally participate in the trial.

Article 4: Judges are not to be pursued for responsibility for wrongfully decided cases for conduct in performance of legally prescribed duties, except upon a hearing and deliberation of the judges disciplinary committees. The standards for determining responsibility for wrongfully decided cases, the scope of accountability, the means by which responsibility is borne, procedures for punishments and other such content is to be separately provided by the Supreme People's Court in accordance with the "Several Opinions on Improving the People's Court's Judicial Responsibility System", " Opinion on Establishing a Disciplinary Punishment system for Judges and Procurators (Provisional)" and related work measures.

Judges must not be transferred, dismissed, discharged, or demoted, removed or otherwise sanctioned for matters other than those prescribed by law or without having gone through legally prescribed procedures, and judges' positions must also not be adjusted by means such as by eliminating the last in case-handling ranking, or for reasons such as lackluster reception of petitioners. Where judges are transferred, dismissed, discharged, or demoted, removed or otherwise sanctioned for matters other than those prescribed by law or without having gone through legally prescribed procedures, their people's court shall promptly correct it, or suggest that the relevant organs make corrections; where the relevant organs refuse to make corrections, they shall report to the people's court at the level above to request the relevant organ make corrections.

Article 5: The judges disciplinary committee's review opinion shall be sent to the accused judge and the relevant people's court. Where judges are transferred, dismissed, discharged, or demoted, removed or otherwise sanctioned; it shall be conducted in accordance with legally prescribed procedures. Judges shall be notified in writing of dispositions and sanction decisions, setting out the reasons for and basis of the decisions.

Where judges object to the disciplinary opinions regarding themselves, they may raise objections to the judges disciplinary committee making the review opinions and apply for reconsideration; where they object to the dispositions or sanction decisions regarding themselves, they may, within 30 days of receiving the disposition or sanction decisions, apply to the people's courts rendering the decisions for reconsideration, and have the right to appeal to the higher level people's court. Judges are not to be given harsher punishments because they apply for review, reconsideration or submit an appeal.

The judges disciplinary committees shall conduct a review of objections raised by accused judges and the reasons therefore, make a decision, and reply to the accused judges in writing. People's courts accepting reconsiderations and appeals shall fully hear the accused judges' statements and defenses; where the original dispositions or sanctions are indeed in error, they shall promptly correct them.

Article 6: Where erroneous disposition or sanctions decisions were made against judges, after the errors are corrected, the accused judges' people's court's shall promptly restore their positions, posts, ranks, and salaries; shall actively restore their reputation and eliminate any negative impact, shall make compensation or restitution for economic losses caused in light of the circumstances; and shall lawfully request that relevant organs pursue the responsibility of those who made false accusations or abused their power.

Where judges' promotions are postponed because of an investigation, then upon the relevant departments' determination that legal and disciplinary responsibility shall not be pursued, their rank promotion will be calculated from the date of the moratorium.

Article 7: Where state organs or their staff exhibit any of the following conduct, judges have the right to make an accusation:

(1) interfering with judicial activities or obstructing judicial fairness;

(2) requesting that judges engage in tasks beyond the scope of their duties;

(3) Restricting or suppressing judges' independent and full expression of opinions on cases they hear;

(4) Transferring, dismissing, discharging, or demoting, or removing or otherwise sanctioning judges beyond the scope of their authority or in abuse of their authority;

(5) Blowing off or intentionally stalling and not taking action on judges' demands for the safeguards on the lawful performance of their duties;

(6) dereliction of duty or poor handling, that causes judges lawfully performing their duties, or their close relatives, to suffer violations of the rights and interests in their person and property.

(7) violating judges' right to rest and take leave;

(8) violating judges' rights to make accusations and appeals;

(9) other acts that violate judges' legally prescribed rights.

Where people's courts and their staff violate the legally prescribed rights of judges, and the judges submit an accusation to their people's court or a higher people's court, the people's courts receiving the accusation shall promptly make a disposition within the scope of their authority, and notify the individual in writing of the disposition outcome; those beyond the scope of their professional authority, shall be promptly transferred to the state organ for disposition.

Where State organs, other than people's courts, or their staffs violate the legally prescribed rights of judges, the judges may raise an accusation to organs of State power, administrative organs, supervisory organs, or procuratorates; and their people's court has an obligation to assist in the accusation and provide help, and shall appoint people to give feedback on the situation and submit comments to the relevant organs.

Article 8: All levels of people's court shall establish and improve mechanisms for the evaluation of staff judges, and the committee for the evaluation and appraisal of judges is to organize and lead the efforts to evaluate and appraise judges. The Committee for the Evaluation and Appraisal of Judges is comprised of the court president, relevant leaders, the responsible party for relevant departments, and several representative judges. The court president is to chair, and the representative judges are to be selected by the entire body of judges.

The evaluation and appraisal of judges' trial performance must be done by the Committee for the Evaluation and Appraisal of Judges, and the evaluation results shall be publicly announced. Judges with objections to the evaluation results may apply for a reconsideration.

Evaluation measures and appraisal standards for judges' trial performance shall be reasonably weighted, focusing on actual performance in trial work, fully considering differences between regions, trial levels, specialties, departments, and posts; but cannot go beyond judges' legally prescribed duties and professional ethics. The evaluation results and performance appraisal shall be an important basis for judges' promotions, transfers, and distribution of performance bonuses.

Guiding opinions on the evaluations described above are to be uniformly drafted by the Supreme People's Court; each level of people's court is to add further specificity in light of the jurisdictions' actual conditions, and report this to the people's court at the level above to be filed for the record.

Article 9: All levels of people's court shall establish a committee for the protection of judges' rights and interests. The Committee for the Protection of Judges' Rights and Interests is comprised of the court president, relevant leaders, the responsible party for relevant departments, and several representative judges. The court president is to chair, and the representative judges are to be selected by the entire body of judges. The functions of the Committee for the Protection of Judges' Rights and Interests are:

(1) Centralizing acceptance of judges' demands and accusations related to protection in the lawful performance of their duties;

(2) Organizing assessment of threats of violations faced by judges and their close families, and taking appropriate measures;

(3) Providing assistance to judges, or their close family, whose security in their person, property, or residence has been threatened;

(4) Providing aid to judges, or their close family, whose interests in their person or property have been violated;

(5) Helping judges lawfully pursue the responsibility of those who have violated their legally prescribed rights;

(6) Making overall arrangements for restoring the honor, eliminating negative impact, and giving compensation or subsidies to judges who have received dispositions or sanctions in error;

(7) Guiding judges in correctly and effectively protecting their own lawful rights and interests, organizing and carrying out related training and psychological counseling efforts;

(8) Urging inspections of that court's security inspection facilities, protective barrier systems, and security protection mechanisms;

(9) Overall guidance of that court's court police department and security protection department efforts to protect court order, unit security, judges' physical protection, and all types of emergency response;

(10) Establish early warning, emergency response, and joint action mechanisms related to protection of judges' lawful performance of their duties, together with the public security organs, news authorities, network supervision authorities, and other such departments;

(11) Other matters related to the protection of judges and auxiliary trial personnel in the lawful performance of their duties.

The personnel management offices of all levels of people's court are to undertake the specific work of that court's committee for the protection of judges' rights and interests.

Higher people's courts' Committees for the Protection of Judges' Rights and Interests supervise and guide the work of Committees for the Protection of Judges' Rights and Interests of courts with their jurisdiction. Where that level of Committee for the Protection of Judges' Rights and Interests does not adequately safeguard judges' lawful performance of their duties, judges may submit an accusation to the Committee for the Protection of Judges' Rights and Interests of the people's court at the level above.

Article 10: In all levels of people's court, the areas for case-filing and petitioning, litigation services, and trial, shall be relatively isolated from judges' offices, and alarm buttons installed to facilitate the prompt handling of emergency incidents.

All levels of people's court shall strictly enforce the "people's court standards for allotment of security protection staff and equipment" and the "people's court standards for allotment of police equipment to judicial police with different duties", to widely establish security inspection posts, and allot corresponding safety equipment, strengthening safety inspection personnel's awareness of their responsibility, awareness of regulations, and operational level.

People's courts shall equip judges and auxiliary trial personnel with office phones that have audio recording functionality, and equipment with video-recording functionality, to facilitate the prompt recording and storage of interference, probing, threatening, insulting, and other types of information.

People's courts shall provide judges and auxiliary trial personnel with meeting and reception venues that are equipped with audio and visual recording facilities. Where judges meet with parties and their representatives outside of the tiral courtroom, they may request it be done in a special venue and have the right to refuse to the party or representatives' request to meet or receive them ex parte.

Article 11: The people's courts shall preserve courtroom order in accordance with law. On the basis of the severity, measures such as warnings to stop, reprimands, orders to express remorse, orders to leave the courtroom, compulsory removal from the courtroom, fines, detention, and other measures may be lawfully employed against persons who carry out acts that violate rules of court of disrupt courtroom order; as for serious disruptions of courtroom order that constitute criminal disruption of courtroom order or other crimes, pursue criminal responsibility in accordance with law.

Where persons exhibit any of the following conduct in people's courts but outside trial courtrooms, measures such as reprimands, stopping, control, and removal from the scene shall be promptly taken to handle them store relevant evidence is to be collected, stored, and promptly transferred to public security organs for disposition; and where crimes such as unlawful possession of guns, munitions, or controlled knives or dangerous substances endangering public safety; obstructing public officials; or intentional destruction of property; pursue criminal responsibility in accordance with law.

(1) Illegal possession of controlled instruments or dangerous substances, escaping or resisting security inspections;

(2) Without permission, forcibly entering the judges' office space or trial areas;

(3) Causing a loud uproar or ruckus, not heeding dissuasion, and seriously disrupting office order;

(4) Insulting, defaming, threatening or striking people's courts' personnel or litigation participants;

(5) Damaging court buildings, office facilities or vehicles;

(6) Stealing or destroying litigation documents or evidence;

(7) Lingering after work hours, not heeding dissuasion, and refusing to leave.

(8) Intentionally abandoning persons who cannot care for themselves, such as the elderly, young, infirm, those suffering from serious diseases or physical disabilities.

(9) Using suicide or self-harm to threaten staff of people's courts;

(10) other conduct that endangers people's court's institutional security or disrupts workplace order.

People's courts shall request that the public security organs lawfully handle persons who carry out sit-ins, distribute materials, shout slogans, unfurl banners, or commit other such acts near people's courts; where the physical safety of people's court staff is endangered, the institutional security protection department, together with the court police, are to complete emergency response efforts and promptly request the public security organs lawfully handle it; where crimes such as assembling crowds to attack a state organ, assembling crowds to disrupt social order, assembling crowd to disrupt traffic order, assembling crowds to disrupt order in a public place, or obstructing government officials, pursue criminal responsibility in accordance with law.

Article 12: Where persons expose or transmit information on judges and their close relatives that should not be made public; as well as those who covertly record, photograph, or eavesdrop or transmit the personal information of judges or their close relatives; the people's courts shall request the public security organs lawfully handle it; where a crime such as violation of citizens' personal information is constituted, pursue criminal responsibility in accordance with law.

The people's courts shall give full play to the functions of litigation services centers, the 12368 service platform, and litigation service websites, functions in making information inquiries, responding to inquiries, and contacting judges; avoiding impact on judges adjudication work and daily lives from information being too open. Where information is revealed to the public through trial process information disclosure platforms that goes beyond judges' names, pictures, positions, ranks, office phone number and work mail, they shall obtain the consent of those judges.

Article 13: Where judges are false reported, framed, or insulted and defamed through information networks or other means, because of their lawful performance of duties, causing harm to their reputation; their people's court shall promptly clarify the facts through its official website, microblog, weixin public account, or press conferences, to eliminate the negative impact and preserve the judges' positive reputation, and jointly pursue the responsibility of the relevant units in accordance with law together with the relevant departments.

Article 14: In accordance with law, the people's courts shall severely punish unlawful and criminal acts that hinder or impede judicial activities; intimidation and threats, retaliation by making false charges, insults and defamation, or violent encroachment on judicial personnel and their close relatives.

Where, because of their lawful performance of legally prescribed duties, judges, or their close family, encounter threats and intimidation, provocations and harassment, or stalking and following, or have their persons, property, or residences violated or harmed, their people's court shall promptly employ protective measures, and request that the public security organs handle it in accordance with law; where crimes such as intentional homicide, intentional infliction of harm, provocation and picking quarrels, intentional destruction of property, or trespass on a residence are constituted; pursue criminal responsibility in accordance with law; where the the perpetrator is a mentally ill person, a compulsory treatment decision is to be made in accordance with law.

Article 15: People's courts hearing highly dangerous cases such as terrorist activity crimes, underworld criminal organization crimes, major drug crimes, cult organization crimes; shall adopt protections for judges appearing in court, as well as their families, prohibit specified persons from having contact, and other necessary protective measures. Protective measures may be employed concealing the identities of judges' close relatives. In handling other relatively dangerous cases, upon application of the judges themselves, the protective measures discussed above shall be employed for judges and their close relatives.

Article 16: All levels of people's court shall cooperate with relevant departments to issue judges' base salaries, allowances and subsidies on time and in full. Issuance of performance bonuses shall be trial performance oriented, adhering to the principles of openness, fairness, and equity, and must not be tied to judges' rank or administrative rank, and is to focus on front-line staff.

Article 17: All levels of people's court shall provide psychological counseling and guidance services to judges, widely establish and earnestly implement a system of annual physical checkups for judges, ensuring that each year judges receive a comprehensive physical checkup, cooperate with relevant departments to improve judges' medical insurance systems and measures for pensions and preferential treatment, so as to provide safeguards for judges' rights and interests in their person, property, and medical care that are commensurate to the risks of their profession.

Article 18: All levels of people's court shall focus on the needs of trial work, to comprehensively employ intensive off-site training, online video education, lecture tours, and other means to ensure that judges periodically participate in all kinds of professional training, striving to raise their capacity to take control at trial, to apply the law, to draft judgment documents, and use IT. Each judge shall at least one off-site training each year.

Article 19: All levels of people's court shall lawfully safeguard judges' rights to rest and take leave, earnestly putting in place systems such as for annual leave, truly ensuring judges' necessary rest and vacation time, and include judges' rest and leave in the scope of departmental performance evaluations; and judges' leave must not be obstructed in any covert manner.

On the basis of trial discipline and court conditions, all levels of people's court shall reasonably measure judges' work saturation, rationally determining judges' work loads, adjusting judge staff allotments or supplementing auxiliary trial personnel; judges must not be compulsory required to work overtime at court on non-workdays.

Article 20: Where higher people's courts select judges from lower people's courts, they shall cooperate with relevant departments to establish and improve supporting protective measures to ensure that judges selected from other areas are at ease in performance of their duties.

Article 21: Apply these Measures by reference for protections of auxiliary trial personnel performing legally prescribed duties.

Article 22: Where military regulations have provisions on protecting military court judges in the lawful performance of their legally prescribed duties, follow those provisions.

Article 23: The Supreme People's Court is responsible for interpreting these Measures.

Article 24: These measures take effect beginning on the date of their promulgation.