SPC Opinion on Access to Justice

Title: Supreme People's Court Opinion on Furthering Judicial Efforts to Facilitate and Benefit the People

Promulgating Entities:Supreme People's Court

Reference number:

Promulgation Date: 2014-11-20

Expiration date:

Source of text: People's Court News December 5, 2014 page 03

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Supreme People's Court Opinion on Furthering Judicial Efforts to Facilitate and Benefit the People

Supreme People's Court

Supreme People's Court Opinion on Furthering Judicial Efforts to Facilitate and Benefit the People

Legal No. 293 [2014]

High people's courts of all provinces, autonomous regions and directly governed municipalities, the PLA military courts, High People's Court of Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region branch of the production and construction Corps:

This following Opinion on conveniencing and benefiting the people is hereby submitted so as to deeply implement the spirit of the Party's 18th Congress, and the Third and Fourth Plenary Sessions; to further advance the Party's mass line educational action, and to actively respond to the new demands and expectations of the people for the judiciary, with a firm grasp of the mainline efforts for 'a judiciary for the people, and a just judicary."

I. Uniform ideology, increase understanding, and further strengthen the conscientiousness of efforts to convenience and benefit the people

1. Judicial convenience and benefit for the people is an essential requirement of the people's courts striving to realize 'letting the masses feel fairness and justice from every case", and is important path to fully advancing governance in accordance with law, and establishing a peaceful China under rule of law. All levels of people's court should correctly grasp the new circumstances and characteristics emerging in China's comprehensive deepening of reforms, and have facilitating the public's litigation as the starting point and foothold for all reforms, solidly handling matters for the public, and better fulfilling the public's various expectations of the judiciary in the new era.

2. Judicial convenience and benefit for the people is an important component of implementing the Party's mass line, and actively practicing the fundamental notion of a judiciary for the people, All levels of people's court should closely associate conscientious judicial efforts to convenience and benefit the people and solidly advancing the parties mass line education action, occasionally adjusting the relationship with the public, correctly understanding the public's demands and expectations of judicial work, always persisting in a judiciary for the people, truly increasing judicial protection of human rights, continuously improving judicial work styles, and better protecting the broadest public's basic rights and interests through each and every specific new move to convenience and benefit the people.

3.司法便民利民是深化司法改革，加快建设公正高效权威的社会主义司法制度的重要环节。各级人民法院要把人民群众是否满意作为衡量司法改革成败的根本标准，把完善和落实司法便民利民举措作为深化司法改革的重要切入点，不断健全保障人民群众参与司法的制度措施，着力构建开放、动态、透明、便民的阳光司法机制，让司法改革成果更多更公平地惠及全体人民群众，不断提高司法公信力。

II, Realistic practice and strengthened regulation to truly perform efforts to convenience and benefit the people

4. Actively explore establishing and improving long-term effective mechanisms for conveniencing and benefiting the people. At the same time as they vigorously promote the first priority of law enforcement, people's courts shall also further specify measures for conveniencing and benefiting the people in case filing, trial, enforcement, petitioning and other steps; providing enthusiastic, accessible and efficient judicial services to the people.

5. Building, Manage, and use litigation services platforms well. 深入推进诉讼服务中心的标准化、规范化建设，全面整合诉讼服务功能，优化诉讼服务窗口建设。认真做好诉调对接、立案登记、诉讼风险提示、诉讼材料接转、诉讼费用缴纳、财产保全、案件流程查询、信访接待等各方面的工作，努力为当事人提供“一站式”和“全方位”的诉讼服务。

6. Complete new mechanisms for convenient case filing. On the basis of public demand and the actual requirements of trial work, actively promote efforts for case filing recording, making it so that for cases that should be accepted by the people's courts, where there is a case it must be filed, and where there is a suit it must be accepted; truly safeguarding the parties' procedural rights. Do case filing by appointment work; actively provide case filing, delivery, mediation and other services to convenience those for whom movement is inconvenient, such as persons with serious illness, disabled persons, the elderly and minors; facilitating the parties litigation.

7. Promptly adopt preservation measures in accordance with law. People's courts shall, based on specific case circumstances, reasonably determine the method and amount of guarantees for preservation. People's courts implementing centralized management of preservation efforts or temporarily not implementing centralized management, should actively adopt measures to facilitate parties' applications and inquiries.

8. Complete systems for diverging simple and complicated cases. Give full play to the advantages of systems such as the simplified procedures, small claims litigation procedures, procedures for supervising and urging, criminal settlement procedures, and quick trial mechanisms for minor criminal cases, and so long as trial quality in assured, strive to bring down parties' litigation costs and reduce the drain of litigation on parties.

9. Provide assistance to parties in presenting evidence. Where parties apply to people's courts to gather evidence and it meets the legally provided requirements, or for evidence that the people's courts feel it is necessary to investigate, the people's courts shall promptly investigate to collect it; actively explore retaining lawyers to collect evidence. to facilitate the parties' collection of evidence.

10.Increase management of trial flow. 树立科学均衡结案意识，正确理解、运用均衡结案指标，不能单纯追求均衡结案率而故意拖延结案或者突击结案。强化审判流程公开平台建设，整合各类审判流程信息，为当事人提供全面、全程、及时的审判流程公开服务。 实行审限监督制度，严格扣除审限、延长审限的审批，完善案件审限通报制度，及时告知当事人扣除审限、延长审限的理由、期限。

11. Enhanced file transfer efforts. Actively promote the project to digitalize litigation archives; do a good job at transferring fist-instance, second-instance, retrial and enforcement files; clarify times for transfer, unify the means of transfer, have responsibility for transfers, shorten transfer times, and ensure smooth transfers.

12. Protect the procedural rights of all sides in accordance with law. 强化诉讼过程中当事人和其他诉讼参与人的知情权、陈述权、辩护辩论权、申请权、申诉权的制度保障。尊重和保障当事人庭审权利，让当事人依法充分表达诉求，完整陈述事实理由。 对依法可以由当事人自主或者协商决定的程序事项，尽量让当事人自主或者协商确定。切实保障律师在审判过程中依法履行职责。 在保证程序公正的前提下，注意为当事人特别是没有委托律师辩护、代理的当事人参与诉讼提供必要的程序性指导与帮助。

13. Improve systems for case observers. People's courts publicly hearing cases shall announce the case name, time for court sessions, court number, observer seat information and other other court information , to facilitate the public in observing case trials. People's courts shall periodically or sporadically invite people's representatives and members of the political consultative committees to observe case trials.

14. Strengthen the interpretation of law and explanations of reasoning in written judgment opinions. Written judgments should earnestly address and comprehensively respond to positions and comments raised by the parties. specifically explaining the reasoning and legal basis for a their adoption or non-adoption by the court, so that the confirmation of facts is clear and the law applied is correct. Strive to make terminology standardized, concise and easy to understand, to facilitate the parties' understanding.

15. Effectively resolve difficulties in enforcement. 积极探索完善有利于保障民生的快速执行、主动执行等机制，以失信被执行人信用监督、威慑、惩戒法律制度和点对点网络查控联动机制为抓手，积极推进反规避执行和反消极执行，依法保障胜诉当事人及时实现权益。 综合运用财产申报、限制高消费、限制出境、联合信用惩戒等措施，依法适用强制措施和刑罚威慑机制，促使被执行人主动履行债务，努力提高执行效率。

16. Improve methods for paying litigation fees that are convenient for the people. Based on actual circumstances, establish automatic teller machines, Point of Sale Payment machines and other equipment to facilitate parties payment and return of fees. Where parties truly have difficulty in going to the basic level people's court to pay off litigation fees or return fees, people's courtrooms with capacity may handle them on their behalf.

17. Do judicial assistance work. 健全司法救助体系，完善诉讼费缓减免制度和特困群体执行救助制度，依法及时有效落实对加害人无力赔偿、被执行人无财产可供执行等案件的困难受害人以及其他涉诉困难群众的司法救助，不断拓宽司法救助的范围和方式。

18. Work on Petitioning related to litigation. 完善“诉访分离”和案件终结机制，保障当事人依法行使申诉权利。积极开展网上信访、巡回接访、带案下访、远程视频接访等工作，建立健全律师等第三方参与化解涉诉信访的工作机制，及时就地解决涉诉信访问题。 把信访纳入法治化轨道，保障合理合法诉求依照法律规定和程序就能得到合理合法的结果。

19 .Improve the function of people's court basic level litigation service windows. 坚持和发扬“枫桥经验”，发挥人民法庭在多元化纠纷解决机制中的纽带作用，努力实现矛盾纠纷的就地化解。 推进以中心法庭为主、巡回审判点为辅的法庭布局形式，优化人民法庭布局，构建便捷高效的司法服务网络。人民法庭可以依法直接受理和执行案件，并将其直接受理和执行案件的范围通过适当方式在本辖区内公布。

20. Strengthening efforts for circuit (roaming) courts. 对于边远地区等交通不便地区，要以方便人民群众诉讼为出发点，尽可能就地立案、就地开庭、就地审理、就地执行；要以便于解决社会矛盾纠纷为出发点，深入到企业、社区等群众集中、纠纷集中的地区进行巡回审判。 大力推广车载法庭等巡回审判模式，让“流动的人民法庭”最大限度满足人民群众诉讼的需求。

21. Establish and complete mechanisms for 'fast filing, fast mediating, fast trial, and fast enforcement' in specified case types. 对于追索工资报酬、工伤赔偿等涉及广大职工和农民工切身利益的案件以及追索赡养费、抚育费、扶养费等案件，应当按照“快立、快调、快审、快执”的原则，尽快受理，适时调解，及时判决、执行。

22. Actively promote and standardize mediation efforts. Priority shall be given to using mediation to quickly resolve conflicts in disputes where both parties are willing to mediate and there is a possibility of mediation, in family and neighborhood disputes, and in disputes where the legal provisions are not sufficiently clear and simple handling might lose fairness; with the prerequisite that both parties wishes should be respected. Strengthen judicial work on verifying mediation agreements, bringing about effective linkage between litigation mediation, people's mediation , administrative mediation, and industrial mediation; improve systems for mediation linkage, completing multiple dispute resolution mechanisms for resolving contradictions.

23. Continuously improve judicial work styles. 要善于运用人民群众听得懂、易接受的语言和方式进行沟通交流，充分尊重公序良俗，坚决克服对诉讼参与人冷硬横推的现象，坚决消除门难进、脸难看、话难听、事难办等不良作风，坚决杜绝任何刁难诉讼参与人的现象。

III. Strengthen leadership and true safeguards to ensure the effectiveness of judicial efforts to convenience and benefit the people

24. Strengthen organization and leadership. All levels of people's court should place great emphasis on efforts to convenience and benefit the people, court party organizations should place efforts to to convenience and benefit the people on the agenda of important items, with principle leaders personally taking the reins, other leaders taking hold of the specifics and team members taking control together to put measures, accountability and the work in place; truly taking hold of the implementation of every system and measure.

25. Actively seek support from all sides. All levels of people's court should actively seek support from Party committees, governments and Chinese people's political consultative conferences for judicial efforts to convenience and benefit the people, strengthening communication and coordination with relevant departments to provide solid safeguards for funding for judicial efforts to convenience and facilitate the people. The people's courts at the level above should strengthen guidance, support and supervision of people's courts within their jurisdiction's efforts to convenience and benefit the the people, to take hold of each levels work, implementing level by level, making the efforts more standardized and scientific.

26. Comprehensively strengthen the informatization construction. 各级人民法院要以“天平工程”建设为载体，加快审判流程公开、裁判文书公开、执行信息公开三大平台建设，充分发挥现代科技信息手段在司法便民利民方面的作用。 因地制宜地推行远程立案、网上立案、网上办案、网上公告、预约办案、电子签章、电子送达、视频提讯等便民措施；通过12368诉讼服务热线、电子触摸屏、微博、微信、手机短信等载体为当事人提供方便快捷的司法服务。

27. Strengthening conveniences and benefits to the people in facilities. 各级人民法院要根据实际情况配备当事人、诉讼代理人等诉讼参与人的候审室或者休息室，在法庭所在区域配备必要的物品保管箱、饮水器具、复印机等便民设施；为行动不便的伤病患者、残疾人、老年人等参加庭审活动提供无障碍设施等便利。

28. Actively hear comments and suggestions from all sides. All levels of people's courts should conscientiously accept supervision from the people's congress and political consultative committee at that level, as well as from all aspects of society; emphasis is placed on giving play to the role of people's assessors as a bridge between the people's courts and the public, gathering public comments and recommendations through multiple channels and creating smooth mechanisms for public communication and feedback, bravely correcting shortcomings in work, promptly supplementing insufficiency, and continuously improving means of conveniencing and benefiting the people.

29. Greatly strengthen legal publicity. All levels of people's courts should use multiple methods to strengthen legal publicity, causing the public to fully understand measures to convenience and benefit the people, and at the same time giving play to the important functions of judicial rulings in standardizing, guiding, commenting upon and leading social values, vigorously advocating for the spirit of socialist rule of law and striving to promote a fully law abiding citizenry.

30. Promptly summarize advanced experiences. Local people's courts should increase investigation and study, promptly encapsulating mature experiences and practices. The Supreme People's Court and the high people's courts, while actively improve and perfecting their own efforts to convenience and benefit the people, shall at the same time, promptly encapsulate typical experiences of the lower courts and and promote work to convenience and benefit the people, continuously making new advances.

Supreme People's Court
November 20, 2014