Provisions on the Protection of Judicial Personnel in the Lawful Performance of Their Duties

Title: "Provisions on the Protection of Judicial Personnel in the Lawful Performance of Their Duties"
Promulgating Entities: General Offices of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council
Reference number: 
Promulgation Date: 2016-7-28
Expiration date: 
Source of text: http://www.gov.cn/xinwen/2016-07/28/content_5095613.htm

Article 1: These Provisions are formulated on the basis of the relevant national laws and regulations, and relevant provisions of the central government, together with the actual practice of the judiciary, so as to fully implement the relevant requirements of the "CPC Central Committee Decision on Several Major Issues Regarding Comprehensively Advancing Governance in Accordance with Law" and to establish and complete mechanisms for the protection of judicial personnel in the lawful performance of their legally prescribed duties.

Article 2: Judges and procurators lawfully handling cases are not to be interfered with by any administrative organ, social group or individual, and have the right to refuse any unit's or individual's requests that violate legally prescribed duties or procedures, or impede judicial fairness. Where any unit or individual interferes with judicial activities or tampers with the handling of specific cases, judicial personnel shall make a complete and faithful record. Relevant organs shall, on the basis of relevant provisions, report and pursue responsibility of those responsible for interference in judicial activities or tampering with the handling of specific cases.

Article 3: Units and individuals must not request that judges or procurators engage in tasks beyond the scope of their duties. People's courts and people's procuratorates have the right to refuse units' and individuals' requests that judges or procurators engage in tasks beyond the scope of their duties.

Article 4: Judges and procurators lawfully performing their legally prescribed duties receive the protection of law. Judges and procurators 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.

Article 5: Judges and procurators may only be transferred in the following situations:

(1) Where recusal from a position is required by provisions;

(2) Where carrying out cadre exchanges in accordance with provisions, as needed for cultivation of cadres;

(3) where organizational adjustments or reduction in personnel allotments require work adjustments;

(4) Where dismissed or demoted and unsuited to work in a judicial case-handling post;

(5) Other situations where violations of law, Party Discipline Regulations, or adjudicatory or procuratorial discipline provisions leave one unsuited to work in a judicial case-handling post.

Article 6: Judges and procurators may only be dismissed in the following circumstances:

(1) Where they have forfeited citizenship of the People's Republic of China;

(2) Where they are transferred from that court or procuratorate;

(3) Where position changes make it unnecessary to retain prior positions;

(4) Where they are determined to be incompetent through performance evaluations;

(5) Where due to health issues, they are unable to carry out job duties normally for over one year;

(6) Where they shall retire in accordance with provisions;

(7) Where they resign or are discharged;

(8) Where they cannot continue to hold offices due to discipline violations, illegalities or crimes;.

(9) Other situations where violations of law, Party Discipline Regulations, or adjudicatory and procuratorial discipline provisions leave one unsuited to continue serving in the office of judge or procurator.

Article 7: Judges and procurators may only be discharged in the following circumstances:

(1) Where they are determined to be incompetent for two consecutive years through annual performance evaluations;

(2) Where they are unable to successfully perform their work, and also refuse other arrangements;

(3) Where work adjustments are required due to organizational adjustments or a reduction in personnel allotments, and they refuse reasonable arrangement;

(4) Where they skip work or overstay their leave without good cause for more than 15 consecutive days, or for more than 30 cumulative days within one year;

(5) Where they do not perform the legally prescribed duties of judges and procurators and refuse to make corrections after education;

(6) Other situations where violations of law, Party Discipline Regulations, or adjudicatory or procuratorial discipline provisions leave one unsuited to continue holding public office.

Article 8: Judges and procurators may only be demoted or removed from their posts in the following circumstances:

(1) Where they violate Party Discipline and are subject to removal from internal Party posts or heavier sanctions;

(2) Where they violate adjudicatory or procuratorial discipline, and the circumstances are serious;

(3) Where there is dereliction of duty, which causes serious consequences;

(4) Other situations where violations of law, Party Discipline Regulations, or adjudicatory or procuratorial discipline provisions require one to be demoted or removed from a post.

Article 9: Where judges or procurators are transferred, dismissed, discharged, or given sanctions such as demotion and removal, it shall be conducted in accordance with the legally provided procedures and management authority. Judges and procurators shall be notified of the decisions in writing, setting out the reasons for and basis of the decisions.

Where judges and procurators are dissatisfied with decisions such as on their transfer, dismissal, discharge or demotion, removal, they can apply for reconsideration or review, or submit an appeal or further appeal. Judges or procurators are not be given harsher punishments because they apply for reconsideration or review or for raising an appeal or further appeal.

Article 10: The evaluation of judges' and procurators' case-handling quality and the appraisal of their work performance, shall be objective and fair and conform to judicial rules. Annual evaluations of judges' and procurators' morality, ability, diligence, performance, and uprightness must not go beyond their legally prescribed duties and the requirements of professional ethics. Evaluation measures and standards are to be uniformly formulated by the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and local jurisdictions may make appropriate adjustments in light of actual circumstances. Judges' and procurators' posts must not be adjusted through methods such as ranking them by case load and eliminating the low-ranked, or for reasons such as lackluster reception of petitioners.

Article 11: Judges and procurators do not bear responsibility for wrongfully decided cases other than where they intentionally violate laws or regulations or where gross negligence leads to wrongfully decided cases causing serious consequences.

Article 12: Case-handling and related approval, management, guidance, and supervision efforts, are to always leave records. In accordance with the judicial responsibility system, judges and procurators are responsible for findings of factual evidence, opinions expressed, and decisions made in the course of performing adjudication or procuratorial duties. Where the higher level organs, responsible persons for units, adjudication committees, procuratorial committees, or others use their authority to modify the decision of a judge or procurator, the judge or procurator does not bear responsibility for the consequences, except where the judge or procurator intentionally conceals, or omits through gross negligence, important evidence or important circumstances, or provides other false circumstances causing the decision to be in error.

Article 13: In the course of investigating and verifying reports, accusations or appeals regarding judges' or procurators' performance of their duties, the judge or procurator parties enjoy the right to know, to make a defense, and to present evidence. The discipline inspection bodies of people's courts and people's procuratorates shall accurately record the judge and procurator party's statements, defenses, and evidence, and explain whether it is accepted.

Article 14: Judges and procurators are not to be pursued for responsibility for wrongfully decided cases for conduct in performance of legally prescribed duties, except upon deliberation of the judges and procurators disciplinary committees. Where, due to violations of Party discipline, adjudication or procuratorial discipline, public security or criminal law, the responsibility of judges or procurators, other than for wrongfully decided cases, should be pursued, it is handled in accordance with the relevant provisions.

Judge and procurator disciplinary committees deliberating cases of judges' or procurators' responsibility for wrongfully decided cases shall conduct hearings. The relevant bodies of people's courts and people's procuratorates shall appoint personnel to report the facts of the judges' or procurators' violations of discipline or law, and their opinions for handling and basis, to the Disciplinary Committees for judges and procurators. Judge and procurator parties have the right to make statements and a defense. The Disciplinary Committees for judges and procurators , on the basis of facts found and provisions of the law, make a recommendation of no liability, excused from liability, or to give a disciplinary sanction.

Article 15: Where judges or procurators are falsely reported, maliciously accused, or demeaned and defamed through information networks or other means, causing harm to their reputation, the people's courts, people's procuratorates, and public security organs join with the relevant departments to promptly clarify the facts, dispel negative impacts, protect the good reputation of the judges and procurators, and pursue the responsibility of relevant departments and individuals.

Article 16: Where relevant organs make an incorrect disposition regarding judges or procurators, they shall restore the subject of the disposition's position and reputation, dispel negative impacts, give compensation to those suffering economic harm, and lawfully pursuing the responsibility of those making malicious accusations. Where judges' or procurators' promotions are postponed because of an investigation, then upon the relevant departments' determination that legal or disciplinary responsibility should not be pursued, the promotion will be calculated from the date of the moratorium.

Article 17: Acts hindering or impeding judicial activities, or threatening, retaliating by making false charges, demeaning and defaming, or violently injuring judicial personnel and their close relatives, shall be severely punished in accordance with law.

After public security organs receive calls about interference with judicial personnel's personal liberty and daily lives, or those of their close relatives, through means such as intimidation and threats, harassment, stalking, attacks and abuse, or destruction of property, they shall quickly dispatch officers and effectively suppress it; they shall lawfully interrupt, address, and severely punish any ongoing or unlawful or criminal conduct. Before a people's court makes a decision on compulsory treatment, the public security organs may adopt temporary protective restraint measures against mentally ill persons exhibiting violent behavior endangering the physical safety of judicial personnel or their relatives, with the permission of the responsible person of a public security organ at the county level or above, and when necessary, they may be sent to a psychiatric hospital for treatment.

Article 18: People's courts and people's procuratorates handling highly dangerous cases such as terrorist activity crimes, underworld criminal organization crimes, major drug crimes, cult organization crimes; shall adopt protections for judges and procurators appearing in court, as well as their families, prohibit specified persons from having contact, and other necessary protective measures. Protection measures may be taken to conceal the identity of the close relatives of judges and procurators.

In handling other relatively dangerous cases, upon application of the judicial personnel themselves, the protective measures discussed above may be employed for judicial personnel and their close relatives.

Article 19: Judicial personnel's personal information receives the protection of law. Where the dignity of judicial personnel is violated, by revealing information about judicial personnel and their close relatives that should not be disclosed in accordance with law, pursue the responsibility of the relevant personnel in accordance with laws and relevant provisions.

Article 20: Protect judges' and procurators' right to rest and take leave. Where judges and procurators work overtime on days that are not legally prescribed work days, they shall have compensatory time; where compensatory time is not possible, it shall be balanced in performance evaluation bonuses.

Article 21: The State puts in place medical safeguard measures and improves preferential pension measures, to provide safeguards for judges' and procurators' rights, such as in their persons, property and to medical care, commensurate with the risks of their position.

Article 22: Where leading cadres or directly responsible persons of people's courts, people's procuratorates, or public security organs cause major harm to judicial personnel or their close relatives' rights and interests in their persons or property through dereliction of duty, perfunctory work and passing the buck, intentional delays, or abuse of power, they are to be given a disciplinary sanction, and where a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility is pursued in accordance with law.

Article 23: Where state organs or their staffs have any of the following situations, judicial personnel have the right to submit a complaint, and the directly responsible persons and responsible leaders shall be given disciplinary sanctions, and where a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility is pursued in accordance with law:

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

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

(3) Transferring, dismissing, discharging, or demoting, or removing or otherwise sanctioning judges and procurators in violation of these Provisions;

(4) Not acting to meet the needs of judicial personnel's demands for safeguards in lawfully performing their duties;

(5) Violating judicial personnel's rights to make accusations and appeals;

(6) Other behaviors that severely violate the legal authorities of judges and procurators.

Article 24: "Judicial Personnel" as used in these Provisions refers to judges, procurators, and judicial support personnel with case-handling duties in the people's courts and people's procuratorates.

Article 25: Where military regulations have provisions on protecting military judicial personnel in the lawful performance of their legally prescribed duties, follow those provisions.

Article 26: These Provisions are to be interpreted by the Central Political-legal Committee together with the Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate.

Article 27: These Provisions enter into force on July 21, 2016.