China strictly bans confinement of petitioners

New rules for better management of petitions prohibit putting petitioners under any form of confinement.

"Various political and legal organs should further regulate the handling of lawsuit-related petitions, resolutely avoiding blocking the people from normal petitioning by any means," said a circular released Wednesday by the general offices of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council.

Petitioning, also known as "letters and calls", is the administrative system for hearing public complaints and grievances.

Petitioners generally see injustice in land acquisition, social security, education, healthcare or environmental protection. They can take their grievances to a higher level if they fail to get satisfactory feedback from local petition offices, but officials often prevent them from raising such cases with their superiors.

The circular stresses that illegal or indirect confinement of petitioners is strictly prohibited, and leading officials of related law enforcement organs are responsible for receiving petitioners and reading their letters.

Echoing a regulation released last month by the State Bureau for Letters and Calls highlighting protection of petitioners' rights, Wednesday's circular urges the setting up of a system to dissolve conflicts and disputes by lawful means.

The bureau noted "plenty of problems" in the petition system as "some local departments and authorities harm people's interests and hurt their feelings."

GREATER ROLE FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT

According to the circular, petitions concerning injustice in civil, commercial, administrative and criminal lawsuits should be handled by law enforcement organs rather than by general departments of letters and calls, a move to boost efficiency.

"More and more social conflicts appeared in the form of lawsuits, and both legal and other means were used to solve them. That leads to some people trusting petitions more than the law, seriously harming judicial authorities and the normal order of petitions," said a statement from the leading group for judicial reform while interpreting the circular.

The circular requires letters and calls departments to explain to petitioners and guide them to specific law enforcement organs for lawsuit-related petitions.

"The real situation is that lawsuit-related petitions enjoy a higher rate of successful settlement when handed directly to the courts," said Xiu Bao, a lawyer with the Baomin Law Firm in the northeastern city of Jilin.

According to the statement, this move aims to ensure the authoritative status of justice and force judicial workers to boost professional competency while also teaching the public to turn to the law for help.

The circular stressed that judicial transparency must be ensured to invite public scrutiny, with key case information and effective sentences disclosed.

Official figures showed that petitions received by law enforcement organs increased by 40 percent at the beginning of the year from the start of 2013. A trial system started last October to separate petitions should be handled by law enforcement organs from general letters and calls that should be dealt with by offices for petition management.

MORE EFFORTS TO FACILITATE PETITIONS

Explanations should be given to petitioners if their requests are rejected by local petition offices and those who still challenge the administrative reviews will be informed to file lawsuits to the courts, the circular noted.

Misjudged cases should be rectified in accordance with the law and appropriate state compensation is needed for people involved, according to the circular.

It also urged efforts to improve the judicial assistance system by making corrections and paying compensation to litigants subjected to misjudgment, or providing social assistance to parties in need.

The number of victims and their immediate family members in trouble after failing to get compensation from defendants, has grown in the past few years, according to the statement from the leading group for judicial reform.

Fairness, procedural justice and high efficiency should be guaranteed in each case to ensure all judgements can stand the test of time, it said, adding inspections will be launched to supervise law enforcement agencies and fight judicial corruption.

Efforts to facilitate petition channels are urged in the circular. Officials in political and legal organs are required to meet petitioners and get to know their complaints or requests through letters, calls, online petitions or other ways.

The Supreme People's Court (SPC) opened its official online petition platform at the end of February to make procedures more convenient.

Figures showed that the SPC has so far received more than 540 online petitions and handled about 170 of them.