China specifies judges' responsibilities for trial mispractice

Judges will be held responsible if they or judicial staff accept bribes, forge, cover up or destroy evidence, or unscrupulously grant parole or commutation during trials, the Supreme People's Court (SPC) said on Monday.

Lack of accountability has allowed a number of instances of injustice recently, according to a circular from the SPC.

Chinese legal authorities had previously said that judges would be held responsible for life for any violations they commit during trials.

China has been investigating the judges and judicial staff of a trial that resulted in the wrongful execution of a teenager 19 years ago. Huugjilt was executed for murder and rape, but the conviction was overturned last year after another man insisted he was the killer. Endi