Justness of individual case vital to rule of law: People's Daily

Correcting miscarriages of justice and ensuring fairness in every case is crucial to the rule of law in China, the Communist Party of China's mouthpiece the People Daily said in a commentary Monday.

The Supreme People's Court (SPC) Thursday issued a ruling that favored part of the claims lodged by U.S. basketball star Michael Jordan and repealed all previous judgements.

The court ruled that the trademark in dispute, "Qiaodan," the Chinese translation for Jordan, violated Jordan's right to his name and broke provisions in the Trademark Law.

Registration of the "Qiaodan" trademark will also be revoked.

The court also ruled that Jordan has no exclusive rights to the use of the alphabetic spelling of "Qiaodan," which is the pinyin (phonetic spelling) of the Chinese characters, and rejected his claims in this regard.

The ruling by the SPC reflects China's resolve to strengthen protection on intellectual property rights and the lawful interests of both Chinese and foreign property owners, the article said.

The country has also in recent years witnessed the rectification of other cases, such as the case involving Nie Shubin, who was executed 21 years ago for rape and murder, and who had his conviction quashed by China's top court on Dec. 2.

By redressing unjust, false cases, the public can better understand the spirit of rule of law and, thus, place their faith in the administration of justice, the article noted.

Retrial and rectification is the result of comprehensive legal reform and the promotion of rule of law, which is worthy of applause, the article said.

The paper called on every judge to use their power to prevent miscarriages of justice and unjust cases. Endi