Chief Justice Xiao Yang yesterday used a work conference held once every five years to call for more judicial independence for China's courts and ensure their freedom from unlawful interference.

The courts, he said, are answerable only to the Party and the people.

"The independence of trials and receiving supervision (from the Party and the people) are the two most important factors to ensure justice," Xiao told the 19th national courts work conference in Beijing.

Such "supervision" protects judges, he said.

"The essence of independent trials means being free not only from intervention from other administrations, social organizations and individuals, but also from any interference from human relationships, networks and money," he said.

"But, of course, we must receive supervision from the public and the Party, instead of unilaterally emphasizing the need for independence."

He called on court officials to be "loyal even upon death" to safeguard people's fundamental interests and achieve fair, efficient and authoritative justice.

In the past five years, China's courts have heard more than 39 million cases. Of those, 3.28 million criminal cases were completed after a single trial, with 4.06 million people sentenced.

The number of civil cases completed within the first instance was 21.34 million, with a total lawsuit value of 3.16 trillion yuan ($430 billion).

Courts finalized "enforcement" in 10.4 million cases, with more than 1,629 billion yuan being awarded to litigants.

Xiao said trial quality had also been steadily improving, with 89.77 percent of litigants accepting the judgments of first trials.

Courts have begun to strike a better balance between leniency and strictness in criminal trials, he said.

In a landmark move, the Supreme People's Court this year took back the power from provincial high courts to review death penalties, a power they had held for 26 years.

Last year, for the first time ever, the number of death sentences with two-year reprieves outnumbered those sentenced to immediate execution, Xiao said.

"The number of death sentences has been gradually decreasing across the nation," he said.

"Human rights have been further protected."

Xiao, 69, has served as chief justice since 1998, and is expected to retire early next year.

(China Daily December 27, 2007)