CCTV9英语新闻：Cross-regional courts to better judicial system

China has been piloting judicial reforms since 2014 to create a mature socialist court system, which aims to get rid of influence and protectionism from local officials. Cross-regional courts were set up in Shanghai and Beijing to counter the interference of local governments on administrative litigation cases.  

Suing the government is a complicated thing in China. Not only for the plaintiff, but also for the court. In administrative disputes, suing local governments is usually handled by the court in the same locality. 

The overlap of administrative division and jurisdiction means such cases are more likely to be interfered by local officials during the trial. It can even be hard to file cases in this situation.

"According to nationwide figures, filing administrative cases is very difficult. Only one third of such cases are accepted by the courts. And less than 30 percent of them are ruled on," 

"The rest of the appeals are either rejected or withdrawn. Courts are heavily affected by the interference of local governments," said Tang Xiaotian, Professor of Shanghai University of Political Science and Law.

To remove such obstacles, a pilot program of cross-regional courts were set up in Beijing and Shanghai by the end of 2014. Shanghai No.3 Intermediate People's Court is responsible for hearing administrative litigation cases involving Shanghai district or county government as the defendant.

"The cases we hear are cross-regional, more likely to be influenced by government intervention, and with significance," 

"They include cross-regional environmental cases, food and drug safety cases, enterprise bankruptcy case, as well as duty crime cases," said Wu Jielin, President of Shanghai No.3 Intermediate People's Court.

In 2015, 242 out of a total 610 administrative disputes named a Shanghai government body as the defendant. The corresponding number the previous year was just 13. Authorities hope this change will urge government departments to deal with administrative affairs based on the law, and to constrain administrative behavior within the proper boundaries.

"According to surveys with civilians, companies and lawyers, they are not happy with the standard of administrative behaviors, and unsatisfied by the non-standard law enforcement the most," said Liu Ping, Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs Office, Shanghai Gov't.

Cross-regional courts are still in the exploratory stage, and more experience is needed to fully determine what type of cases are best suited to this system.