Death penalty review might kill Supreme People's Court

Since earlier this year death penalties have to be reviewed by the Supreme People's Court, but the workload for the SPC has become so heavy, it might jeopardize its work, says an opinion piece in the Beijing News, translated by the Duihua Foundation.

The following opinion piece, which appeared on November 21, 2007 in The Beijing News (新京报, Chinese original in PDF) and was then translated by Dui Hua, raises concerns about the future of China’s Supreme People’s Court. Faced with an "extremely large number" of death sentences to review, the SPC has been forced to take on hundreds of new criminal court judges, many of whom have lower qualifications than judges in the past. The author suggests this influx of less-qualified judges who focus on reviewing individual capital cases presents an obstacle to the SPC’s progress toward a more ideal goal, one in which high-court decisions contribute to the nation’s social and economic development. At stake, he warns, is the court's ultimate ability to ensure judicial authority.

That sounds like just another rather serious problem.