From the Financial Times (link)
Serious shortages of judges in China’s poorer western regions have left some local courts almost unmanned and others relying on unqualified staff to handle cases, according to one of the country’s top provincial judicial officials.
Zhao Shijie, president of the Higher People’s Court of south-western Yunnan province, said the judicial haemorrhage was caused by overly high qualification exam requirements that made it impossible to replace those who retired or left because of poor working conditions.
“The examination bar is set very high and new (judges) do not join while old ones flow away. The judicial shelves are bare,” Mr Zhao told the FT.
“Some courts can’t handle cases‚Äâ.‚Äâ.‚Äâ.‚ÄâIn a few places, secretaries decide the cases and judges just sign the legal documents.” he said. “This feels very hard to accept.”
Judicial shortages – which Mr Zhao said were acute in Yunnan and other border regions with large ethnic minority populations such as Qinghai, Xinjiang, Guizhou and Inner Mongolia – highlight the challenges China faces as it labours to build an effective legal system.
