Newsweek reports on the rule of law in China during the financial crisis, and the future of judicial independence under Supreme People’s Court president Wang Shengjun:
In any economic downturn, there is much to keep courts occupied—bankruptcy and fraud cases are currently on the rise around the globe. In China, however, the economic crisis comes hand-in-hand with the threat of social instability, and every bankruptcy case and labor dispute is colored with the possibility of unrest. In this high-stakes environment the role that China’s judicial system should play is being re-imagined. China’s laws are taking a backseat and the country’s courts are being called upon to, above all things, preserve stability and promote growth.
For a government that has based itself on a foundation of economic growth, this is a practical approach. Why rely on law, when law could put more laborers out of work, more money-making entrepreneurs in jail and generally make matters worse? For a judicial system just getting on its feet, on the other hand, this approach could mark the death knell of judicial independence, subordinating law to political concerns and drawing China’s courts in closer to the Communist Party.
Some see the shift in the judiciary pre-dating the economic crisis and beginning last May, when the Supreme People’s Court took on a new president. The court’s new leader is Wang Shengjun, a former member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China who once headed the Public Security Department in Anhui Province. Wang’s qualifications are political; he is a Communist Party man, seemingly adept at government but not trained in law.
Wang Shengjun (王胜俊), via sina.com
