04-20-2019, 10:55 PM
It sounds much like the closest equivalent to America's Chief Justice -- in the People's Republic of China. Actually a reformer!
Xiao Yang (Chinese: 肖扬; August 1938 – 19 April 2019) was a Chinese judge and politician. He served as Minister of Justice from 1993 to 1998 and President of the Supreme People's Court from 1998 to 2008. His tenure as China's Chief Justice was marked by the implementation of major reforms. Most significantly, he restored the Supreme Court's right of final review for capital punishment cases, sharply reducing the number of executions in China after 2007. Another of his reforms was to professionalize the rank of judges by requiring most new judges to pass the National Judicial Examination. He also advocated judicial independence in the country, but was ultimately unsuccessful.
In 1990, Xiao was transferred to the national government to serve as deputy procurator-general of the Supreme People's Procuratorate.[2] Three years later, he was appointed Minister of Justice in the cabinet of Li Peng.[3] He initiated a number of reforms, including the establishment of a legal aid system in China.[2] He also promoted the rule of law, which was officially adopted in 1997 as a governing principle by the Communist Party.[2]
In March 1998, Xiao was elected President (Chief Justice) of the Supreme People's Court, succeeding Ren Jianxin. He was re-elected in March 2003 for a second term.[2][3]
Starting in 1999, he initiated a series of reforms,[4] the most important being the restoration of the Supreme Court's right of review for capital punishment.[2][3] In the 1980s, the National People's Congress had passed legislation to grant provincial high courts the final say in death-penalty cases. Provincial judges, many of whom were former police or military officers without formal legal training, often imposed overly harsh punishments. This resulted in high numbers of executions, including some that later proved to be wrongful.[2][3] After the implementation of Xiao's reform in 2007, the number of executions in China was sharply reduced, by half to two-thirds in some provinces.[2]
Another reform by Xiao was to professionalize China's rank of judges, who were formerly appointed like normal politicians, with little regard to their education and experience in law. Xiao's efforts resulted in the National Congress amending the Judges Law in 2001 to require all new judges to pass the National Judicial Examination. Except for presidents of the courts, who remain political appointees, all other judges are henceforth required to have legal qualifications.[3]
Other reforms implemented by Xiao include opening most trials to the general public (since 1998), and some trials were even televised. He also advocated but failed to make the court independent from political influence. Despite his efforts, the Communist Party retains absolute control of China's judicial system, and after his retirement in 2008, none of his successors have advocated judicial independence again.[3]
Xiao was a member of the 15th and the 16th Central Committees of the Communist Party of China.[1]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiao_Yang_(judge)
Xiao Yang (Chinese: 肖扬; August 1938 – 19 April 2019) was a Chinese judge and politician. He served as Minister of Justice from 1993 to 1998 and President of the Supreme People's Court from 1998 to 2008. His tenure as China's Chief Justice was marked by the implementation of major reforms. Most significantly, he restored the Supreme Court's right of final review for capital punishment cases, sharply reducing the number of executions in China after 2007. Another of his reforms was to professionalize the rank of judges by requiring most new judges to pass the National Judicial Examination. He also advocated judicial independence in the country, but was ultimately unsuccessful.
In 1990, Xiao was transferred to the national government to serve as deputy procurator-general of the Supreme People's Procuratorate.[2] Three years later, he was appointed Minister of Justice in the cabinet of Li Peng.[3] He initiated a number of reforms, including the establishment of a legal aid system in China.[2] He also promoted the rule of law, which was officially adopted in 1997 as a governing principle by the Communist Party.[2]
In March 1998, Xiao was elected President (Chief Justice) of the Supreme People's Court, succeeding Ren Jianxin. He was re-elected in March 2003 for a second term.[2][3]
Starting in 1999, he initiated a series of reforms,[4] the most important being the restoration of the Supreme Court's right of review for capital punishment.[2][3] In the 1980s, the National People's Congress had passed legislation to grant provincial high courts the final say in death-penalty cases. Provincial judges, many of whom were former police or military officers without formal legal training, often imposed overly harsh punishments. This resulted in high numbers of executions, including some that later proved to be wrongful.[2][3] After the implementation of Xiao's reform in 2007, the number of executions in China was sharply reduced, by half to two-thirds in some provinces.[2]
Another reform by Xiao was to professionalize China's rank of judges, who were formerly appointed like normal politicians, with little regard to their education and experience in law. Xiao's efforts resulted in the National Congress amending the Judges Law in 2001 to require all new judges to pass the National Judicial Examination. Except for presidents of the courts, who remain political appointees, all other judges are henceforth required to have legal qualifications.[3]
Other reforms implemented by Xiao include opening most trials to the general public (since 1998), and some trials were even televised. He also advocated but failed to make the court independent from political influence. Despite his efforts, the Communist Party retains absolute control of China's judicial system, and after his retirement in 2008, none of his successors have advocated judicial independence again.[3]
Xiao was a member of the 15th and the 16th Central Committees of the Communist Party of China.[1]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiao_Yang_(judge)
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.