Efforts to boost legal credibility reversed impressions

he annual work reports of China's top court and procuratorate won record support from legislators during the voting session Sunday, in contrast to having been ranked the lowest in six major work reports in the past decade.

Experts said it shows that the efforts made by the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) and the Supreme People's Court (SPC) on judicial transparency and reform to enhance judicial credibility have gained approval from the public.

A record 2,529 National People's Conference (NPC) deputies voted for the 2014 work report of the SPP, while the SPC got 2,619 votes on Sunday's session, as legislators evaluated six major work reports including the government report and the budget report at the close of the annual NPC meeting.

It is the highest approval rate for the SPP's work report since Procurator-General Cao Jianming assumed his post in 2008 and also the highest since 1990.

The SPP and SPC received 284 and 213 dissenting votes, respectively this year, 27.2 percent and 43.7 percent lower than last year.

In the past decade, the SPP got a maximum of 514 blackballs in 2008 while 605 lawmakers voted against the SPC, the highest number, in 2013.

"It is not surprising to see such wide approval from legislators as the SPP and the SPC have adopted many measures to boost judicial transparency. For example, judicial and prosecution information are now available to the public online, which allows the public to better understand judicial procedures through various channels," said Wang Jingbo, a professor at the China University of Political Science and Law.

The determination and efforts in correcting wrongful convictions also won public favor, said Wang, adding that people feel more confident in judicial credibility after a series of reforms.

"I personally was impressed by the establishment of the circuit courts in Shenzhen and Shenyang, as well as an amendment in the Administrative Procedure Law," said Wang, adding that the inspiring results could also encourage the SPP and SPC to better perform their work.

The budget report of the Ministry of Finance (MOF) was disapproved by 304 legislators and ranked the lowest this year.

Wang Mengshu, a railway tunnel expert and an NPC deputy who voted against the report, told the Global Times Sunday that although the MOF has worked hard on the report, its contents strayed away from reality.

"For example, the low budgets on the projects' unit price and human resource costs should be raised and the ministry should refer to more data and material from other professional institutions before they compose the budge report," said Wang.