Teaching Comparative

Don't believe every translation

As much as we want to trust the mainstream media, even the most diligent of them can't be right every time. I look forward to hearing more from the New York Times and The China Law Blog.

Here's a follow up from Hui Mao to Joseph Wang's comments about Luo Gan's speech reported in the New York Times:

"Joseph is right, the quotes are very much taken out of context. It's a very long speech that touched on a lot of issues and problems facing China today. It included sections on protecting the rights and interests of the common people, strengthening enforcement of IP [intellectual property] and environmental laws, ensuring true equality before the law, raising the public awareness of the law and legal means to protect their rights, and many other wide ranging topics.

"Of particular interest is the section about the guiding principles for the law enforcement/judicial system in which Luo mentioned things like strengthening checks and balances, performing the duties of the judicial system in an independent manner and according to law, implementing the separation of responsibilities and the mutual checks and balances between executive and judicial branches, subjecting the judicial system to public monitoring and using openness to ensuring fairness. This doesn't sound much like a warning 'against independence of courts' to me."

Hui Mao also included the original text of a relevant section:

The section of the speech that I mentioned in the previous comment is copied below:
六是善于发挥监督机制作用推进司法民主建设。加强监督制约机制建设，是推进司法民主、保障司法公正、促进社会和谐的重要手段。要树立依法独立行使职权和接受监督并重的观念。执法规范化建设和司法体制机制改革，重点要加强监督，监督的核心是推进司法民主建设。实现为期三年的执法规范化目标，2007年是关键的一年。中央政法各部门和各地要联系执法工作实际和当前形势要求，针对涉法信访中暴露出来的问题和执法活动存在的突出问题，进一步作出具体部署，特别要抓住人民群众不满意、容易发生执法问题的岗位和环节，着力加强执法责任体系、执法质量考评体系和执法监督体系建设。要依法监督，依程序监督。落实宪法和法律规定的政法机关分工负责、互相配合、互相制约的原则，强化对诉讼活动的法律监督，维护司法公正。要高度重视信息技术在执法中的运用，从注重事后监督转变为注重执法全程动态监督。进一步推进执法公开，认真落实人民陪审员制度，完善人民监督员制度，从制度上保证人民群众广泛参与司法、监督司法，以公开促公正。

posted by Ken Wedding @ 9:08 PM