Keywords:: the path to improve grassroots judicial power
China Library Classification Number D926 Document Identification Code A
The problem of insufficient judicial resources and judicial power at the grassroots level is widespread.
Basic judicial resources are insufficient. Judicial resources refer to social resources related to judicial activities in the form of judicial institutions, judicial personnel and financial security resources. At the grassroots level, judicial resources show a certain shortage. For example, there are serious problems in the allocation of judicial resources at the county level, especially in poor areas. Grass-roots courts, procuratorates, public security organs and judicial administrative organs all have the problem of insufficient personnel strength, and the supporting lawyers, notaries, grass-roots judicial assistants and people's mediators all have big shortcomings. First of all, the institutional configuration is uneven. In addition to the grass-roots judicial institutions established according to law, many other related judicial institutions, such as mediation committees and public security committees, are ineffective. Secondly, the number of judicial personnel in the judicial organs is insufficient, which is difficult to meet the actual work needs. Thirdly, it is more important that the legal quality of grassroots judicial personnel does not meet the requirements, and there is also a lack of qualified personnel to supplement the judicial team. Finally, grass-roots justice also lacks sufficient financial funds.
The grassroots judicial power is insufficient. First of all, grass-roots courts are faced with many cases and great pressure. As far as the current situation is concerned, civil, criminal and administrative cases of first instance are mainly concentrated in grass-roots courts, and the number of cases accepted has increased year by year, reaching a historical peak. Secondly, the number of judges in grass-roots courts is insufficient, and the number of cases accepted does not match the trial strength. The proportion of non-judicial personnel is also very high, and many courts have more non-judicial personnel than judicial personnel, forming an upside down. At the same time, the court judges have implemented the post system, and many assistant judges who used to handle cases have been converted into assistant judges, greatly reducing the number of post judges with judicial power. Finally, due to the large number of cases and the lack of judicial power, judges in grass-roots courts are under great pressure to handle cases. Many judges try cases during the day, handle judgments and conciliation statements at night, and work around the clock all the year round to fight fatigue.
The main reasons for the lack of judicial resources and judicial power at the grass-roots level
The allocation of judicial resources does not fully meet the requirements of leaning to the grassroots. The foundation of national construction is at the grassroots level. Only by doing a good job in the allocation of judicial resources and the adjustment of judicial power at the grassroots level can we achieve a solid foundation and a solid foundation for governing the country according to law. But the reality is that the higher the level, the higher the allocation of judicial resources. Not only are there many people and complete institutions, but more importantly, there are sufficient funds and financial resources to ensure the funds for judicial work. Properly equipped with superior judicial resources can promote the overall rule of law; However, the poor and weak judicial foundation at the grassroots level will affect the stability of the foundation of governing the country according to law.
The personnel allocation of judicial organs, especially judicial organs, is unreasonable. Grass-roots courts have many non-trial business activities, many non-trial personnel and many non-trial business institutions. These three "many" not only make grass-roots courts and other grass-roots judicial organs face the dilemma of insufficient staffing, but also increase the problem that internal staffing does not meet the requirements of judicial organs' duties. Many institutions of the court are political institutions, logistics institutions and other non-trial business institutions. There are more and more non-judicial institutions, which need to be enriched from the judicial power of the front line of the trial, which greatly squeezes the judicial power. In addition, higher authorities often transfer court cadres to participate in various social centers, which also affects the judicial power of the court to some extent.
The reform of the post system in grass-roots courts has achieved good results, but there are also some negative effects. On the one hand, the number of judges entering the post is relatively small; On the other hand, judges who have not entered the post can only serve as assistant judges and cannot continue to handle cases independently, which not only reduces the overall trial strength of grass-roots courts, but also has low enthusiasm for assisting judges in handling cases. This actually weakens the judicial power of grass-roots courts and greatly increases the entry burden of judges. Even if there are more cases tried, there are still many cases, which has an impact on the trial work.
Grassroots judicial resources failed to form a joint force and highlight key points. The allocation of judicial resources at the grass-roots level can not be neglected, and only the main institutions are paid attention to, while other non-main departments and organizations are not paid enough attention to, so it is impossible to form a joint force of judicial resources and play a greater role in governing the country according to law. In the work of grass-roots courts, there are also problems of work layout and coordination. The trial work was not regarded as the top priority of the court's work, and the main force was concentrated on the front line of the trial, and a lot of work that did not belong to the trial work was done, which made the work scheduling of the grass-roots courts unbalanced and failed to highlight the focus of the trial work.
Ways to improve grass-roots justice and solve the shortage of judicial resources and judicial power
It is necessary to put the allocation of grassroots judicial resources in an important position in grassroots basic work, give full play to their respective functions, form the joint efforts of various judicial departments, and promote the process of governing the country according to law. On the basis of strengthening the work of trial, prosecution, investigation and judicial administration at the grass-roots level, judicial institutions or organizations such as law firms, notary offices, judicial assistants, people's mediation committees, public security committees, community corrections, etc. will be established at the grass-roots level to solve the problems of imperfect institutions, ineffective work and insufficient strength, and solve the problem of ensuring judicial funds.
For the work of grass-roots courts, we should put forward the key points of reform and improve the situation of insufficient judicial power. First of all, it is necessary to clarify the focus of the court's work, make it clear that doing a good job in trial is the main task and basic task of the court, and concentrate on doing a good job in trial to prevent the judicial power from being dispersed. Secondly, it is necessary to solve the problem of overstaffed grass-roots courts, streamline those institutions that are not engaged in trial work and non-trial business institutions, enrich court cadres to the front line of trial work and arrange them in various trial courts, so that grass-roots courts have enough trial power to try the increasing number of cases and improve the settlement rate. Thirdly, for the post system of judges, it is necessary to appropriately increase the number of posts according to the actual situation, so that more judges can handle cases in the front line, rather than weakening judicial power because of the post system reform. Finally, in terms of court staffing, it is necessary to provide enough case-handling assistants for post-based judges, do a good job in assisting judges in trial, and let judges have more energy to try cases. Judges who implement the post system may consider at least one assistant to the judge and one clerk to form a relatively independent institution to hear cases and improve their handling ability. In addition, a considerable number of people's jurors should be guaranteed to participate in the trial work of grassroots courts.
The funds for grassroots judicial work should be fully guaranteed. Without sufficient judicial funds, attaching importance to judicial work will not solve the efficiency problem of grassroots judicial work, but will also affect the process of governing the country according to law. In the basic judicial funds, it is necessary not only to keep the salary of post judges at a considerable level, but also to fully protect the salaries of other trial assistants and other personnel and other judicial organs. The training funds for grassroots judicial personnel must also be guaranteed. Through continuous training, the quality of grassroots judges, prosecutors, investigators, lawyers, notaries, mediators and security guards will be continuously improved to meet the business requirements of the new era and ensure the efficient development of grassroots judicial work. It is also necessary to strengthen the protection of the activities of judicial organs and related judicial auxiliary institutions, so as to keep the grassroots judicial activities dynamic, constantly advance and progress, and fundamentally ensure the long-term stability of the grassroots and the people's livelihood and happiness.
For grassroots judges and prosecutors, we can explore the implementation of rotation system, ensure that the judicial power of grassroots courts and the professional level of procuratorial power of grassroots procuratorial organs are fully guaranteed, and prevent judicial corruption from happening systematically. The shortage of personnel who meet the legal requirements in grass-roots judicial institutions should be solved from the system. Drawing lessons from foreign experience, we can promote the rotation system of judges and prosecutors. In view of China's vast territory, we can first implement the rotation of judges and prosecutors in different places within the provincial area. The personnel of the court and the procuratorate conducted exchanges in different places to a certain extent and within a certain scope, and achieved outstanding results. This will also improve the reluctance of judicial personnel to work at the grassroots level to a certain extent, and the lack of judicial power at the grassroots level will also be reversed to a certain extent.
(The writer is a researcher at the Civil and Commercial Law Research Center of Renmin University of China and a professor at the Law School. )
refer to
① Xin Li: Research on the Allocation of Judicial Resources in the Modernization of State Governance, Academic Forum, No.2, 20 15.
② Bai Yan: Research on the Loss of Judicial Credibility —— From the perspective of the role orientation of grassroots judges, Journal of Jinan (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition),No. 1 issue, 20 16.
Editor/Yu Hongqing Editor/Chen Lin (trainee)
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