China to improve judge selection system

CHENGDU - China's top court on July 20 said it would improve the country's judge selection system to avoid judicial vacancies and more properly allocate personnel to courts at all levels.

A cross-regional selection mechanism will be set up to allow local courts to select judges from applicants in other regions, and measures will be taken to ensure timely judicial selection, the Supreme People's Court (SPC) announced at a seminar held in Chengdu, Sichuan Province.

Personnel allocation should be improved to ensure that the staffing in local courts is in line with the number of cases they need to hear, according to the SPC.

The SPC also stressed the need to improve the career development system for judicial personnel, and called for stronger protection of their professional dignity and personal safety.