Beijing court sets up judicial education bases in schools

Beijing No 1 Intermediate People's Court has set up judicial education bases in three schools on Aug 8 to strengthen protection for juveniles.

The court said it will organize various judicial activities, including law lectures and juvenile-related case sharing, with the Capital Normal University High School, High School Affiliated to Beijing Institute of Technology and Beijing Shijingshanqu Experimental Primary School through the bases.

"We hope to make use of these bases to tell students how to effectively protect themselves when faced with offenses and help the schools build up emergency systems when bullying or other cases happen in campus," Zhou Jun, the court's vice-president, said at a news conference Thursday.

She added such educational bases will be extended to more schools if the three pilot ones are successful.

Since June 2009, when a juvenile tribunal was established in the court, judges have heard 2,087 juvenile-related criminal cases, many of which involve intentional injuries in schools, such as campus bullying, a statement of the court said.

Child sexual assault, meanwhile, was also frequent over the 10 past years, Zhou said, adding the youngest victim in cases the court resolved was just 4 years old.

Considering the seriousness of the offenses, the court has taken some measures in dealing with juvenile-related cases, Zhou said.

"For example, we have worked with experts to offer psychological aid to juvenile victims and offenders, and have also sent some judges to teach law classes to prevent children from being harmed in the first place," she added.

As efforts have increased to solve criminal cases involving children, Xu Qingbin, presiding judge of the court's juvenile tribunal, said they also dealt with 2,071 civil disputes related to juveniles, including those regarding child custody and guardianship, in the recent 10 years.

"To alleviate harm caused by domestic disputes such as divorce, the court has accelerated legal procedures for hearing juvenile-related civil cases, as well as found social aid for children whose families suffered difficulties," he said, suggesting people from more walks from life should join the team on juvenile protection.