China improves judicial administration for moderate prosperity

BEIJING -- China's judicial administration authorities have provided solid legal safeguards for building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, meeting public demand for quality administrative legislation, law-based business climate and a public legal service network, according to a press conference Friday.

Over the recent years, the quality and efficacy of China's administrative legislation has been improved, guaranteeing people's well-being in areas of childcare, education, employment, medical services, and elderly care, among others, Minister of Justice Tang Yijun said.

Citing the formulation of laws and rules on improving business climate, deepening investment reform and boosting public well-being, Tang vowed to further step up administrative legislation efforts to meet people's expectations.

To further optimize the business environment based on the rule of law, local authorities across the country have axed over 13,000 items of redundant documentary evidence, and instead implemented the system requiring only letters of undertaking to promise conditions are met by individual or enterprise applicants, said Xiong Xuanguo, vice-minister of justice.

Supervision over administrative law enforcement has been intensified, with systems for information disclosure, recording the entire enforcement process and reviewing the legality of major enforcement decisions being fully instituted, Xiong added.

People's demand for legal services has been increasing as the country pushes forward law-based governance.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has set up over 566,000 physical platforms for providing public legal services at all levels and basically built a public legal service network covering both urban and rural areas, said Xiong.

To satisfy disadvantaged groups' demand, the MOJ has been launching targeted campaigns to provide them assistance, especially for rural migrant workers.

Since 2013, more than 12.8 million legal aid cases have been handled nationwide, benefiting 13.76 million people, Xiong said.

Now primary-level residents are also assured access to in-person legal services on a regular basis. "Currently more than 640,000 villages and residential communities have lawyers and primary-level legal service workers who provide legal counseling to people at their doorstep at least once a month," Xiong noted.