Qi Luo and Eddie Luk
Friday, August 01, 2014
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A local legal expert said the decision to copy Hong Kongs jury system is intended to build confidence among investors and businessmen to set up businesses in Qianhai.
There was a primitive form of jury system in rural China after the Communist Party came into power in 1949, but this came to a halt during the Cultural Revolution.
In 2004, the Communist Party politburo agreed to restart a limited jury system . This was formalized on May 1, 2005, but has been seldom used.
Ye Qing, the leading judge of foreign-related trials in the Shenzhen Intermediate Peoples Court, said the innovative system of court management, trial and services will be explored in the Qianhai court, which was established on September 13, 2013.
Ye said members of the jury will be chosen from among Hong Kong nationals and that an arbitration center will be set up to mediate in commercial disputes involving Hong Kong businessmen.
The Shenzhen Intermediate Peoples Court and the Nanshan Peoples Court have been pushing forward a system that allows Hongkongers to participate in trials in the Qianhai court.
Ye said the court will explore expanding the applicability of Hong Kong law in certain cases.
The court will also expand the scope of judicial assistance to both sides, starting with individual cases, to provide maximum protection for both the defendant and the plaintiff.
Ye said the scope of investigations and the collection of evidence will extend from unilateral to bilateral, while the scope of recognizing and assessing judgments will be expanded to all civil and commercial cases.
Courts in Shenzhen heard a total of 9,505 cases between 2008 and 2013, with 79 percent involving Hong Kong businessmen, according to a policy paper released by the Shenzhen Intermediate Peoples Court on Wednesday. Barrister Albert Luk Wai-hung believes the jury system is more fair as cases ruled by one judge might be subjective.
However, he said the current judicial system in the mainland and civil law jurisdictions need to be revised to cope with the jury system.
Hong Kongs legal framework is based on English common law, supplemented by local legislation.
Another local legal expert said the move is aimed at attracting businessmen by providing them with a sense of confidence with a jury system similar to that in Hong Kong. It is seen as a move to build up the confidence of investors and businessmen to start businesses in Qianhai, the expert said. The court will only handle civil and commercial lawsuits. Criminal trials will still be based on the mainlands legal system.
The expert said that it is still a new idea for a common law system to be practiced in Qianhai.
The question of which legal system to be used in a trial will depend on whether the case involves commercial contracts signed in Hong Kong or in the mainland, he said.
He believes the mainland authorities will list out the criteria for suitable jurors, which will probably include a knowledge of law.
Qianhai, a 15-square-kilometer area to the west of Shenzhen, is intended as a test zone for financial reforms.
Mainland authorities have suggested setting up a means by which companies operating in Qianhai can obtain legal advice from Hong Kong lawyers.
