President of the Supreme People's Court Zhou Qiang delivers a work report from the Supreme People's Court to the fourth session of the 13th National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, March 8, 2021. /Xinhua
Chinese people's personal safety and livelihoods are protected by courts across the country, according to the annual work report of China's top court.
By listing typical cases courts in the country had tried in the past year, the report delivered by Zhou Qiang, president of the Supreme People's Court (SPC), showed China's determination to protect its people's rights through legislation and justice trial.
A judge explains the law to students at an elementary school in Tongling City, east China's Anhui Province, March 23, 2017. /CFP
Protection of minors given greater focus
One case that stands out is the Guangxi High People's Court's withdrawal of a previous ruling on a case in which a man raped a 10-year-old girl. The court sentenced the man to death instead of a suspended death sentence after a retrial in late 2020 at the request of the SPC.
"The retrial of the case shows that the SPC has no tolerance for the crimes which seriously harm children," said Yu Maoyu, deputy head of the top court's general office.
Yu said in the past year, the SPC earnestly carried out the newly revised Minor Protection Law and the Law on Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency, punishing those who target children.
He said in civil cases involving minors, courts always prioritize the protection of their legitimate rights. However, although leniency is encouraged in cases involving juveniles, it has its limits, and teenagers who committed cruel offenses with wrong intentions must get their due punishment.
Besides organizing judges to publicize laws and juvenile-related rules to teenagers in schoolyards, the top court on Tuesday established an office that specializes in improving the work of juvenile tribunals and promoting hearings for juvenile-related cases as part of a judicial move to improve child protection and development.
Market entities protected to optimize business environment
After the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country, many companies, especially small businesses and micro-enterprises, suffered a lot due to strict measures employed in pandemic control and prevention.
"Our courts helped enterprises in the resumption of activity and production, promoting development and ensuring the vitality of market entities through hearings on cases," SPC President Zhou said while delivering the work report.
According to the report, the people's courts concluded 3,373 cases in 2020, almost twice that of 2019.
In solving the bankruptcy cases, the courts usually allow small businesses to be incorporated into bigger enterprises to access further development or, after negotiating with the companies that filed for bankruptcy, postpone their ruling to allow the companies to manage their operation under the existing circumstances.
In solving 181,000 civil and commercial cases, the court rulings have helped release 163.1 billion yuan ($25 billion), 0.6 million hectares of land and 32.71 million square meters of workshops, helping 360,000 enterprises resume production.
"Under the influence of the pandemic, protecting the market entities means protecting the social productive force," said Yu.
The building of Beijing Intellectual Property Court. /Xinhua
Intellectual property rights protection gets more and more attention
In accordance with the country's efforts in intellectual property rights protection in recent years, courts across the country enhanced their punishment of crimes damaging intellectual property rights to help build an intellectual property powerhouse.
The SPC has rolled out 10 judicial explanations and normative documents on solving intellectual property cases, including lowering the plaintiff's costs and raising the compensation defendants should pay, said Yu.
According to Yu, the compensation paid by defendants in 2020 saw a year-on-year growth of 79.3 percent, which helps foster a legal environment that encourages independent innovation and promotes scientific and technological development.
The people's courts closed 466,000 intellectual property cases in 2020, a year-on-year growth of 11.7 percent, the report showed.
"Those trials protect enterprises' ability on technological innovation and let the intellectual property infringers pay heavy costs," said Yu.
A judge tries a land transfer contract dispute in Zhuping Village, Yunyang County, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, November 17, 2017. /CFP
Punishment and motivation adopted to ensure a credible society
The report showed that courts concluded 8.86 million contract disputes cases in 2020. This shows the courts' determination to protect the legitimate rights of those who keep their word and obey their contracts, said Yu.
A court fined a real estate enterprise 63 million yuan because it lied and forged evidence to issue 63 false litigation, according to the report.
The courts also established a motivation mechanism to allow the trust-breakers restore their integrity if they adhere to the rules and fulfill their obligations.
For example, a total of 1.97 million trust-breaking executors were removed from the courts' list of trust-breaking executors after they fulfilled their duties, said Yu.