Decision on Amendments to the Law of Judges of the People's Republic of China

Issued: June 30, 2001
Effective: January 1, 2002
Issuing Authority: Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress, the Twenty-second Session

Main contents:
The amendments enhance the qualifications of judges. In order to qualify for the office of a judge, one must: 1) obtain a bachelor of law degree from an institution of higher education or obtain a non-law bachelor degree yet have an expertise in law, and have at least two years of working experience in the legal field; or 2) obtain a master of laws or doctor of laws degree or a non- law master or doctor degree but have expertise in law, and have at least one year of working experience in the legal field. The work experience requirements for the Supreme People's Court judges and Higher People's Court judges are three years for bachelor degree holders and two years for master or doctor degree holders. However, in areas where the above requirements should be unduly burdensome, a graduate from a junior college may serve as judges if approved by the Supreme People's Court.
According to the amendments, a judge may not serve as an agent ad litem or a defense counsel in the capacity of a lawyer until two years following the termination of his office. Furthermore, he or she may never engage in these activities in cases on the docket of the court where he or she used to hold office. In addition, neither a judge's spouse nor children may engage in the above activities in cases on the docket of the court where the judge holds office.
In addition, the present qualification exams for judges and prosecutors as well as the bar exam are combined into one uniform judiciary exam. This exam will be held for the first time in January 2002 pursuant to the implementation rules to be made by the Department of Justice, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate.