A law unto themselves: the Chinese government has acknowledged that corruption in the judiciary is a serious problem

Abstract

There is a continuing struggle between the demand of a market economy for judicial efficiency, impartiality, and professional conduct on the one hand, and the resistance of the traditional ideology to judicial reform, on the other. The current discipline campaign, as a temporary movement, will undoubtedly reduce the incidence of corruption scandals and result in the punishment of violators over a short period. The tougher job, nevertheless, is to reform the current system by introducing a supervisory scheme thai will deter and deal with abuses effectively in the long run. This will improve the quality of the entire judiciary and further develop true judicial independence in China. In terms of the big picture, the upgrading of judicial performance will not be achieved in isolation, but to a large degree, depend on the progress of the rule of law in China.