China and the 'rule of law'

Early last week in China's southwestern Yunnan Province, an angry group of villagers stormed a construction site and attacked the workers.

By the time police used batons and tear gas to bring the crowd under control, two villagers and six workers had been killed; some of the workers had been burned to death by villagers. In total, eighteen were injured.

According to local media reports, residents had complained that they had not been adequately compensated for their land, which had been appropriated for the construction project.

Lack of faith

There are often such conflicts over land in China, even though in most instances people are well compensated. However, many local governments are corrupt, and the money often ends up in the wrong hands. Since local governments are able to easily influence the justice system, there is a lack of confidence in the courts and people thus lack an effective means to resolve such conflicts. As a result, disputes often end in violence.

But that could change. On Monday, the elite Central Committee of China's Communist Party will kick off a key three-day meeting whose focus is on the country's legal system. Observers speculate that judicial reforms could limit the influence of local governments on the legal system.

"The government's motivation for reform are the increasing conflicts taking place all over China," said Zhu Yi, a research associate at the Mercator Institute for China Studies (Merics). "Former President Hu Jintao, and his successor Xi Jinping, have said that if reform measures aren't taken, it could mean an end of their party."

Zhu told DW that the government was aware of the problem. "The question is: What measures will eventually be introduced to change arbitrariness and abuse of power at the local level?"

According to Human Rights Watch, between 300 to 500 protests take place in China every day. According to Zhu, these increasing conflicts are linked with the rise of private property and with China's increasing globalization processes.

"The legal consciousness of the Chinese population is increasing," Zhu said, "and people want to make use of justice and the rule of law to protect private rights from the state."

Absolute control vs. rule of law

So far, the Communist Party has not provided any details of any possible judicial reform. Official statements have merely mentioned that the "rule of law" would be discussed at the fourth plenum. According to the country's official news agency, Xinhua, the principle of "rule of law" is "a must if the country is to achieve economic development, proper governance, cultural flowering and a clean environment."

However, Zhang Ming, a legal scholar at the People's University, emphasizes that the term "rule of law" should not be equated with the Western legal concept. "The rule of law is concerned with making sure the government follows the law. But in the Chinese tradition, it was always the case that the judiciary mainly serves to control the people," said Zhang, adding that judicial reform will not bring about such a drastic change. "There's still a long way to go to change that."

Zhu Yi of Mercis agrees. "It's not about separation of powers, it's not about constitutional law. The goal is to strengthen the judiciary as an instrument of domination."

Law as an instrument of domination

Proof of this can be seen in numerous legal proceedings, especially those against government opponents. Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo was sentenced in 2009 for alleged "subversion of state power" to 11 years in prison.

More recently, the Uighur rights activist Ilham Tohti was sentenced on alleged separatism charges to life in prison. Both trials drew international criticism.

Zhu believes that when it comes to possible judicial reform, the political elite will likely only focus on technical measures. These measures could bring some improvements in certain areas, "but this won't be a substantial reform of the judiciary."