E-Paper
Chinese expert praises Indian courts
Chinese courts are much weaker than India's, an opinion piece in a Chinese daily said, adding that initiating a PIL in India "comes with no political risk, but it is not the case in China".
Chinese courts are much weaker than India's, an opinion piece in a Chinese daily said, adding that initiating a PIL in India "comes with no political risk, but it is not the case in China".
The article, "Indian's open court an example for China", was authored by Wang Sixin, a law professor with Communication University of China.
Wang, who visited India as part of a delegation of Chinese legal professors, wrote in Global Times that in India, the common law tradition lets judges, especially in higher courts, play a pivotal role.
"They even can begin litigation just based on a news report or a letter from a petitioner, whether a lawyer or not. Just about anyone can initiate PIL (Public Interest Litigation), often for very little cost, whereas in China the individual has no right to initiate PIL unless his or her rights are directly undermined," wrote Wang on Friday.
The opinion piece went on to say the doors of the Indian courts were "always open to PIL, and initiating PIL comes with no political risk, but it is not the case in China.
