Administrative Measures for People’s Assessors from Hong Kong in Shenzhen Qianhai Cooperation Zone People’s Court (Provisional)

(Passed upon discussion at the First Judges Meeting in 2016 of this court on March 29, 2016)
These Measures are formulated for the purposes of advocating judicial democracy, promoting judicial transparency, safeguarding judicial fairness, enhancing judicial credibility and fostering a internationalized and legalized business environment for Qianhai in accordance with such laws and regulations as the Constitution of the Peoples Republic of China, the Guidelines on Implementing Selection, Training and Assessment for People’s Assessors issued by the Supreme People’s Court and the Ministry of Justice, the Administrative Measures for People’s Assessors (Provisional) issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Supreme People’s Court, the Certain Guidelines on Further Strengthening and Promoting People’s Assessment on Trials issued by the Supreme People’s Court, the Implementation Rules for Administration of People’s Assessors of Guangdong and the Administration Measures for People’s Assessors of Shenzhen Courts, in combination with the trial practices of the Qianhai Court.
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 The Judicial Administration Office of this court shall be in charge of the personnel management works for the people’s assessors from Hong Kong of this court such as selection, assessment, commendation, award, subsidy distribution, disciplinary inspection and suggestions on renewal or removal.
The Trial Affairs Office shall be responsible for the operational management works for the people’s assessors from Hong Kong of this court such as training and participation in trial activities.
Article 2 The Judicial Administration Office of this court shall establish files for the people’s assessors from Hong Kong, mainly including such contents as their resumes, applications, nominations and approvals for appointment and removal, as well as their records of participation in trial activities, assessment, award and penalty, training, subsidy receipt, etc.
The personal information of the people’s assessors from Hong Kong shall be kept strictly confidential.
Chapter II Conditions for Appointment
Article 3 The people’s assessors from Hong Kong of this court are classified into general assessors and expert assessors.
Article 4 Appointment of a general assessor shall meet all the following conditions:
(1) A Chinese citizen among Hong Kong residents;
(2) Upholding the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China;
(3) Over 23 years old, generally with an education level of junior college or higher and in good health;
(4) Well-behaved and impartial;
(5) Voluntary and enthusiastic for serving as an assessor, with rather plenty of time to participate in case trying.
Article 5 Appoint of an expert assessor shall require expertise or experience in modern service industries such as financing and insurance, securities and futures, intellectual property rights, information services, Internet, modern logistics or financial leasing in addition to the conditions (1) to (4) specified in Article 4 hereof.
This Court shall establish a database for register of expert assessors which is categorized by industry and profession.
Article 6 Hong Kong citizens who used to be punished for criminal offenses or expelled from public service, or are current public officers or holders of lawyer licenses of the Chinese mainland shall not be appointed as people’s assessors from Hong Kong of this court.
Article 7 The people’s assessors from Hong Kong who are already appointed by other courts of Shenzhen shall not concurrently serve as people’s assessors of this court.
Chapter III Selection
Article 8 Selection for people’s assessors from Hong Kong shall persist in the principles of openness, fairness, impartiality and optimization.
Article 9 The Judicial Administration Office of this court shall be in charge of such works for selection of people’s assessors from Hong Kong as publicity for selection and organization for enrollment.
The Judicial Administration Office of this court and relevant departments shall jointly conduct such works for selection of people’s assessors from Hong Kong as publicity, qualification examination and organizational inspection.
Article 10 This court shall publish in appropriate manners such matters relating to selection of people’s assessors from Hong Kong as quota, conditions for selection, deadline for nomination (application) and procedure.
Article 11 An Hong Kong resident eligible for appointment of people’s assessors from Hong Kong of this court may directly apply with this court for such appointment or be nominated to this court by a relevant department; his/her employer or the primary-level organization of his/her habitual residence may also nominate him/her to this court upon his/her consent.
Article 12 The Hong Kong resident who applies for appointment of people’s assessors from Hong Kong or the relevant department which nominates a nominee therefor shall provide such materials of the applicant or nominee as his/her identity proof like identity certificate or residence permit, relevant schooling certification, employment certification in the Chinese mainland and recent photograph, and then fill in and submit the Nomination Form for Appointment of People’s Assessors from Hong Kong of Qianhai Court or the Application Form for Appointment of People’s Assessors from Hong Kong of Qianhai Court in triplicate. 
Article 13 This court and relevant departments will jointly examine the qualifications of the applicants or nominees as per the contents provided in the Application Form for Appointment of People’s Assessors or the Nomination Form for Appointment of People’s Assessors.
Article 14 The Selection Committee for People’s Assessors from Hong Kong shall be established to review the qualifications of the applicants or nominees and shortlist the preliminary candidates for people’s assessors from Hong Kong.
Article 15 When shortlisting the candidates for people’s assessors, attention shall be paid to balancing the structural proportions of personnel from various hierarchies of the society and adopting personnel from different industries, occupations, ages, ethnic groups and genders, so as to demonstrate the university and representation of their sources.
Article 16 After the Selection Committee shortlists the preliminary candidates for people’s assessors from Hong Kong, this court shall submit such shortlist to the judicial administration authorities for comments. When necessary, this court may investigate the preliminary candidates jointly with relevant departments.
Article 17 Upon confirmation, the shortlist of final candidates for people’s assessors from Hong Kong shall be released for public announcement, expiring which the qualified candidates shall be reported to the Intermediate People’s Court of Shenzhen for examination. The candidates passing such examination shall be reported to the Shenzhen Nanshan District Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress for appointment.
Article 18 This court shall carbon copy the list of appointed people’s assessors from Hong Kong to the judicial administration authorities and step-by-step report to the Higher People’s Court of Guangdong for filing, meanwhile publicize the same to the society. 
Article 19 This court shall timely notify in writing the Decision on Appointment to the people’s assessors from Hong Kong in person and relevant entities.
Article 20 This court shall grant the Work Permit of People’s Assessor printed uniformly in the format provided by the Supreme People’s Court to each people’s assessor from Hong Kong.
Article 21 The tenure of each people’s assessor from Hong Kong of this Court shall be five (5) years.
Chapter IV Scope of Participation in Cases
Article 22 The first-instance trials of this court on the following civil commercial cases involving Hong Kong may be conducted by collegial panels consisting of people’s assessors from Hong Kong and presiding judges, except for cases to which the summary procedure applies or otherwise provided by law:
(1) Cases that have major influence and arouse wide concern in Hong Kong and Shenzhen;
(2) Cases that involve group interests;
(3) Cases that involve public interests;
(4) Cases that involve sophisticated rights and obligations and major disputes;
(5) Cases that involve determination on industry practices and trade usage;
(6) Cases that involve industry development and professional standards in the area of Qianhai;
(7) Cases that involve rules of Hong Kong for evidence admission and application of laws of Hong Kong 
(8) Cases in which major discrepancies may arise between the laws of the Chinese mainland and the statutory laws or judicial precedents of Hong Kong in the judgment on the same circumstance;
(9) Other cases appropriate for people’s assessors from Hong Kong to serve.
Expert people’s assessors from Hong Kong shall be preferred for trying the cases specified in the above (5), (6), (7) and (8) paragraphs.
Article 23 In the civil commercial case involving Hong Kong where the plaintiff and the defendant apply for participation of people’s assessors from Hong Kong in the collegial panel, this court may arrange such assessors in the trial.
Where the parties to the aforesaid case apply for participation of people’s assessors from Hong Kong in the collegial panel, written application shall be submitted by the plaintiff within fifteen (15) days from the day of case filing or by the defendant within the defense period. 
Article 24 In the case involving Hong Kong where either party applies for participation of people’s assessors from Hong Kong in the collegial panel but the other party disagrees, this court normally will not arrange such assessors, except when this court finds such assessors applicable to the case.
Chapter V Determination on People’s Assessors from Hong Kong
Article 25 In the case tried by this court where people’s assessors from Hong Kong may participate in the collegial panel, they shall be determined by random draw from the list of people’s assessors from Hong Kong.
If the trial on the case needs participation of people’s assessors from Hong Kong with particular expertise, they may be randomly drawn from the people’s assessors from Hong Kong with relevant expertise.
Article 26 The parties to a case may choose assessors to participate in the trial from the list of people’s assessors from Hong Kong of this court upon consensus through consultation.
Article 27 The Trial Affairs Office of this court shall determine the assessors to participate in the trial by random draw from the list of people’s assessors from Hong Kong or the scope of such assessors with relevant expertise in an appropriate manner seven (7) days before court hearing.
The Trial Affairs Office of this court shall notify the parties to the case on the list of people’s assessors from Hong Kong to participate in the trial within three (3) days from determination on such assessors. 
Article 28 A people’s assessor from Hong Kong who also serves as a people’s mediator shall not participate in trying a case that he/she has mediated in advance.
Article 29 The recusal of people’s assessors from Hong Kong shall be implemented in reference to the provisions of laws on recusal of judges.
Article 30 In case that the people’s assessors from Hong Kong are unable to participate in trial activities for justifiable reasons, or the reasons of the parties to the case for recusing such assessors are found tenable upon examination, alternative assessors shall be determined in time.
Chapter VI Authorities and Obligations
Article 31 People’s assessors from Hong Kong are authorized to consult the case file and know about the details of the case before court hearing.
Article 32 People’s assessors from Hong Kong are authorized to know from the presiding judge about the facts and evidence of the dispute in the case before court hearing.
Article 33 People’s assessors from Hong Kong may participate in case investigation, directly raise questions in court and mediate the case.
Article 34 During discussion of the collegial panel, the presiding judge shall give guidance to the people’s assessors from Hong Kong on responsibility for evidence presentation, rules for evidence examination and admission and proof standards, etc.
Article 34 During discussion of the collegial panel, the people’s assessors from Hong Kong shall first express their opinions, and the presiding judge shall give final comment.
Article 36 In the case where people’s assessors from Hong Kong participate in the collegial panel, they may independently exercise the right to vote on fact finding and law application.
Article 37 During discussion of the collegial panel, the majority rule shall be implemented in principle. 
In the case that the presiding judge holds the minority opinion, he/she may submit the case to the professional judges meeting for discussion and explain the reasons, and the opinion of the professional judges meeting serves as reference for the collegial panel. In case that the presiding judge still insists on his/her minority opinion after discussion of the professional judges meeting, he/she may submit the case to the trial committee for discussion and decision. 
Article 38 People’s assessors from Hong Kong shall fulfill the following obligations:
(1) To participating in trial activities in a timely manner without refusing to perform the duties of assessors without justifiably reasons;
(2) To abide by the provisions of judges on performance of duties, exercise judicial authority under the law with probity, self-discipline and fidelity, and observe the trial work discipline;  
(3) To recuse themselves in compliance with the law in reference to the provisions on recusal of judges;
(4) To keep the trial secrets without disclosing any state secret, commercial secret or personal privacy involved in the cases to any citizen or entity; not to disclose any information about internal discussion of the collegial panel or the trial committee on the cases; not to disclose any information about the cases before the people’s courts give judgments;
(5) To attach importance to the judicial etiquette and maintain the judicial image.
Chapter VII Function Expansion
Article 39 People’s assessors from Hong Kong may promote the socialist rule of law in the Chinese mainland to the Hong Kong residents and enterprises.
Article 40 People’s assessors from Hong Kong may give feedback on the judicial demands of the Hong Kong residents and enterprises.
Article 41 People’s assessors from Hong Kong may independently carry out lawsuit mediation.
Article 42 People’s assessors from Hong Kong may assist in the enforcement of cases involving Hong Kong.
Chapter VIII Management
Article 43 The Trial Affairs Office and the presiding judges shall arrange the people’s assessors from Hong Kong to participate in trials in the principle of intensive use and flexible allocation.
Article 44 In the case that the presiding judge determines people’s assessors from Hong Kong to participate in the collegial panel, the judge assistant following up the case shall make appointment with the Trial Affairs Office and notify the case number and time and place for the court session thirty (30) days before court hearing, and then the Trial Affairs Office shall arrange such assessors to participate in trial.
The judge assistant following up the case shall notify the people’s assessors from Hong Kong to participate in such trial activities as panel discussion and judgment pronouncement after  court hearing.
Article 45 The presiding judge shall provide operational guidance for the cases on which people’s assessors from Hong Kong participate in trials.
Article 46 People’s assessors from Hong Kong participating in trials shall fill in the Records of Participation in Trials of People’s Assessors, which shall be signed in confirmation by the undertaking judges and submitted to the Trial Affairs Office for filing before the third (3rd) day of the following month.
The Trial Affairs Office shall prepare seasonal statistics and circulars on the records of participation in trials of people’s assessors from Hong Kong.
Chapter IX Training
Article 47 People’s assessors from Hong Kong shall accept and participate in training before appointment and during tenure.
Training consists of pre-post training and special training for trial activities during tenure.
Article 48 The teaching plan of the special training for trial activities during tenure for the people’s assessors from Hong Kong of this court shall be submitted to the Intermediate People’s Court of Shenzhen for approval.  
This court may arrange the training contents as per the characteristics and types of cases in the jurisdiction of Qianhai.
Article 49 The Trial Affairs Office of this court shall be responsible for the pre-post training and the special training for trial activities during tenure.
Pre-post training shall include such contents as the functional orientations of Qianhai Cooperation Zone, Qianhai Free Trade Zone and Qianhai Court, the concept of socialist rule of law, the judicial systems, the professional ethics of judges, the trial disciplines, the judicial etiquette, the anti-corruption provisions, the basic legal knowledge, the basic litigation rules and the basic trial rules.
Special training for trial activities shall include such main contents as case file consulting, court investigation and inquiry, responsibility for evidence presentation, rules for evidence examination and admission and proof standards.  
Article 50 Training shall be conducted in the combined form of collective training and self-study in service.
Collective training shall be in principle organized once a year based on the actual needs of the people’s assessors from Hong Kong in performing their duties in such forms as legal knowledge lecture, court hearing observation, special topic discussion and experience symposium, so as to answer their questions, resolve their puzzles and improve their capabilities of evidence admission and fact finding.
Article 51 The Trial Affairs Office of this court shall notify in writing the people’s assessors from Hong Kong to participate in training seven (7) days in advance, meanwhile notify in writing their employers or the primary-level organizations of their habitual residences for arrangement of their works and lives to ensure their participation in training on time.
The Certificates of Qualification shall be granted to the people’s assessors from Hong Kong who have passed the pre-post training.
The Certificates of Qualification shall be printed uniformly in the format provided by the Political Department of the Supreme People’s Court.
Chapter X Withdrawal
Article 53 People’s assessors from Hong Kong of this court shall be automatically removed upon expiry of their tenures without reappointment in principle; if reappointment is necessary, they shall serve no more than two (2) consecutive terms.
Under one of the following circumstances occurring to the people’s assessors from Hong Kong of this court upon verification jointly by the judicial administration authorities, this court shall report to the Shenzhen Nanshan District Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress for removal from the posts of people’s assessors:
(1) Applying for resignation from the posts of people’s assessors by themselves;
(2) Refusing to participate in trial activities more than twice or failing to normally perform the duties of assessors  more than thrice in a year without justifiably reasons, and thus affecting normal progress of trial works;
(3) Violating the laws, regulations or disciplines relating to trial works, and thus resulting in wrong fact finding or other serious consequences;
(4) Under one of the circumstances specified in Articles 6 and 7 hereof;
(5) Violating the work disciplines of people’s assessors;
(7) Assessed to be basically competent or incompetent in two (2) consecutive annual assessments;
(7) Incompetent or unable to normally perform the duties of people’s assessors due to own aptitude or physical reasons; those really failing to normally perform their duties but unwilling to resign shall be reported for removal from the posts of people’s assessors upon verification;
(8) Losing the nationality of the People’s Republic of China;
(9) Other circumstances not suitable for the posts of people’s assessors.
Article 55 In case of removal of the people’s assessors from Hong Kong, this court shall notify the removed assessors in person and relevant entities in writing; the list of removal shall also be carbon copied to the judicial administration authorities meanwhile publicized to the society.
Chapter XI Assessment and Commendation
Article 56 Assessment on people’s assessors from Hong Kong are carried out in the patterns of daily assessment and year-end assessment, including such contents as duty performance, ideology and morality, work attitude, trial discipline, trial style and participation in training, mainly based on the times of participation in trials, attendance records and comments of the trial teams and the operation departments.
Article 57 People’s assessors from Hong Kong are graded as excellent, competent, basically competent and incompetent in the annual assessment.
Article 58 Commendation shall be granted to those people’s assessors from Hong Kong who are graded as excellent in the annual assessment or have made prominent performance in the trial works or other outstanding achievements.
The Judicial Administration Office shall advise to remove those people’s assessors from Hong Kong who are graded as incompetent or basically competent.
Article 59 People’s assessors from Hong Kong who have one of the following performances may be deemed having made prominent performance in trial works or other outstanding achievements:
(1) Raising revolutionary advice on trial works, which are adopted and prominently effective;
(2) Raising judicial advice on the cases they have served as assessors, which are adopted by relevant departments;
(3) Actively exerting subjective initiative on the trial works and making good effects in case handling with outstanding achievements;
(4) Composing articles of experiences in serving as assessors in trials, which are published on journals above municipal level.
(5) Making other outstanding contributions to the trial works.
Chapter XII Funds and Subsidies
Article 60 All the funds for implementing the system of people’s assessors from Hong Kong of this court are listed in the operation budget of this court, which shall be separately spent and managed and exclusively used for the purposes hereunder.
Article 61 This court assures all the necessary and direct expenses for the duty performance of the people’s assessors from Hong Kong, including transportation subsidies, meal subsidies, training fees, information costs, living subsidies for those people’s assessors who have no regular income, and other expenses.
Article 62 The employers of the people’s assessors from Hong Kong shall not take such adverse measures against them as dismissal or reduction of works or remunerations due to their participation in training or performance of duties as assessors in trials.
If any regular employer of the people’s assessors from Hong Kong docks or disguisedly docks their salaries, bonuses and other benefits due to their participation in training or trial activities, this court shall raise corrective suggestions to such employer or its superior authority.
Article 63 The Judicial Administration Department of this court shall complete accounting, approval and reimbursement for the subsidies for participation in trials of the people’s assessors from Hong Kong before the twentieth (20th) day of each month.
Chapter XIII Supplementary Provisions
Article 64 These Measures shall be subject to interpretation of the judges meeting of this court.
Article 65 These Measures shall be implemented from the day of issuance hereof.
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