Abstract

In recent times, China’s leadership announced a series of legal reforms to modernize the judicial system and to increase public confidence in the rule of law. The action occurred in response to increasing frustration over the lack of judicial independence, the lack of confidence in judicial leadership, and the unsystematic organization of the courts. In looking back on New York’s history of court reform and my own experience as a court administrator for many decades, I argue that New York’s experience with reorganizing and strengthening the judiciary and the justice system can provide some illumination and lessons learned to Chinese court reformers. In embracing a unified court system separate from local governmental and outside influences and strengthening and supporting the judiciary, New York entered the modern era, and the New York experience can impart some useful instruction to China as it undergoes a similar transformation.


I. Introduction

In April 2014, I was fortunate to meet with the President of the Supreme People’s Court of China, President ZHOU Qiang. We discussed many issues and concerns that we had in common including judicial independence, transparency in the courts, and the rule of law. Though there are vast differences between our two court systems, we both recognized that our goals were aligned in ultimately seeking fair judicial proceedings and courts for our citizens. My goal in authoring this article is to provide the example of New York’s experience in transitioning to a Unified Court System and our endeavors at court reform in hopes that it will be helpful to President ZHOU and court reformers in China as China’s courts undergo its five-year reform plan. While Chinese law has thousands of years of history, the current iteration of the Chinese judicial system is relatively new and in its formative stages. From New York’s vantage point, there is great untapped potential in the Chinese judicial system, and I look forward to seeing the reforms to come.