ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the main and somewhat controversial issues of the qualification and appointment of judges, and protection of judge's personal rights in the context of the Judges Law promulgated by the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) in 1995 and amended in 2001. It examines the issue of judicial corruption in political and social contexts. Nowadays, studies of the Chinese judiciary cannot avoid assessing judicial corruption. Judicial corruption undermines judicial procedures, hinders judicial justice, and damages public trust in the judicial system. A number of sources are used to illustrate the notion that judicial corruption is rife at all levels, and a special feature of judicial corruption in modern-day China is that it exists both amongst judges as individuals and in and between courts as collective bodies. However, as the root causes of judicial corruption are complex, political, economic and social contexts cannot be overlooked in confronting the issue.
