A video meeting of courts nationwide on judicial aid work was convened in Beijing on July 29. Zhang Jun, president of the Supreme People's Court (SPC), delivered a speech at the meeting.

Zhang said that the national judicial aid system is an important component of China's socialist judicial system and social security system, and it plays a significant role in the judicial protection of human rights, social fairness and justice, and social harmony and stability.

In recent years, courts have implemented the decisions and plans of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and provided timely aid in accordance with the law to litigants facing financial hardship, according to Zhang.

These efforts have helped resolve difficulties, settle disputes, uphold justice and ensure that people in need benefit from the care and support of the Party and the country, Zhang said.

He called on courts at all levels to promote the high-quality development of judicial aid, with a focus on safeguarding and improving people's well-being.

Courts should uphold the leadership of the CPC, improve coordination between judicial aid and social assistance, and integrate judicial aid into national and social governance, he added.

Greater efforts should be made to provide targeted judicial aid to litigants facing exceptional difficulties, Zhang said, adding that courts should do everything possible within their means to relieve hardship, address public concerns and provide practical support to those in need.

Zhang also stressed the need to strengthen organizational leadership, make judicial aid more law-based and standardized, and improve both internal coordination and cooperation with other institutions.

Judicial aid should play a greater role in protecting human rights, promoting justice, resolving disputes and maintaining stability — thereby contributing to the building of a higher-level peaceful China and stronger law-based governance, he added.

Yang Linping, vice-president of the SPC, attended and addressed the meeting. Yang described national judicial assistance as a people-centered initiative that responds to individuals' most pressing difficulties while demonstrating the judiciary's care and support.

It carries the responsibilities of helping people overcome hardship, promoting fairness and justice, and safeguarding social harmony and stability, she said.

Courts at all levels should maintain the correct political direction of judicial aid, uphold a people-centered approach to justice and handle every application with care and commitment, Yang added.

She called for effective implementation of the provisions in the Social Assistance Law of the People's Republic of China concerning coordination between judicial aid and social assistance.

Cross-departmental, cross-sectoral and multilevel coordination mechanisms should be improved, and judicial aid should be better integrated into the comprehensive social governance system, she said.

Further efforts should also be made to consolidate progress in making judicial aid more law-based and standardized and to promote its high-quality development, she added.

Representatives of 12 high people’s courts, including those in Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Heilongjiang, Hunan and Jilin provinces, as well as the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, shared their experience and practices in judicial aid. A number of judges also spoke at the meeting.

Among those participating at the main venue in Beijing were Hu Jianmiao, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee, and officials from departments of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Central Committee, the Legislative Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and the National Public Complaints and Proposals Administration. Representatives of the research center for state liability of people's courts, officials from relevant SPC departments, and members of the judicial aid committee of the SPC were also present.

Officials and judges responsible for judicial aid at high people's courts nationwide attended via video link.