New court rules to boost lawyers' role and dignity?

Top court to 'enrich' green tribunals

China's top court opened its doors to foreigners on Wednesday, to make its judicial workings more transparent and improve communication in legal fields.

Almost 20 ambassadors and officials from embassies, including those of France and India, attended the Supreme People's Court, located on Chang'an Avenue near Tian'anmen Square, to observe an intellectual property case involving a Germany company.

The court's president Zhou Qiang welcomed the ambassadors and had a 50-minute conference about judicial transparency with them.

It was not the first time the court has invited foreigners to witness trials, but it is rare for such a high-level department to open its inner workings to foreigners.

Zhou showed the foreign visitors around the court and explained the court's work at the conference.

"We'll allow more foreigners to visit the court to understand China's judicial trials," Zhou said. "We will also invite foreign ambassadors, diplomats and experts to court if a case is related to foreign citizens or corporations."

At the end of last year, the top court issued its work report in both Chinese and English, which was regarded a first step in Chinese courts opening to the world.

English versions of a few judicial reports, such as IP protection and consumer protection rules, were subsequently issued.

Hu Yunteng, an official in the top court, confirmed that the English versions about court workings can help foreign investors understand Chinese laws.