Greater convenience

According to Yu Zhengping, vice-president of the Second Circuit Court, the pilot program aims to reduce official interference in hearings, and the verdicts delivered by the judges are used as guidelines by grassroots courts. Moreover, using the circuit courts saves time and money.

Huang Sizhou, a lawyer in Shenzhen, was relieved that he doesn't have to travel to Beijing with clients who have lodged appeals.

"I am no longer worried about failing to book a hotel near the top court, and relieved that I don't have to squeeze on the crowded subway during the capital's rush hours," he said.

He added that he has received many calls from litigants looking to lodge appeals with the First Circuit Court, including some residents from Jiangxi province, which was originally under the jurisdiction of the Supreme People Court in the capital.

"The distance from Jiangxi to Shenzhen is less than 1,000 kilometers, far shorter than to Beijing, so it makes sense," he said.

Zhao Xudong, a professor of law at the China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing, said the pilot program is implementing the rule of law the leadership highlighted in 2014, and the move has reassured many people that their cases will be heard fairly and justly.

Wang Weiguo, Zhao's colleague in the university's law department, also gave the reform the thumbs-up, saying the circuit courts have bolstered judicial credibility. He recommended the establishment of more circuit courts nationwide, but acknowledged that it will be hard to persuade many judges to work outside Beijing, and training more senior judges will not be an easy task.

"It's just been the first year. Many judges were excited to experience a new way of handling disputes, but inevitably it will be difficult for them to maintain their enthusiasm for hearing cases at litigants' homes once it becomes commonplace," he said.

"Also, training and cultivating senior judges is a time-consuming job, so great attention must be paid to ensuring that the judges dispatched to circuit courts are as highly qualified as possible," he said, adding that encouraging top judges to join the pilot program is a challenge the top court will have to overcome if the reforms are to be successful.

Contact the writer at caoyin@chinadaily.com.cn