A new Supreme People's Court (SPC) document has unequivocally banned drafting court personnel for assignments beyond their legal responsibilities, in line with a Jul 2016 central document on deterring interference in the judiciary, the latest sign of progress SPC has made in deterring undue interference in judicial operations.
In addition to reaffirming the ban on interfering in ongoing cases, the 24-point document goes further to outlaw local authorities drafting court personnel for street cleaning, community patrol, traffic control, investor engagement, administrative law enforcement, and, most importantly, house demolition and land expropriation. SPC specifically listed these activities one by one, with extra emphasis on the last one, making it clear that judges should only perform judicial duties and courts must reject such assignment henceforth. State media hails this as yet another step towards ensuring that the courts function independently and professionally.