Female judges to hear women's cases
But an expert describes the move as a propaganda campaign
An all-female group of judges has been installed at Jinan Intermediate People's Court to handle civil cases involving women, children and senior citizens.
The Women's Collegiate Bench is made up of seven judges who will hear cases involving domestic violence and others in which the rights of women, children and the elderly have been violated.
'The purpose of the court is to improve communication between litigants and judges by taking advantage of gender,' said Zhang Yulan, the director of women's issues at the court in Shandong province.
'For example, we have found that female victims are generally shy about telling male judges about the details of spousal abuse. In cases that involve children and seniors, female judges are considered more patient and considerate.'
But not all experts agree that this is the best course of action.
'Rather than improving the protection of women, this suggests that women are weak and should not be treated equally,' said Liu Kaixiang of Peking University's law department. 'It could also lead to the mistaken belief that male judges can't handle such cases properly.'
The court started preparations to install the panel of all-female judges last year after the Shandong Women's Federation requested that it do more to protect the rights of women and children.
Similar courts have been set up in Guangxi and Jiangsu provinces. These courts focus on cases involving women and children.
'This is more of a propaganda campaign than an improvement in the protection of women's rights,' Professor Liu said. 'Measuring whether a bench is qualified or not should depend on the quality of its judgments, not on its gender.'
