Mainland lawyers formed a jury in a mock British trial staged in Beijing yesterday as the Chinese were introduced to the workings of the UK justice system.
Cherie Booth, barrister wife of visiting Prime Minister Tony Blair, introduced the proceedings to her hosts after her husband awarded human rights scholarships to allow six Chinese to study law in Britain.
Mr Blair, who also studied law, told them: 'My wife has invited you to visit her in her chambers. She was always a much better lawyer than I was so you will get to see how it's done properly.' About 400 spectators from the Ministry of Justice, the Public Security Bureau and universities watched how judge Lord Justice Otton conducted the trial.
The defendant, played by Nick Olley, director of international affairs for Britain's College of Law, was accused of driving a getaway car in an armed robbery of a British Airways office in London.
Master of ceremonies Peter Goldsmith drew the audience's attention to key points. They included: presumption of innocence; the nature of leading questions in cross-examination; why a defendant's criminal record was kept from the jury; how a defence counsel could ask for a dismissal if he could argue the prosecution had no case, and the role of the judge.
The impressive performance included tough questioning of witnesses called to the stand, a police detective accused of making up evidence and the testimony of the defendant's mother, all designed to show off the advantages of the adversarial trial.