Judicial independence is essential

There is nothing more damaging for a judicial system than an unjust conviction. As a top mainland judge wrote in the last year, "If a true criminal is released, heaven will not collapse, but if an unlucky citizen is wrongfully convicted, heaven will fall." Two cases of young men executed for crimes that they did not commit have been lightning rods for activists pushing for reforms. An Inner Mongolia court's exoneration of one of them, Huugjilt, just 18 when he was put to death by firing squad in 1996, shows a genuine desire to correct faults and ensure that justice is properly done.

The Communist Party's fourth plenary meeting in October endorsed President Xi Jinping's call for reforms to ensure the mainland is governed by law. That is easier said than done, with legal experts and activists having criticised the judicial system for lacking independence. Decisions by courts have been regularly influenced by government officials and prosecutors have ensured convictions by using as evidence confessions obtained by police torture. It has not helped that the Ministry of Public Security requires authorities to meet pre-determined targets for solving homicide cases.

Legal experts and activists have long sought reforms. They have focused attention on the cases of Huugjilt, found guilty of raping and murdering a woman in a public toilet, and Nie Shubin, convicted in Shandong of rape and murder in 1994 and executed the following year when he was 21.

Confessions years later by other men strengthened calls for reviews, but they have been slow in coming. Huugjilt's acquittal came three days after Nie's case was reopened.

There is nothing new in the uncovering of wrongful convictions. Media accounts of particular cases have dented the reputation of courts, prompting party action. Graft and corruption in the legal system are threats to the legitimacy of its rule. Xi took power promising to strengthen the rule of law and the party's Central Committee is driving reforms that include punishment for officials who interfere with legal proceedings and lifetime accountability for judges' decisions.

Reviewing judgments, issuing apologies, giving compensation and investigating the conduct of officials, as has happened with Huugjilt's case, is only part of the solution. Justice can only be safeguarded through legal checks and balances and judicial independence. Courts and prosecutors, not police, should determine the direction of cases.