The Supreme People's Court of China issued a wide-ranging circular stressing the need to protect the rights of individuals including peasants, laborers, employees and creditors in order to build a more harmonious society.

All courts in the country need to actively work toward a harmonious society by protecting people's interests and reducing instability in society, the circular said.

It outlined five areas were the country's courts have to solve social issues in order to achieve a harmonious society.

All courts need to better resolve cases involving family members and neighbors to promote harmony within communities. They need to properly protect the rights of peasants to guarantee the social order of the vast rural areas. The courts need to protect the legitimate rights of laborers to enhance the development of the work force. Courts need to also strictly supervise government departments and state institutions to protect their rights. All courts need to properly handle environmental cases to prevent pollution and build a harmonious relationship between humans and nature, read the circular.

As well the circular also said judges who abuse their power and take bribes must be dismissed. It also urged the courts to be more transparent to people's congresses, procuratorates and the common people.

It also urged courts to deal properly with cases relating to Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan according to Chinese law, foreign law, international law and to equally protect both domestic and foreign litigants.

The circular demands the courts strictly investigate the transfer of non-performing assets to prevent the loss of state assets. It demands courts resolve financial disputes to safeguard financial security. It also demanded courts properly try cases related to the reform of state owned enterprises to protect the rights of both creditors and employees.

The circular stressed the protection of human rights needs to be strengthened during the trails of serious criminal cases, and both leniency and strict application of the law are needed to build a harmonious society

By 2020, China's justice system will be greatly improved and the judiciary will be able to more effectively protect human rights and provide more transparent judicial procedures, the circular said.

(Xinhua News Agency January 30, 2007)