Court restructuring is the most complicated and burdensome component of legal reform, Judge Zou said. Currently, judges in China juggle many different responsibilities.
Most judges are responsible for both administrative and adjudicative duties.
They are now working to redefine their own roles and reassess the responsibilities divided among the various departments that make up the hierarchy of the Chinese court system. There has been discussion about creating a support system to incorporate law clerks or legal assistants. In addition, Judge Zou and participants discussed questions about the effectiveness of the collegial panel of judges often used to adjudicate certain cases. This system incorporates both judges who have a supervisory role and those who have an administrative role. The exchange with Judge Zou also touched upon the professionalism of the Chinese judiciary.