Chinese courts to have 200,000 jurors in two years

Chinese courts will have about 200,000 people's jurors at all levels in next two years, the country's Supreme People's Court said Thursday.

In China, the local courts currently employ 85,000 people's jurors, which is a 52 per cent rise from that of 2008, reported Xinhua citing the statistics of Supreme People's Court, the highest court in the mainland China.

The supreme court has directed local courts to hire more workers, farmers, migrant workers, veterans and community residents to serve as people's jurors.

According to Chinese laws, people's jurors are selected and employed by courts at all levels to help judges make fair and just decisions by hearing court trials. Citizens serving in law enforcement organs or having criminal record are ineligible for being hired.

In 2012, the people's jurors participated in 1.48 million court trials which was nearly three times more than that of 2008,