Ma Siu Method as a Principle of the Socialist Judicial System with Chinese Specifics: History and Modern Understanding

A striking feature of modern Chinese society is the preservation and development in new conditions of important elements of its traditional legal culture. The paper analyzes one of these elements. It takes its name from the statesman and party leader Ma Siu (1899–1962) and represents a set of basic methods and principles of the judicial system of the country, which judges should be guided by in their professional activities. The author believes that the most important direction of the development of the Ma Siu method in modern conditions is the openness and accessibility of the judiciary, which is manifested in the large-scale introduction of electronic justice into the country’s legal system in 2013. The undoubted leadership of China in this area does not weaken, according to the author, the attention of the authorities to improving the key principles of the Ma Siu method, the essence of which are the spiritual and moral foundations of «justice for the people». These foundations are manifested in the consolidation of the rule of law, the development of the institution of people’s assessors, as well as the widespread introduction of socialist values into the judicial system of the country. The main among these values is considered to be public, state and political control over the activities of the courts, without which justice breaks away from the people and turns into fiction, and the principles of separation of powers and independence of the judiciary are the result of misconceptions of Western philosophical and socio-political thought. The author’s analysis of the laws of the People’s Republic of China adopted in recent years, as well as published scientific articles, comments and statements by official authorities, allow us to conclude that, although no law of the People’s Republic of China directly states this, the main role in controlling the judiciary, of course, belongs to the Communist Party of China, confirming the continuity this «beautiful folk judicial tradition», which arose during the period of Ma Siu’s activity.