Legal issues clarified to support resumption of production amid epidemic control

BEIJING -- China has issued a set of new guidelines for judicial and law enforcement institutions on handling legal issues concerning the resumption of production alongside the prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic.

The guidelines stressed coordination between epidemic containment and the resumption of work and production to stabilize social expectations and maintain economic and social order, said Wang Hongxiang, deputy secretary-general of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, at a press conference Wednesday.

The guidelines were jointly issued by the commission, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Justice.

In response to the legal problems encountered during the resumption of work, the guidelines put forward 12 measures and specific requirements focusing on improving laws and policies, promoting procedure-based law enforcement and judicial service, mediating and resolving conflicts and disputes, as well as providing high-quality and efficient legal services.

Besides clarifying the standards and procedures for law enforcement and judicial services with a problem-oriented approach, the document also prohibits improper or abusive law enforcement, according to Wang.