Zhou Qiang (first row, middle), president of China’s top court and Xu Jiaxin (first row, ninth from right), Party secretary of the court, meet with new interns on May 10, 2016. [Photo by Sun Ruofeng/People's Court Daily]

Zhou Qiang, president of China’s top court, welcomed a second group of court interns - 55 students from 42 colleges around the country - in Beijing on May 10 and encouraged them to make good use of the opportunity to improve themselves and learn more about the rule of law.

The group, who will intern at the court from May to October, will work on every aspect of a lawsuit - from drafting documents, to collecting evidence and case materials, to offering their opinions on proposed outcomes.

Xu Jiaxin, Party secretary of the court, who’s responsible for the project, said that the interns can gain a great deal of hands-on experience and become potential law professionals to build the system of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics.

Xu called for deep integration of legal education and practice, as well as innovation in the cultivation of legal skills.

Xu said that law schools and judicial offices have set up programs to foster legal professionals. They share resources, exchange and cooperate, and “innovate to nurture the country’s best young legal minds”.

The project to welcome young legal professionals into the court and provide a bridge between legal studies and practice was written into a work report for the Supreme People's Court this year.

The first group of law students interning under a half-year program at the court wrapped up their internship in late March.