Plan to Punish Courtroom Behaviors Hurts Rule of Law, Lawyers Say

(Beijing) – Lawyers have criticized a proposed legal amendment that addresses courtroom behavior, saying it will hurt defendants and amounts to a setback for the ruling Communist Party's stated goal of advancing the rule of law.

A clause in the proposed amendment says that "insulting, defaming, or threatening judicial officials or litigation participants" and "not heeding the court's warning" can be deemed "severe disruption of courtroom order." It says that these and "other behaviors that severely disturb courtroom order" would be punishable by up to three years in prison.