The number of petitions and complaints to procuratorial agencies across China in the first 10 months last year has dropped by 9.8 percent from the same period of the previous year.

Gong Ming, a senior prosecutor with the Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP), said on Friday that numbers of extreme cases, repeated petitions and petitions that involve mass participation have also decreased, while the involvement of lawyers in petitions is increasing.

Gong said this shows that more members of the public are willing to resort to the law rather than extralegal means in solving their grievances.

Procuratorial authorities at the provincial level have established systems to integrate petitions into judicial proceedings, rectify wrongful decisions and provide judicial assistance in such cases.

Prosecutors have also accepted over 10,000 petition cases via online video in 2016, which could help people make their voices heard, according to Gong.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the following appointments/ repatriation

Facts at a Glance- Manipur Assembly Elections -2017

The Prime Minister has approved the appointment of Lord Justice Fulford as the first Investigatory Powers Commissioner for a 3-year term. Lord Justice Fulford will take up appointment with immediate effect.

Prime Minister Theresa May said:

I’m pleased to announce the appointment of Lord Justice Fulford as the first Investigatory Powers Commissioner. He brings a wealth of experience in the judiciary and expertise in matters of law which will be crucial to his vital role scrutinising the use of investigatory powers, as part of a world-leading oversight regime.

Biographical notes

The Rt Hon Sir Adrian Fulford qualified as a barrister in 1978 and took Silk in 1994. He was appointed a Recorder of the Crown Court in 1995. He was appointed a High Court Judge of the Queen’s Bench Division on 21 November 2002. He was elected to serve as 1 of the 18 judges of the International Criminal Court in 2003 for a term of 9 years, and was assigned to the Trial Division. He was sworn into office on 11 March 2003. He was appointed as a Lord Justice of Appeal on 10 May 2013.

With effect from 1 January 2015, Sir Adrian was the Deputy Senior Presiding Judge for England and Wales. From 1 January 2016 he became the Senior Presiding Judge. He is currently the Judge in Charge of IT and leads for the judiciary on HM Courts & Tribunals Service reform.

Whilst holding the appointment as the Investigatory Powers Commissioner, Sir Adrian will remain a Judge of the Court of Appeal.

Background

Section 227 of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 provides for the Prime Minister to appoint the Investigatory Powers Commissioner (IPC). The role of the IPC is to authorise and oversee the use of Investigatory Powers by public authorities.

Sir Adrian will now begin work on establishing his office, and will take on the statutory functions of the IPC in due course.

We are very pleased to announce that week beginning 6th March 2017, BGS Cardiff Office is relocating to Cardiff University.
BGS Cardiff Office and switchboard will reopen on the Cardiff University campus on Thursday 9th March.