Courts Failing Chinese In Search For Justice

Cui Yuehua lost her life savings in an investment scam three years ago

China has said it is reforming the country's legal system to make it fairer and more independent, but political interference and corruption still plague the courts.

Sky News: Every morning at the gates of the Supreme People's Court, hundreds of ordinary Chinese citizens queue patiently.

They clutch evidence of alleged crimes and civil complaints in the hope that court officials will allow their case to be heard.

On the surface, China's justice system looks similar to those in the West.

But in China the very act of demanding justice is frequently viewed as a challenge to the Communist Party's rule.

Gao Zhisheng - until recently China's most high profile human rights lawyer - has been in and out of custody after being convicted on subversion charges in 2006.

He claimed to have been tortured with electric shocks to his genitals.

The chances of the courts actually being able to independently investigate torture when it does happen are very slim.

Lawyer Zhang Kai

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