Henan Province's top judge has said that good culinary skills are a must for judges, who should foster 'an atmosphere of eating' in court to avoid bribes.
"A chief judge of the court must learn to cook some dishes. This should be embedded in the [performance] evaluation system," Zhang Liyong said. Zhang stressed the importance of judges preparing their own meals, so as both to avoid being bought a meal by people involved in the case and to stimulate energy in the afternoon.
Zhang's comments, made on a tour of the province's courts, have sparked sarcastic comments online, with one internet user reflecting: “I recommend the judges learn to cook and get a certificate first before applying for the job.” Henan Higher People’s Court's however released a statement, confirming Zhang's message, saying there is a "demand [for] court police to have a nice lunch and a recommendation for chief judges to learn how to cook to prevent judges from accepting banquet [invitations] from the parties involved in a case”.
Lower courts have responded well to Zhang’s advice, according to the Southern Metropolis Daily.
Nanyang Intermediate People’s Court reportedly ordered officials from lower-level courthouses to “have a meal and inspect how well the judge cooks”, and added culinary skills to the criteria for the “outstanding judge” title announced at the end of the year. A court in Nanzhao county, under the Henan capital city of Nanyang, said judges would receive one-month training and judges who could not cook “would be transferred." In Neixiang county, also under Nanyang, culinary prowess was made a requirement for good marks in the year-end performance evaluation.
[Image via Flickr]
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