The opening ceremony of the 2023 China-SCO judges forum is held in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province, on Sept 19, 2023. [Photo/court.gov.cn]

The 2023 China-Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)  judges forum opened on Sept 19 in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province. Zhang Jun, president of the Supreme People's Court (SPC) of China, attended and addressed the opening ceremony. Secretary of the Shandong Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China Lin Wu delivered a speech via video link.

Zhang Jun, president of the Supreme People's Court (SPC) of China and China's chief justice, delivers a speech at the opening ceremony. [Photo/court.gov.cn]

Zhang, also China's chief justice, acknowledged the contributions of the SCO in deepening neighborly friendship, safeguarding the common interests of member states, and promoting regional and global stability and sustainable development. At the 2023 SCO Summit held in July, heads of state of SCO member countries jointly drew a new blueprint for the SCO's development, charting the course for building an even closer SCO community with a shared future, he said.

Focusing on deepening judicial cooperation among local courts within the SCO framework, Zhang proposed to fully build consensus on judicial cooperation by practicing true multilateralism, and aligning judicial policies, regulations and standards to propel the continuous development of judicial cooperation among SCO member states. He called for the deepening of exchanges and cooperation in such areas as judicial assistance, legal services and judicial reform by carrying out multi-level, multi-channel and multi-field dialogue and exchanges on the topics of the forum, in a bid to foster a sound legal environment for the prosperity and stability of SCO countries. More efforts are needed to enhance the effectiveness of judicial cooperation by leveraging such platforms as the meetings of supreme courts presidents of SCO member states and SCO judges' seminars based on the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, he said.

In his speech, Lin introduced the socioeconomic development of Shandong province. He said that the establishment of the China-SCO Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Area in Qingdao is a major strategic decision of China's central authority, as well as a historical opportunity and mission given to Shandong. In recent years, Shandong has striven for system innovation and deepening economic and trade cooperation with SCO member states. He pledged to take this forum as an opportunity to build Shandong into a signature of rule of law by exploring new paths for judicial exchanges and shaping new advantages in foreign-related legal services. He expressed his anticipation for working alongside friends of SCO member countries to uphold the "Shanghai Spirit", deepen judicial coordination, build solidarity and consensus, and make more practical explorations to build an even closer SCO community with a shared future.

Presidents of the supreme courts of the Kyrgyz Republic and Russia, and the chief justice of the Pakistani Supreme Court delivered speeches via video link. Delegation heads of the courts of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as the representative of the SCO secretariat delivered speeches respectively.

Prior to the opening ceremony, Zhang Jun meets with the heads of delegations of participating countries and the representative of the SCO secretariat. [Photo/court.gov.cn]

Zhang Jun poses for a group photo with the representatives of participating countries. [Photo/court.gov.cn]