China further deepened judicial reform in 2004 in a bid to ensure justice and guarantee citizens' legal rights, says a white paper on China's human rights progress in 2004 issued by the Information Office of the State Council on Wednesday.

The white paper says China has cracked down on various criminal offenses in accordance with law in 2004. From January to October 2004, the Chinese public security organs investigated and cracked 2.004 million criminal cases. The people's courts at all levels wound up 644,248 criminal cases of first instance, in which 767, 951 criminals were sentenced.

The judicial organs have adopted vigorous measures to prevent and contain extended detention, the white paper says.

In 2004, the Chinese procuratorial organs had no extended detention, and urged other law-enforcing organs to correct the extended detention of 7,132 people. The Chinese courts cleared up 873 old and new cases of extended detention involving 2,432 people. By the end of 2004, the Chinese public security organs had no extended detention.

The judicial organs have strengthened supervision over trials and the handling of petitions and visits involving legal procedures and lawsuits, the white paper says.

In 2004, the procuratorates throughout the country handled and concluded 20,306 cases of appeal according to law, the people's courts at all levels handled 4.22 million petitions and visits of complaint, and corrected the judgments in 16,967 cases that were proved to be wrongly judged according to law.

The white paper says the trial system with Chinese characteristics has been further improved. Courts at all levels have further carried out the principle of open trial, striving to realize openness in filing for investigation, court hearing, conclusion of trial, and judgment documents and process of enforcement in the hope to promote justice with openness.

Observance of trials by the general public has been facilitated with bulletins before trials. Over 50 million citizens observed trials in 2004.

The lawyer system has been continuously improved. In 2004, the Supreme People's Procuratorate formulated the "Regulations of People's Procuratorates to Ensure the Lawful Practice of Lawyers in Criminal Procedures," and the Ministry of Justice promulgated the "Provisional Regulations on Lawyers' Visits to Criminals in Custody."

Statistics show that up to June 2004 there were 114,500 lawyers and 11,691 law firms in China.