Meanwhile, more than 100 young and middle-aged judges have been trained abroad who are expected to play a major role in Chinese judicial departments after the country's WTO entry.

In 1999, the Supreme People's Court decided to study the impact of China's WTO accession on the country's judicial work, and since then, experts were sent to pool public opinions on the issue and they have prepared a lengthy report, said court officials.

The court has also worked out papers on issues including the application of WTO rules and international conventions in the judicial work in the country.

The National Judges College, which launched a WTO judicial training course last year, plans to train 1,000 judges from local courts across the country.

This year, over 70 judges will be sent abroad for further study, according to court officials.

(Xinhua News Agency March 2, 2002)