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North Korea The Judiciary
In the North Korean judicial process, both adjudicative and
prosecuting bodies function as powerful weapons for the
proletarian dictatorship. The constitution states that justice is
administered by the central court, provincial- or special-city
level courts, the people's court, or special courts.
The Central Court, the highest court of appeal, stands at the
apex of the court system. As of July 1992, it had two associate
chief judges, or vice presidents--Choe Yong-song and Hyon Hongsam . Pang Hak Se, who died in July 1992, had been chief judge, or
president, since 1972. In the case of special cities directly
under central authority, provincial or municipal courts serve as
the courts of first instance for civil and criminal cases at the
intermediate level. At the lowest level are the people's courts,
established in ordinary cities, counties, and urban districts.
Special courts exist for the armed forces and for railroad
workers. The military courts have jurisdiction over all crimes
committed by members of the armed forces or security organs of
the Ministry of Public Security. The railroad courts have
jurisdiction over criminal cases involving rail and water
transport workers. In addition, the Korean Maritime Arbitration
Committee adjudicates maritime legal affairs.
Judges and people's assessors, or lay judges, are elected by
the organs of state power at their corresponding levels, those of
the Central Court by the SPA's Standing Committee, and those of
the lower courts by the provincial- and county-level people's
assemblies. Neither legal education nor practical legal
experience is required for judgeship. In addition to
administering justice based on criminal and civil codes, the
courts are in charge of political indoctrination through
"reeducation." The issue of punishment is not expressly stated in
the constitution or the criminal code.
The collective interests of the workers, peasants, soldiers,
and working intellectuals are protected by a parallel hierarchy
of organs controlled at the top by the Central Procurator's
Office. This office acts as the state's prosecutor and checks on
the activities of all public organs and citizens to ensure their
compliance with the laws and their "active struggle against all
lawbreakers." Its authority extends to the courts, the decisions
of which (including those of the Central Court) are subject to
routine scrutiny. A judgment of the Central Court may be appealed
to the plenary session of the Central Court, of which the state's
chief prosecutor is a statutory member.
The chief prosecutor, known as the procurator general, is
appointed by and accountable in theory, though not in fact, to
the SPA. As of mid-1993, the procurator general was Yi Yong-sp.
There are three deputy procurators general.
Data as of June 1993
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