Judges hand down a verdict on a traffic offense at the Hefei Intermediate People's Court in Anhui Province. Photo: CFP

When Shanghai businessman Chen Yuqian lost a civil case, he didn't just brood over the unfairness of the trial. After his own investigation, he released a video of four senior judges frequenting prostitutes, leading to all four losing their jobs. This scandal has brought the role of "judicial brokers" under the spotlight.

Chen, 54, was forced to sell property worth 7 million yuan ($1.14 million) in Shanghai to pay his debts after he lost a lawsuit he thought was unfairly judged.

Chen was outraged with the result. After investigating, he believed Zhao Minghua, a senior judge with the Shanghai High People's Court, had pulled the strings in the case. But his only evidence was that Zhao was related to another party in the litigation and his attorney.

"He ruined my life and I wanted to pay him back," Chen told the Global Times.

Chen's undercover revenge story was as exciting as a spy movie. Over six months, he surveilled Zhao almost every day and discovered an unknown side to the judge's life.

Chen finished his plan on August 1, after he eventually gained access to a vital surveillance video showing Zhao and three other senior judges with prostitutes at a nightclub, and published an edited copy on social media.

An initial investigation showed the girls were probably arranged by a lawyer who wanted to gain favor in court. The dirty trade between lawyers and judges has been unveiled, putting further pressure on the legal system.

The video soon sparked a public outcry nationwide. The Shanghai authorities quickly announced its investigation results as all the judges involved were sacked and given a 10-day period of administrative detention. Although the government disclosed no more information as to any other crimes Zhao may have been involved in, at least one well-known lawyer in Shanghai has been taken in to "assist with the investigation."

According to the 21st Century Business Herald, the lawyer, named Shou is suspected of having acted as a "judicial broker" over the years and of obtaining illegal benefits by introducing other lawyers to Zhao.

In his own case, Chen believed Zhao himself played the role of a judicial broker for the other side.

Chen also confirmed to the Global Times that Zhao would frequently socialize with other lawyers during his year-long investigation.

Chen called the police on April 8 after he followed Zhao and found him soliciting prostitutes with another lawyer at a high-end entertainment venue. However, the police let them walk away.

Corrupt middlemen

For 61-year-old lawyer Han Guoquan from the Shanghai Shangwei Law Firm, judicial brokers are not a fresh concern. He believes such brokers have already deeply infiltrated the legal system.

Han has worked as a police investigator, a teacher at the Shanghai Police College and as corporate legal counsel for several large companies.

Han is also a member of the China Lawyers Association, the Chinese Society of Criminology and the Chinese Police Association.

Han told the Global Times that many of his students are now working for the police, courts or procuratorates. "I am very familiar with how they work."

In Han's eyes, imperfections in China's judicial system have led to some people being "for sale."

"From the first step in the detention center, police investigators can help to recommend a lawyer and decide if a detainee can be bailed. Then prosecutors can decide if the case would be charged or not. While in court, judges can decide if the defendant will get a suspended sentence or be immune to criminal prosecution. There is too much room there for brokers," Han said.

According to Han, Chinese law has too many guiding principles but a lack of details which leaves too much room for judges to legislate from the bench.

"The system gives procuratorial organs the right to check and balance the courts, but in reality, they always toe the same line," Han said.

This makes it possible for judicial brokers to take the stage. When a young lawyer lacks connections and resources but is determined to win a case, they go to brokers. Because many judges are very cautious, they shy away from contact with strangers unless introduced by a recognized figure.

The organizer of the Shanghai judge prostitution scandal, Guo Xianghua, is just such a broker. Guo was the vice general manger of a large scale state-owned construction enterprise in Shanghai. He has served as legal counsel for the company and had broad connections to real estate contractors, developers and lawyers which made him a popular broker. The socializing with high-end hookers Chen caught him arranging was just one of the regular activities he used to maintain his contacts.

According to the Southern Weekend, major judicial brokers even farm out legal cases to others, usually under the protection of officials.

A recent investigation into court corruption cases by the Chongqing procuratorate revealed that lawyers were the major party in bribing judges and that each judge found guilty would inculpate five lawyers on average. Some judges went as far as asking for 30 percent of a lawyer's total fees in return for help, the Beijing Times reported.

Han believed that the emergence of brokers reflects loopholes in China's legal system, but is also due to a lack of relevant regulatory regime. "Mold only grows where sunlight can't shine. If everything was out in the open, how could these sordid deals be done?"

Fallen walls

There is no lack of regulations supervising relations between judges and lawyers. The Supreme People's Court (SPC) and the Ministry of Justice jointly released documents and regulations on the various activities between judges and lawyers as early as in 2004. And personal contact between judges and lawyers involved in the same case is strictly forbidden.

In addition to those regulations, the SPC implemented a withdrawal system in 2011, which requires judges to change office if their spouses or children work as lawyers in the same jurisdiction.

The SPC announced in March that a total of 1,087 court officials and judges had been relocated in past years.

But the regulations seem to have had little effect in practice. "Brokering a deal between a married couple is rare. More often it happens between classmates, people from the same hometown or relatives. Although judges are not supposed to meet lawyers when they are handling cases, who can control their private meetings all the time?" Han said.

Lawyers and judges are supposed to be a legal professional community sharing a common educational background and way of thinking as well as a common belief in the rule of law.

But in China, the relationship between the two tends more toward two extremes: either they have a hostile and uncooperative relationship or they form an alliance of interests which poses a great threat to the fairness of the judiciary.

Yan Bo was a former executive assistant judge who was sent down for 15 years after receiving 3.85 million yuan in bribes. He told the media that he viewed the relationship between judges and lawyers as like that between doctors and pharmaceutical representatives in some cases. Lawyers give part of their fees to the judge just like the doctors receive kickbacks from medical representatives.

Real reform

Professor Su Huiyu, from East China University of Political Science and Law, believes a tougher crackdown is essential to stamp out brokers.

"We have regulations but they are poorly implemented. There must be corresponding specific sanction measures to ensure the law is carried out completely," Su said.

Although Su said the relationship between judges and lawyers should remain within a legal dimension, "it doesn't mean judges and lawyers can't have a social life, but they must know where the boundaries are," Su said.

Lawyer Han believes that making the entire judicial process more transparent and open to the public is the most vital step to meaningful reform.

"The information of all judicial officials such as their resume, their academic and social experience should be disclosed to public," Han said.

"Because when people lose faith in the rule of law and choose to resort to petitions or even to more violent and extreme paths to seek justice, that could become very frightening," he added.