BEIJING - A supreme court official on Tuesday called false convictions "a shame" on judges and urged China's courts to better protect human rights, while defending the fairness of the country's judiciary system.

Misjudgment occurred to only individual cases in China and some false sentences were difficult to avoid, but it's important to face up to the mistakes, said Shen Deyong, executive vice-president of the Supreme People's Court.

"A judge should feel ashamed of misjudging a case," Shen said during an online interview at the press center of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

The country's courts should fully protect human rights, provide convenience for litigants and reduce the cost of litigation, Shen said.

He also urged the courts to promote procedural fairness and improve judges' capabilities and working style, demanding that judges not act "in a superior and cold manner."

Meanwhile, he called for confidence in and a rational and objective view of the country's judiciary system, saying the system is fair and efficient as a whole.

Of over 12 million cases handled by Chinese courts last year, court sentences were accepted at the trial of first instance for 90.6 percent of them, and nearly 99 percent of sentences given at the trial of second instance were accepted without further appeals, Shen said.

"We pursue 100 percent justice, but as a matter of fact, it's very difficult to fulfill absolute justice in an individual case in any judiciary system, Chinese or foreign," he said.