Passionate judge learns from handling foreigner-related cases

Liu Li has tackled many foreigner-related cases as more foreigners settle down in Chaoyang district of Beijing. Provided to China Daily

Liu Li was shoved into the limelight as the judge for a high-profile domestic violence case involving Li Yang, founder of Crazy English language school, and his wife earlier this year.

Li Yang's case lasted almost a year and a half after Kim Lee, his wife from the United States, published photos showing her injuries on a micro blog in 2011.

The case attracted extensive media coverage, sparked heated public discussion on domestic violence and also brought attention to Liu - a judge from Aoyuncun court, affiliated to Beijing Chaoyang District People's Court - and even her kindergarten-age son.

"As a judge, I have to pay more attention to what I wear and say during trials, especially if it involves celebrities, because our every movement will be exaggerated in the media and among the public."

Li's case is not the first foreigner-related case in Liu's 11-year work. A graduate of Renmin University of China, Liu has tackled more than 300 cases involving foreigners. She says the number of foreign disputes in the area is growing by about 10 percent every year.

The administration established the affiliated court specially to hear foreign civil cases in 2008, as more foreigners settle down in Chaoyang district of Beijing.

As per China's Civil Procedure Law, judges must speak Chinese when dealing with foreign cases, but they must have some knowledge of foreign languages.

Liu still remembers her first foreigner-related case in 2007. It involved a British boy, whose arm was broken while playing in a kindergarten, prompting his parents to sue the school.

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