All significant changes in modern society rely on the recognition，enhancement and promotion by the change and reform of legal systems，especially the judicial reform. Ever since China started its reform and opening policy in late 1970s，the social development has not only gone hand in hand with the continuous legal reform，but also gradually pushed the judicial reform to the front stage. Judicial reform in China has undergone for years since it was started in early1990s and officially initiated in mid-1990s. The reform practice may well be termed blooming，all debates with respect to the reform have been full with different ideas and opinions，and the looming of the tide of globalization has provided the judicial reforms in different contexts with the unprecedented opportunities to have dialogues with each other. The judicial reform in China has undertaken the significant mission of strengthening and facilitating the marketization of economy，the democratization of politics and the legalization of the state life. Under the current circumstances，the necessity of reform has been out of question，and the experiences and knowledge of reform have been accumulated to a certain extent.However，a number of crucial issues have not been solved，even not mentioned. Consequently，where is the judicial reform in China heading to？How to sort out the already complicated relations and contradictions？How to summarize the experiences and lessons from those sorting work？And moreover，in what ways can those experiences and lessons be upgraded to become new blue prints of reform？People in the circle of legal practice and legal research are seeking to enhance the exchange of opinions and explore the issue hand in hand.

It was against this background，the Symposium on the Retrospect and Prospects of Judicial Reform in China，organized by the Research Center for Public Law at the Institute of Law，Chinese Academy of Social Sciences（CASS），was held at the Kuangou Hotel in Beijing Huairou County from 13th to 14th of August 2001. Some 60 people，including legal scholars and experts from universities in main land China，research institutes and state agencies，scholars and experts from Taiwan and Hong Kong of China，from Japan，USA，the Netherlands，and the program officers from the Ford Foundation have participated in the Symposium. After the brief opening speech by Prof. Xia Yong，Director of the Research Center for Public Law at the Institute of Law，the Symposium held intensive discussions on seven topics of “the overall evaluation of judicial reform in China”，“the judicial reforms and their experiences outside mainland China”，“elements influencing the judicial reform”，“the reform of judicial and procuratorate system”，“judicial independence and judges”，“judicial reform and human rights”，and “the expansion of judicial reform in China” within the general framework of “retrospect and prospects of judicial reform in china”.Those discussions are summarized as follows.