In 1978 when I entered university to study law, China's efforts to establish the rule of law have just started. My generation grew up with the country's development of rule of law. At university, professors often cited the laws of the Soviet Union.

Then as China's reform and opening-up policy was gradually carried out, many advanced foreign ideas were introduced to China. Meanwhile, many students went abroad to study and eventually put what they have learned about foreign legal concepts into practice.

Today a set of judicial system that fits China's situation has been formed, thanks to efforts made by generations of those working in law.

We have witnessed concrete progress in China's judicial system. Some on the Internet criticized the flaws within the system. Indeed, not all judicial systems are perfect, as a system of a country would bear the traces of its political, historical, social and legal background. This is the case in both China and Western countries.

Flaws exist in the judicial system of every country, but the vitality of a reasonable system lies in its self-improvement and self-correction capabilities.

Compared with the problems the Western judicial systems used to tackle, those within China's judicial system seem ordinary. However, China's establishment of the rule of law still needs time.

The key is whether we are able to improve the system. Recently the State Council issued a white paper on China's judicial reform, which introduced the progress and problems in the reform process. The willingness to face these problems is a positive sign.

After this white paper, there will be more such papers, which will help promote China's judicial reform.

One highlight of the white paper is that it raised the aim of achieving independence of jurisdiction of the court and procuratorial power.

In the West, the independence of the judicial system is closely related to their politics, history and culture. Since China has a completely different political and economic system, Western notions are not applicable to the Chinese system.

How to establish the judicial independence that best fits the principle of China's Constitution and the demands of public interest under China's social system still needs discussion. The white paper, with its great significance, is just a starting point.

The white paper also mentioned that strengthening the protection of human rights is an important objective of the judicial reform. Such an aim has already been included in China's Constitution, and the amended 2012 Criminal Procedure Law put it into its general provision as well.

Besides this white paper, the biggest progress in China's judicial system in the past few decades is the rising capability of jurisdiction and the specialization of the judicial system.

The national judicial examination is one of the most difficult exams. The judges and prosecutors have to attend national examinations to pass their assessment. Meanwhile, having an academic background has become an essential condition to work as a legal professional.

One successful innovation under China's legal system is the establishment of a dispute-solving mechanism combining arbitration and mediation.

Under China's current social background, the mediation system has been recognized by the society and yielded positive results to solve social conflicts. This is a good example of the combination of social values and the law.

The author is dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Macau and professor at the China University of Political Science and Law. opinion@globaltime.com.cn