China's Supreme People's Court announced Saturday it will hasten steps to set up circuit courts, responding to the latest requirement of the ruling party to advance rule of law.

The supreme court will also speed up efforts to establish special courts in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou to handle intellectual property rights cases.

Other measures include enhancing accountability of judges, unifying the management of personnel and finance of local courts below provincial level, and setting up a mechanism to record officials' interference in judicial cases.

The top court also vowed to improve its work style in handling cases, crack down on judicial corruption, and root out "bad apples" in the judicial system.

The announcement came after the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China Central Committee, which was held from Oct. 20-23, set a new blueprint for rule of law in which it promised sweeping judicial reforms while hailing the overarching role of the Constitution in the country's legal system.

Call for rule of law

Courts court change