The number of judges who remain in place after China's judicial reform must be controlled to ensure that only the most experienced judges conduct trials, China's top court said on Thursday.

In a five-year plan issued by the Supreme People's Court last year, in line with the judicial reform put forward by the central government in 2013, the quota of judges in the country is being cut to 33 percent, or one-third, of the current 200,000.

A further 52 percent of current judges will become legal assistants, helping judges collect case material. The remaining 15 percent will be appointed as administrative officers, the top court said.

The move is aimed at making the work of judges more professional and ensuring that trials are conducted at the highest level of quality. There has been a pilot program testing out the reform process in Shanghai since last year, according to the top court.

Shen Deyong, vice-president of the court, said during a two-day conference for chief justices of high people's courts, that the quota must be strictly controlled and cannot be exceeded.

"The selection of judges must be regulated to make sure the best judicial talents remain in their posts," Shen said, asking each court to set up a judge evaluation system to ensure the fairness of the selection.

As the selection process is being tried out, some judicial experts and grassroots courts have expressed concern about whether the judges will be selected based on seniority.

In response, Shen said that the quality of trials is the standard for the selection, and this requires that court presidents or a court's leadership should return to courtrooms to hear cases.

"Most presidents are senior judges and are competent to hear cases, but some of them pay more attention to administrative affairs after they are promoted," he said. "They should improve their trial expertise if they want to be selected."

But he said the number of cases presidents hear can be reduced so that their management duties are taken into consideration.

Shen's reply represents the first time one of the nation's top judges has officially answered questions about the reform program.

"There will be a series of challenges and difficulties in the reform, and what we should do first is to explore a way," he said.

Judge selection is taken as the fundamental measure of reform, said He Xiaorong, director of the judicial reform office at the top court.

"Treatment of the selected judges, such as their salaries, will be improved in accordance with their professionalism," he added.

caoyin@chinadaily.com.cn