With legal reforms, China wants less interfering in cases, fewer death penalty crimes

BEIJING (Reuters) - China has curtailed the power of the ruling Communist Party's Political and Legal Committee, a secretive body overseeing the security services, to interfere in most legal cases, scholars with knowledge of the situation said - a significant reform at a time of public discontent over miscarriages of justice.

The move, which has not been made public by the party but has been announced in internal meetings, would clip the wings of the party's highest authority on judicial and security matters.