SPP tightens monitoring of case file access to avoid internal meddling

China's Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) unveiled a document on Friday that emphasizes lawful working methods for prosecutors while improving a system to oversee access to case files to prevent inside meddling.

"The collection, examination and use of evidence should be strictly in accordance with the law to ensure that facts and evidence involved in investigations and prosecution can withstand the test of law," said the document.

It vowed to improve the system of recording staff accessing case files and pursue the liabilities of those found manipulating them or meddling in the handling of related cases.

The document echoed a key decision to reform the judicial system and ensure the independence of courts and prosecutors, which was reached at a key meeting held in Oct. last year on promoting the rule of law.

In Oct., Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, denounced judges and prosecutors who manipulate cases in exchange for money and favors.

Friday's document urged to resolutely prevent and correct wrongful convictions and pursue the liabilities of those responsible, stressing that evidence illegally obtained must be excluded.

Meanwhile, it urged a focus on crimes concerning state-owned enterprises' reform and governmental investments, including embezzling state assets and negligence of duty and fraud.

The document spelled out a host of case categories that prosecutors should deal with a heavy hand, from environmental wrongdoings, corruption, national security violations and those closely related to people's livelihoods: education, income, social insurance, health and food safety.

Prosecutors were also told to intensify the judicial protection of intellectual property rights and severely punish violations in the science and technology field such as the misappropriation of research funds and resources. Endi