SPP unveils tasks for next five years

China's Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) unveiled its major tasks for the next five years on Thursday, vowing to improve the credibility of the prosecuting authority.

According to the development guideline, the SPP will support accountability system reforms nationwide to define the responsibilities and jurisdiction of staff at various levels and improve how it monitors their use of power.

The SPP will strengthen internal discipline inspections to prevent corruption and ensure prosecutors are clean. A committee will be established to assess accountability and issue punishments for violators, it added.

It will trial the allocation of prosecutors to police stations to assist the handling of cases and supervise judicial measures taken by the police that may limit the personal freedoms of civilians.

The SPP will also improve plea bargaining for criminal cases, implementing different procedures depending on defendants' pleas, according to the guideline.

Regarding juvenile crimes, the SPP said measures will be underscored by tolerance and sternness. It will review the number of arrests, prosecutions and imprisonment of juveniles suspected of lesser crimes, but seriously punish those found guilty of serious violence crimes.

It will also improve procedures to confirm evidence of sexual abuse. Endit