Law Amendment to Balance Human Rights Protection, Penalty

The draft amendment to the Criminal Procedure Law, to be submitted for final review and voting, highlights the principle of protecting human rights and punishing criminals as a whole, said a spokesman in Beijing on Sunday.

The principle of respecting and protecting human rights has been written in the draft, confirmed Li Zhaoxing, spokesman for the Fifth Session of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC), at a press conference.

The bill will be put for voting at the coming national legislative session, scheduled to open on Monday, after being reviewed by the NPC Standing Committee twice in last August and December.

"The Criminal Procedure Law should not only identify criminal facts precisely and swiftly, and correctly impose legal punishment on offenders, but also make sure innocent people are not convicted," he said.

Adding the article of protecting human rights in the Criminal Procedure Law will push judicial authorities to better observe and implement the constitutional principle in actual practice, he said.

China's Criminal Procedure Law was enacted in 1979 and revised in 1996.

According to the draft amendment, the Criminal Procedure Law will go through some major revisions with a number of articles amended and new ones added, Li said.

"This will be an important improvement and reform of the country's criminal prosecution," he said.

The bill has embodied the principle of human right protection in many detailed regulations, he said.

In the chapter on evidence, it has been made sure that no one would be forced to prove their own guilt, while provisions on how to rule out illegal evidence have been added.

In terms of compulsive measures, the criteria for detention and the procedure for procuratorates to approve arrest and detention have been improved.

In the bill, lawmakers have strictly limited the situations where family members are not notified after a person has been subjected to compulsive measures.

In the chapter on defense, legislators have made it clear that the suspect may intrust defense lawyers at the investigation stage, and they have also improved the procedure for lawyers to meet with suspects and consult documents.

The scope of application for legal aid has been enlarged in the bill.

In the chapter on investigation, provisions on interrogating criminal suspects and defenders have been improved and supervision over investigation activities been tightened up.

In the chapter on trials, the range of cases, whose second trial must be an open session, have been clarified and detailed provisions for the procedure of reviewing death penalty cases been laid out.

In the chapter on enforcement, the provision on community correction has been added.

On special procedures, the articles on dropping charges with certain conditions and sealing up criminal records have been added.