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                                                  (Sources: Xinhua, Dec. 30)

China’s Criminal Procedure Law, which was newly amended earlier this year to highlight human rights protection, will take effect on Jan. 1, 2013.

Following the previous revision 16 years ago, the newly-amended law include the phrase “respecting and protecting human rights” in its first chapter and contains numerous detailed articles aimed to ensure the benefits of suspects and the justice of law enforcement work.

The law stipulates that a suspect should be informed of the right to appoint an attorney from the first instance he or she is interrogated by investigating organs or is subject to mandatory measures, altering the old version which stated that a suspect could only have a defense counsel when the case is handed over to prosecutors.

Meanwhile, law enforcement entities should ensure that lawyers meet their clients within 48 hours of receiving a request to do so, and the lawyers have the right to understand main facts pertaining to the suspect or defendant’s crimes and provide legal consultation. Lawyers’ meeting with their suspects or defendants should not be monitored or recorded, said the law.

The country’s top court on this Monday released a judicial interpretation for the amended Criminal Procedure Law to help courts better adapt to the revised law and ensure clients’ rights.

The lengthy interpretation mainly targets newly added or revised provisions of the amended law and explains relevant provisions that need to be further defined, according to a statement from the Supreme People’s Court (SPC).

It also rectifies or clarifies some previous provisions that were problematic, the SPC said.

The Criminal Procedural Law was amended in March during the annual session of the National People’s Congress, the top legislative body, to include the phrase “respecting and protecting human rights” in the law’s first chapter.

The revised law stresses protecting suspects and defendants from “illegal restriction, detention and arrest.”

The judicial interpretation contains specific stipulations on new legal proceedings for juvenile criminal cases and compulsory medical treatment cases to ensure legal judgments.

It also stipulates the appearance of the witness, identifier and expert to ensure the parties’ right of confrontation.

Compensation standards for incidental civil actions are also clarified in the interpretation, according to the SPC statement.

The SPC statement said the interpretation, which will go into effect along with the new Criminal Procedure Law on January 1, 2013, will help ensure the effective implementation of the law and safeguard human rights. 

After the law was amended in March this year, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate and the Ministry of Public Security all have released even more detailed rules to guide their inferior departments’ work in line with the spirit.

The revised regulation, released on Wednesday by the Ministry of Public Security, is aimed at helping courts adapt to the newly amended Criminal Procedure Law and has reiterated its ban on corporal punishment and forced self-incrimination in police investigations in a revised regulation in the handling of criminal cases.

The regulation features a provision that bans coerced confessions and torture in its general principle chapter, as well as clarifies the range of activities that may be recorded or videotaped to boost real-time investigation monitoring.

It further clarifies the rights of suspects who are in detention, such as their right to have contact with lawyers, inform family members of forced measures and receive food.

A substantial number of rules related to lawyers’ engagement in criminal proceedings, evidence usage and investigative measures were modified.

Stipulations for criminal cases concerning foreigners and international police cooperation were also modified, according to the regulation.

The revised regulation will take effect on Jan. 1, 2013, along with the amended Criminal Procedural Law.

Along with the Criminal Procedure Law, the Civil Procedure Law that was newly amended to further streamline the way civil disputes are dealt with and promote social stability and harmony will also take effect on Jan, 1 next year.

According to the amendment, agencies or organizations determined by law can bring litigation against those whose acts undermine public welfare by polluting or infringing on consumers’ interests -- an addition many experts believe signals a major step forward in creating a public interest litigation system in China.

In a move to curb malicious lawsuits, the law allows third parties to appeal court decisions if they have evidence that the court’s verdict, ruling or mediation has violated their rights and interests.

In addition, the revised law gives grassroots courts permission to make a final judgment for first instance trials concerning civil claims for an amount of money equivalent to or below 30 percent of the average annual salary in the province where the case takes place.

 

(Edited by: China West Lawyer

 

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