The Criminal Procedure Law of China was promulgated in 1979, and amended in 1996, 2012 and 2018 respectively. The latest revision entered into force on October 26, 2018.
There are 308 articles in total. The Criminal Procedure Law is divided into five parts.
The key points are as follows:
The public security organs shall be responsible for investigation, detention, execution of arrests and preliminary inquiry in criminal cases. The people’s procuratorates shall be responsible for procuratorial work, authorizing approval of arrests, conducting investigation and initiating public prosecution of cases directly accepted by the procuratorial organs.
In trying cases, the people’s courts shall apply the system whereby the second instance is final.
Cases in the people’s courts shall be heard in public, unless otherwise provided by the Law.
A defendant shall have the right to defense, and the people’s courts shall have the duty to guarantee that the defendant acquires defense.
No person shall be found guilty without being judged as such by a people’s court according to law.
Provisions of the Law shall apply to foreigners who commit crimes for which criminal responsibility should be investigated.
In addition to exercising the right to defend himself, a criminal suspect or a defendant may entrust one or two persons as his/her defenders.
Judges, procuratorial personnel and investigators shall adhere to statutory procedures when gathering and obtaining evidence that may prove whether criminal suspects or defendants are guilty or innocent, or whether cases involve serious criminal offenses or not. They are strictly prohibited from extorting confessions by torture, collecting evidence through threats, enticement, deception or other unlawful means, or forcing anyone to provide evidence proving his/her own guilt.
The criminal suspect shall answer the investigators’ questions truthfully but shall have the right to refuse to answer any questions that are irrelevant to the case.
Investigators, when interrogating a criminal suspect, may record or videotape the interrogation process, and shall do so where the criminal suspect is involved in a crime punishable by life imprisonment or capital punishment or in an otherwise major criminal case.