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A case of big changes

It is called the “mini-consititution”. Many people might have heard about it- the Criminal Procedure Law- but do not understand the recent buzz around its amendment.

On Wedensday, the draft revision to the Criminal Procedure Law is set to be submitted to the National People’s Congress(NPC)for approval.

We Bangguo, chaireman of the NPC Standing Committee, said that revising the Criminal Procedure Law has been a focus of the legislative（立法的） work of the NPC and its Standing Committee.

Why is this law so important

Different from Criminal Law which stipulates（规定） crimes and penalties, ”Criminal Procedure Law regulates how the country deals with criminal cases and what rights and obligations a person involved in a criminal case has,” Chen Guangzhong, a leading expert on criminal procedure, told ifeng.com.

“It aims to crack down on crimes while at the same time protecting human rights.”

Besides, the law decides what the three powerful organs-public security organs, procuratorial（检察机关） organs and people’s courts- can do or cannot do.

Therefore, the law influences everyone’s daily life.

But the current version is criticized because it focuses more on cracking down on crimes and somehow has negected procedural justice.

For example, the police have relied heavily on self-incrinimation to solve criminal cases, said Tian Wenchang, director of the All–China lawyers Association’s criminal committee. It can lead to torture during interrogation（审问） and even forced confessions.

“Human rights protection is a universal principle that applies to all, including criminals,”said Chen.

Amendment highlights

The most prominent draft revison this year is to include”respecting and protecting human rights”in the general principle of the law’s first chapter.

If the NPC approves the revised law, analysts say it will be the first time China’s 30-year-old criminal procedure code has embodied the constitutional spirit if protecting human rights.

Several other new clauses are added to the law.

Public security officers cannot force suspects to incriminate themselves. New articles also exclude evidence, testimony（证词） and statements obtained through illegal means.

Although the revision is generally acclaimed as a great progress, some clauses are still controversial.

A clause in the revised version permits police to arrest suspects or hold them at a specific place under surverillance（监视）.

The police are permitted not to inform the suspect’sfamily of the arrest or surveillance if the case is related to state security or terrorism, and if telling families would impede（妨碍） the investigation.

Critics warn that such a clause is giving the police a large power and could hurt the suspects’ rights.

Significance

The revision is of great significance for both the country and its people.

“When I was young, I used to think that good diplomacy or powerful national defense is a country’s honor,” said zhang Sizhi, a well-known lawyer. ”But later I realized that well-protected human rights is a country’s biggest honor.”

Law professor Chen Weidong at Renmin University of China admitted that”it is slow progress, but legislation is a gradual thing, in which improvements are made little by little.”

The amendment project has also warned us that the public hold inadequate knowledge about this law.

A recent survery on weibo.com asked” do you know much about the Criminal Procedure Law? More than 65 percent admitted that they know little or nothing about he law, while about 20 percent said they are just “lookers-on” of the recent buzz.