II. Regulations Promulgated by Ministries Are an Important Link to Protect Prisoners' Human Rights

Regulations promulgated by ministries are an important link in legal system construction, as well as an important link in the protection of prisoners' human rights. The principle stipulations of many important laws are operated and realized through regulations promulgated by ministries. In recent years, Ministry of Justice and related ministries and commissions issued a series of regulations and formulated many new measures in protecting prisoners' human rights. The followings are some of the examples.

(I) Improving protection of prisoners' human rights in the process of educating and reforming them. Ministry of Justice issued Regulations on the Education and Reform Work in Prisons in 2003, and issued Outline on Educating and Reforming Criminals in 2007. As the summarization and upgrade of the experience of educating and reforming prisoners in the form of ministry-promulgated regulations, these regulations stress to improve prisoners' human rights protection in the process of educating and reforming them and highlight their right to development. Since 1980s, a large number of special schools have been set up in China's prisons, making prominent achievements. The special concepts and practices of attaching importance to education and reform are unique in the international criminal correction realm. In 2001, Ministry of Justice put forward that prison work should be centered with improving the quality of criminal reform through legalizing prison work, making it more scientific and socialization. In 2008, China put forward that the recidivism rate should be made the primary standard measuring the supervision and management work so as to stress more on the work of educating and reforming criminals, fostering their abilities of adapting to the society and protecting prisoners' rights in an all-round way according to law.

(II) Administering prisons according to law. Ministry of Justice issued regulations such as Provisions on the Procedures for Prisons to Propose Commutations and Paroles and Prohibitions in Six Aspects for the People's Police in Prisons to promote the legalization process of prison work, provide legal basis and regulations for prison administration and effectively protect criminals' rights in various aspects.

(III) Constantly improving the fund guarantee for prisons to lay a sound basis of protecting prisoners' human rights. The Standards for Basic Expenditures in Prisons was issued in 2003 and for the first time it standardized the fund guarantee in prisons in an all-round manner and clarified the scope of financial coverage of prison funds, laying the foundation for the establishment of full-amount guarantee system for prisons. According to China's Prison Law, "the State shall ensure the expenditures of a prison for the reform of prisoners. The prisons' expenditures for the people's police, for the reform of prisoners, for the living expenses of prisoners, for the administration and installations of the prison, and other special expenses shall be included into the State budget." With the promotion of the prison system reform in an all-round way, the standard of prison fund also increases gradually. The gradual realization of full-amount guarantee system and the establishment of the long-term mechanism of dynamic growth of funds for prisons can lay solid basis for the protection of prisoners' human rights.

(IV) Constantly strengthening the system of prison affairs publicity. In 1999, Ministry of Justice issued Regulations of the Prison System on the Implementation of "Publicity in Two Aspects and Supervision in One Aspects" in the Process of Executing Criminal Punishment (trial). In 2001, it issued the Implementation Opinions on the Promotion of Prison Affairs Publicity in Prison System，which covers the basic rights and obligations of prisons in the part of prison affairs publicity. The new measures, known as the "sunshine project," has enhanced the transparency of prison law enforcement, strengthened the connection between the prison and the society, created an open, equal and just law-enforcement environment and promoted just and civilized law enforcement in prisons.

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