(Adopted at the Second Session of the Fifth National People's
Congress on July 1, 1979, promulgated by Order No.6 of the Chairman
of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on July
7, 1979 and effective as of January 1, 1980; amended in according
with the Decision on Revising the Criminal Procedure Law of the
People's Republic of China adopted at the Forth Session of the
Eighth National People's Congress on March 17, 1996)
Contents
Part One General
Provisions
Chapter I Aim and Basic
Principles
Chapter II Jurisdiction
Chapter III Withdrawal
Chapter IV Defence and
Representation
Chapter V Evidence
Chapter VI Compulsory Measures
Chapter VII Incidental Civil
Actions
Chapter VIII Time Periods and Service
Chapter IX Other Provisions
Part Two Filing a Case,
Investigation, and Initiation of Public Prosecution
Chapter I Filing a Case
Chapter II Investigation
Section 1 General Provisions
Section 2 Interrogation of the Criminal
Suspect
Section 3 Questioning of the
Witnesses
Section 4 Inquest and Examination
Section 5 Search
Section 6 Seizure of Material Evidence and
Documentary Evidence
Section 7 Expert Evaluation
Section 8 Wanted Orders
Section 9 Conclusion of Investigation
Section 10 Investigation of Cases Directly Accepted by
the People's Procuratorates
Chapter III Initiation of Public
Prosecution
Part Three Trial
Chapter I Trial
Organizations
Chapter II Procedure of First
Instance
Section 1 Cases of Public
Prosecution
Section 2 Cases of Private
Prosecution
Section 3 Summary
Procedure
Chapter III Procedure of Second
Instance
Chapter IV Procedure for Review of Death
Sentences
Chapter V Procedure for Trial
Supervision
Part Four Execution
Supplementary Provisions
Part One
General Provisions
Chapter I
Aim and Basic Principles
Article 1 This Law is enacted in accordance with the
Constitution and for the purpose of ensuring correct enforcement of
the Criminal Law, punishing crimes, protecting the people,
safeguarding State and public security and maintaining socialist
public order.
Article 2 The aim of the Criminal Procedure Law of the
People's Republic of China is: to ensure accurate and timely
ascertainment of facts about crimes, correct application of
law, punishment of criminals and protection of the innocent against
being investigated for criminal responsibility; to enhance the
citizens' awareness of the need to abide by law and to fight
vigorously against criminal acts in order to safeguard
the socialist legal system, to protect the citizens' personal
rights; their property rights, democratic rights and other rights;
and to guarantee smooth progress of the cause of socialist
development.
Article 3 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. The
People's Courts shall be responsible for adjudication. Except as
otherwise provided by law, no other organs, organizations or
individuals shall have the authority to exercise such
powers.
In conducting criminal proceedings, the People's Courts, the
People's Procuratorates and the public security organs must
strictly observe this Law and any relevant stipulations of other
laws.
Article 4 State security organs shall, in accordance with
law, handle cases of crimes that endanger State security,
performing the same functions and powers as the public security
organs.
Article 5 The People's Courts shall exercise judicial
power independently in accordance with law and the People's
Procuratorates shall exercise procuratorial power independently in
accordance with law, and they shall be free from interference by
any administrative organ, public organization or individual.
Article 6 In conducting criminal proceedings, the People's
Courts, the People's Procuratorates and the public security organs
must rely on the masses, base themselves on facts and take
law as the criterion. The law applies equally to all citizens and
no privilege whatsoever is permissible before law.
Article 7 In conducting criminal proceedings, the People's
Courts, the People's Procuratorates and the public security organs
shall divide responsibilities, coordinate their efforts and
check each other to ensure the correct and effective
enforcement of law.
Article 8 The People's Procuratorates shall, in accordance
with law, exercise legal supervision over criminal proceedings.
Article 9 Citizens of all nationalities shall have the
right to use their native spoken and written languages in
court proceedings. The People's Courts, the People's
Procuratorates and the public security organs shall provide
translations for any party to the court proceedings who is not
familiar with the spoken or written language commonly
used in the locality.
Where people of a minority nationality live in a
concentrated community or where a number of nationalities live
together in one area, court hearings shall be conducted in the
spoken language commonly used in the locality, and judgments,
notices and other documents shall be issued in the written
language commonly used in the locality.
Article 10 In trying cases, the People's Courts
shall apply the system whereby the second instance is
final.
Article 11 Cases in the People's Courts shall be heard in
public, unless otherwise provided by this Law. A defendant
shall have the right to defence, and the People's Courts
shall have the duty to guarantee his defence.
Article 12 No person shall be found guilty without being
judged as such by a People's Court according to law.
Article 13 In trying cases, the People's Courts shall
apply the system of people's assessors taking part in trials in
accordance with this Law.
Article 14 The People's Courts, the People's
Procuratorates and the public security organs shall safeguard the
procedural rights to which participants in proceedings are
entitled according to law.
In cases where a minor under the age of 18 commits a crime, the
criminal suspect and the legal representative of the defendant may
be notified to be present at the time of interrogation and
trial.
Participants in proceedings shall have the right to file charges
against judges, procurators and investigators whose acts infringe
on their citizen's procedural rights or subject their persons to
indignities.
Article 15 In any of the following circumstances, no
criminal responsibility shall be investigated; if investigation has
already been undertaken, the case shall be dismissed, or
prosecution shall not be initiated, or the handling shall be
terminated, or innocence shall be declared:
(1) if an act is obviously minor,
causing no serious harm, and is therefore not deemed a
crime;
(2) if the limitation period for criminal
prosecution has expired;
(3) if an exemption of criminal punishment has been
granted in a special amnesty decree;
(4) if the crime is to be handled only upon complaint
according to the Criminal Law, but there has been no complaint or
the complaint has been withdrawn;
(5) if the criminal suspect or defendant is deceased;
or
(6) if other laws provide an exemption from
investigation of criminal responsibility.
Article 16 Provisions of this Law shall apply to
foreigners who commit crimes for which criminal responsibility
should be investigated.
If foreigners with diplomatic privileges and
immunities commit crimes for which criminal responsibility
should be investigated, those cases shall be resolved through
diplomatic channels.
Article 17 In accordance with the international treaties
which the People's Republic of China has concluded or acceded to or
on the principle of reciprocity, the judicial organs of China
and that of other countries may request judicial
assistance from each other in criminal affairs.
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