Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China
The Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China (CPL) is a procedural statute in China intended to ensure the correct implementation of the Criminal Law.[1] The CPL defines how trials are to be conducted, what rights suspects of crimes have to defend themselves, the role and scope of the activities of defense lawyers, and the entire process of the administration of justice through the courts in China.[1]
China's CPL has been criticized as offering inadequate protections for those suspects of crimes by Chinese police. Lawyers have called for the CPL to be amended to demand that criminal defense lawyers be present during interrogations by police, as well as video and audio recordings being made mandatory.[2] Both these measures would prevent the torture and other abuse in custody widely employed to gain confessions.
The CPL is also often not enforced, and ignoring it rarely results in penalties administered by the procuratorate or other supervisory organs. There are multiple documented cases of the procuratorate and public security bureau ignoring the CPL and instead taking direction from the political-legal committees at various levels.[2]
References
- 1 2 Translate, China Law. "China Law Translate | Criminal Procedure Law (2012)". Retrieved 2016-07-11.
- 1 2 "Detention, Torture of Anhui Teens Reflect Continuing Criminal Procedure Violations | Congressional-Executive Commission on China". www.cecc.gov. Retrieved 2016-07-19.