|
Handbook of Criminal Justice Supervision (People’s Court Press, 1990). This is another useful source for tracing criminal judicial explanation prior to the 1990s. Compiled by the Second Criminal Division of the Supreme People’s Court, it embraces the criminal laws and judicial documents involving criminal trial since 1979, when the first Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure Law was promulgated, to 1990 and has permanent reference value.
Since 1997, when the amended Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure Law become effective, a lot of new problems have emerged in the judicial trial practices. In order to enhance the judges’ abilities to solve problems and deepen their understanding on the criminal law amended, the First Criminal Division of the Supreme People’s Court publishes a professional research and directive publication entitled, the Reference to Criminal Trial (Law Press, bimonthly, 1999-date, cumulated yearly).It is written mainly by the judges with rich trial experience of the said division and law school professorsl. The content of this book involves several parts of cases covering some typical crimes, laws, regulations and judicial explanations, selected verdict document and samples of litigation documents. In the cumulative volume, there is a subject index and a list in English which will help readers abroad.
There is another academic publication entitled A Guide to Criminal Jurisprudence (Law Press, 2000-date, Quarterly) which plays the same role as the former. Compiled by the Criminal Procuratorial Department of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, and written by reputed legal experts, it usually includes several parts such as judicial practice, application of evidence, legislative interpretation, analysis of disputed case, analysis and interpretation of newly defined crimes. Each part contains three or four studying articles focusing on some key and difficult points emerging in the criminal justice practices, providing incisive analysis offering authoritative opinions to the judicial practitioners.
State Compensation
On May 12, 1994, the NPC passed the Law of the People’s Republic of China on State Compensation, which divides the state compensation into two categories: administrative compensation and criminal compensation. In China, the problem of criminal compensation is not solved by general judicial proceedings. The decision for compensation is made by the compensation commission within the intermediate court and its higher courts. In order to meet the needs of lower courts in handling compensation cases, the Compensation Commission Office of the Supreme People’s Court edited the Handbook on State Criminal Compensation (People’s Court Press, 1995) which includes the laws and regulations of the NPC, the State Council, judicial documents of the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate concerning criminal compensation promulgated or issued from 1979 to 1995.
Annotated Edition
From 1990s, the China’s legislative activities reached it’s high tide and many laws and regulations relating to the establishment of socialist market economy and protecting the citizen’s democratic rights were enacted one after another according to the constitution amendments passed in 1993 and 1999 which provide that "the state practices socialist market economy" and "the People’s Republic of China governs the country according to law and makes it a socialist country ruled by law". In order to enable the lower courts to comprehend and apply the law accurately, the Supreme People’s Court strengthened its work on judicial interpretation and at the same time organized some well-experienced legal experts, law professors and judges who had been a party to the drafting of judicial interpretation, to write some annotated editions of judicial documents, such as:
•An Accurate Interpretation on Accusation in the Criminal Law (People’s Court Press, 1998);
•A Comprehension and Application of Interpretation for Certain Problems involving the Application of the Guaranty Law of the People’s Republic of China (Jilin People’s Press, 2000);
•A New Interpretation and Application Concerning the Guaranty Law of the People’s Republic of China (Xinhua Press, 2001);
•A Comprehension and Application of Interpretation on Several Problems Relating to the Definition of Moral Damage Caused by Tort (People’s Court Press, 2001);
•A Comprehension and Application of Provisions Regarding the Hearing Scope of Civil Cases (For Trial Implementation) (People’s Court Press, 2001);
•An Explanation on the Implementary Proposals of General Principles of Civil Law of the People’s Republic of China (China Legal System Press, 2001).
The Supreme Peoples’ Procuratorate
Article 129 of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China states that the people’s procuratorates are state organs for legal supervision and the Supreme Peoples’ Procuratorate is also authorized by NPC to issue the procuratorial interpretations. The publications published by the Supreme Peoples’ Procuratorate are less than those of the Supreme People’s Court’s. The general sources is the Gazette of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate (1991-date, irregularly, about six times a year), which contains usually the procuratorial interpretations, circulars, documents and typical criminal cases. The full text of the Gazette from 2000 is available online at http://www.jcrb.com.cn/ournews/asp/zazhi/gb/index.htm. Other procuratorial documents prior to 1991 can be tracked using the Procuratorial Handbook (China Procuratorial Press, 1979-date, yearly).
|
