Criminal Justice

The Shanghai No. 2 Intermediate People's Court conducted an appeals hearing on January 20 and upheld the original guilty verdict against petitioner Xu Zhengqing, according to a press release issued on the same day by Human Rights in China (HRIC). Xu was originally sentenced to three years imprisonment on a charge of "creating disturbances," a crime under Article 293 of China's Criminal Law. HRIC noted that over 100 supporters appeared outside the courthouse for Xu's appeal hearing, and that public security officials forcibly removed the supporters and temporarily detained them in a nearby school building.

Reporters Without Borders reports that Lu Decheng, a fellow 1989 Tiananmen Square protestor, visited Yu Dongyue in prison and said that he was "barely recognizable." Lu described Yu Dongyue as disoriented, with a visible head injury. Another prisoner told Lu that prison officials tied Yu to an electricity pole and left him outside in the hot sun for several days. The fellow inmate also said authorities kept Yu in solitary confinement for two years, and offered the opinion that "that was what broke him."

（1994年12月29日第八届全国人民代表大会常务委员会第十一次会议通过　1994年12月29日中华人民共和国主席令第三十五号公布施行）

目 　录

　　第一章　总　则

　　第二章　监　狱

　　第三章　刑罚的执行

　　　　　　第一节　收　监

　　　　　　第二节　对罪犯提出的申诉、控告、检举的处理

　　　　　　第三节　监外执行

　　　　　　第四节　减刑、假释

　　　　　　第五节　释放和安置

　　第四章　狱政管理

　　　　　　第一节　分押分管

　　　　　　第二节　警　戒

　　　　　　第三节　戒具和武器的使用

　　　　　　第四节　通信、会见

　　　　　　第五节　生活、卫生

　　　　　　第六节　奖　惩

　　　　　　第七节　对罪犯服刑期间犯罪的处理

　　第五章　对罪犯的教育改造

　　第六章　对未成年犯的教育改造

　　第七章　附　则

第一章　总　则

　　第一条　为了正确执行刑罚，惩罚和改造罪犯，预防和减少犯罪，根据宪法，制定本法。

　　第二条　监狱是国家的刑罚执行机关。

　　依照刑法和刑事诉讼法的规定，被判处死刑缓期二年执行、无期徒刑、有期徒刑的罪犯，在监狱内执行刑罚。

　　第三条　监狱对罪犯实行惩罚和改造相结合、教育和劳动相结合的原则，将罪犯改造成为守法公民。

　　第四条　监狱对罪犯应当依法监管，根据改造罪犯的需要，组织罪犯从事生产劳动，对罪犯进行思想教育、文化教育、技术教育。

　　第五条　监狱的人民警察依法管理监狱、执行刑罚、对罪犯进行教育改造等活动，受法律保护。

　　第六条　人民检察院对监狱执行刑罚的活动是否合法，依法实行监督。

　　第七条　罪犯的人格不受侮辱，其人身安全、合法财产和辩护、申诉、控告、检举以及其他未被依法剥夺或者限制的权利不受侵犯。

The National People's Congress (NPC) will deliberate on a new "Administrative Coercion Law" in 2006 that will restrain the "administrative compulsory power" of government agencies, according to a Xinhua article on December 27, 2005, and a China Newsweek article posted by Xinhua on January 17 (both in Chinese). Administrative compulsory power allows administrative agencies to take compulsory measures (ranging from confiscations of property to restraints on personal liberty) against Chinese citizens. China Newsweek's article notes that the purpose of the new law is to "standardize and restrict the government's administrative power."

Supreme People's Court (SPC) President Xiao Yang announced on October 25 that the SPC will consolidate and reclaim its power over death penalty review as part of a Second Five Year Reform Program, according to an October 26 China Daily article. Xiao reported to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress that, beginning in 2006, the SPC would no longer permit provincial high courts to review death sentences.

The Supreme People's Court (SPC) released its five year court reform program (translated by CECC staff) for 2004 to 2008 on October 26, 2005. (The full text of the document did not become available until December 2005.) The focus of the program suggests that one of the top priorities for judicial authorities is criminal law reforms, and that authorities may also address some institutional problems facing the judiciary. At the same time, however, the program also includes proposals to increase official supervision of judges and does not change basic Communist Party control over the courts.

Criminal Law Reforms

Reforms to Judicial Review of Death Penalty Cases

The Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) and Ministry of Justice (MOJ) participated in a December 14 online forum posted by the People's Procuratorate Daily (in Chinese) to discuss the impact of the UN Convention Against Corruption (Anti-Corruption Convention) on China's anti-corruption efforts. The forum took place on the same day that the Anti-Corruption Convention went into effect worldwide. SPP representative Zhang Zhihui and MOJ representative Huang Feng agreed on the need to improve domestic legislation to bring China into line with its obligations under the Convention. They also highlighted the need for China to supplement criminal penalties with preventive measures, including better management over public assets, the establishment of an anti-corruption agency, and increased education on corruption issues.

Guangzhou city officials released rural issues activist Guo Feixiong without charge on the exact date of their legally mandated deadline, according to a December 28 report by Radio Free Asia (RFA). Authorities formally arrested Guo Feixiong, whose true name is Yang Maodong, on October 4, 2005, for "gathering people to disturb public order," a crime under Article 290 of China's Criminal Law.