Representative Christopher H. Smith, Chair
Senator Jeff Merkley, Cochair
PRC Legal Provisions
Additional Laws and Regulations
Provisional Measures of the Ministry of Commerce on Handling Complaints Lodged by Foreign-Invested Enterprises (Chinese and English Text)
October 10, 2006
The following <a href="https://english.mofcom.gov.cn/aarticle/policyrelease/domesticpolicy/200610/20061003367278.html">translation</a> and <a href="https://www.mofcom.gov.cn/aarticle/b/c/200609/20060903283275.html">Chinese text</a> were retrieved from the Ministry of Commerce Web site on September 27, 2006. <HR> Ministry of Commerce Decree No. 2 2006, promulgating Provisional Measures of the Ministry of Commerce on Handling Complaints Lodged by Foreign-Invested Enterprises Tuesday,October 10,2006 Posted: 09:31 BJT(0131 GMT) CAITEC Provisional Measures of the Ministry of Commerce on Handling Complaints Lodged by Foreign-Invested Enterprises were adopted at the 5th Ministerial Conference of the Ministry of Commerce on May 17, 2006. These Measures are hereby promulgated and shall be implemented as of October 1, 2006. Minister: Bo Xilai September 1, 2006 Provisional Measures of the Ministry of Commerce on Handling Complaints Lodged by Foreign-Invested Enterprises Article 1 Provisional Measures of the Ministry of Commerce on Handling Complaints Lodged by Foreign-Invested Enterprises are formulated in accordance with relevant laws, regulations and actual situation of handling complaints of foreign-invested enterprises in our country for the purposes of handling complaints lodged by foreign-invested enterprises effectively in time, safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of foreign-invested enterprises and their investors, promoting the healthy development of foreign-invested enterprises, improving further the investment environment for foreign tradesmen. Article 2 Complaints lodged by foreign-invested enterprises in terms of these Measures refers to the behaviours that the foreign-invested enterprises and their investors within the territory of our country (hereinafter referred to as “the complainants”), when they think their legitimate rights and interests are harmed by the administrative behaviours, submit their complaints to the complaint-accepting organs for settlement through coordination, or report the facts, put forward suggestions, opinions or requests which shall be coordinated and handled by the complaint-accepting organ in accordance with laws. Article 3 A complainant shall make complaints according to the fact, provide corresponding evidence and give positive assistance to the complaint-accepting organs on the investigation in the principles of honest, volunteer and lawfulness. Article 4 The complaint-accepting organs shall handle complaints in the principles of fairness, justice and lawfulness in accordance with the provisions of corresponding laws, regulations and these Measures. Article 5 National Complaint Center for Foreign-invested Enterprises and the departments having the function of handling the complaints of the local governments at all levels (hereinafter referred to as local complaint-accepting organs) shall handle the complaints lodged by foreign-invested enterprises according to the actual situation. National Complaint Center for Foreign-invested Enterprises is responsible for handling the complaints directly lodged by foreign-invested enterprises to National Complaint Center, the complaints lodged by trans-provincial foreign-invested enterprises and the complaints exerting a significant influence lodged by foreign-invested enterprises, and training, investigation, management and coordination relating to the complaints lodged by nationwide foreign-invested enterprises. Local complaint-accepting organs are responsible for handling the complaints lodged by foreign-invested enterprises in this area, handling the complaints delivered or supervised by National Complaint Center for Foreign-invested Enterprises. After being accepted, the complaints shall be handled in principle by local organ in the location where the complaints are lodged. The complaint-accepting organ shall, after accepting the complaints, make investigations, feedback information and make coordination. Article 6 The complaint coordination office for foreign-invested enterprises of the Ministry of Commerce is responsible for coordination, guidance and supervision of the complaints lodged by nationwide foreign-invested enterprises, handling the complaints involving too many departments and industries and needing to be solved through a ministerial coordination meeting lodged by foreign-invested enterprises and submitted by National Complaint Center for Foreign-invested Enterprises, making policies and principles for settling the dispute, perfecting corresponding laws and regulation. Article 7 A complainant shall, when bring a law-suit, submit written complaint materials to the complaint-accepting organ. Basic information of the complaints, corresponding evidence, contact person and mode shall be clarified in the materials. The complaint materials shall be written in Chinese. Article 8 The requirements for accepting a complaint: Having definite complaint target and complaint requirements; Being qualified for the main body of the complaint; Having concrete facts, reasons for the complaint, and corresponding evidence shall be enclosed; Being subject to the range of the complaints stipulated in these Measures. Article 9 Following complaints shall not be accepted: Having entered or completed the procedures of justice, reconsideration and arbitration; Having been accepted and handled by the departments of discipline inspection, supervision and correspondence and visitation; Having been or being handled by a complaint accepting organ; Complaints under an assumed name; Other complaints that do not meet with the requirements of accepting the complaints. Article 10 Procedures for handling a complaint: Examining complaint materials. The complaint-accepting organs shall, after receiving a complainant’s complaints, tell the complainant their decision on whether or not to handle the complaints within 5 working days. The complaint-accepting organs shall, after the examination, handle the complaints meeting the requirements and send a notice of handling the complaints to the complainant. To the complaints that do not meet the requirements, the complaint-accepting organs shall send a notice of not handling the complaints to the complainant within 5 days (The reasons why the complaints could not be handled shall be given), and return the complaint materials. If the complaint materials need to be replenished, the complaint-accepting organs shall inform the complainant within 5 days to supplement the materials. Registration for handling the complaints. To the accepted complaints, the complaint-accepting organs shall make a registration, set up a file and indicate the date of accepting the complaints in time. Informing the defendant. Handling the complaints. A complaint-accepting organ shall solve a complaint within 30 working days. If it could not solve a complaint within 30 working days, it shall inform the complainant in time. After a complaint is solved, the complainant shall be informed of the result. Make a registering for settlement. Article 11 Following ways shall be taken for handling a complaint: Issuing a suggestion letter. The complaint-accepting organs shall put forward suggestions how to handle the complaints to the complainant and relative department according to the facts and relevant provisions of laws and regulations in order to help them solve the complaint. Make administrative coordination with relevant departments. Deliver the complaint to local complaint-accepting organ or relevant department for settlement. Other proper ways to handle the complaints. Article 12 A complaint shall be handled to an end in case of one of following circumstances: Solved in accordance with Article 11; Solved by local complaint-accepting organ or relevant department through coordination or arbitration; The litigant has made an application to the arbitration organ for arbitration, to the court for bring a lawsuit or administrative reconsideration; After verification, the complaint does not accord with the facts; The complainant has applied for withdrawing the complaint; The complainant refused to be cooperative and refused to tell the truth. Article 13 The complaint-accepting organs shall keep business secret for the complainant except for the special circumstances stipulated by laws. Article 14 The staffs of a complaint-accepting organ shall be whole-heartedly devoted to their duties, act impartially, and handle the complaint properly in time. Article 15 The Complaint Coordination Office of the Ministry of Commerce for Foreign-invested enterprises is under Foreign-invested Administration Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce. National Complaint Center for Foreign-invested Enterprises is under Bureau of investment Promotion Affaire of the Ministry of Commerce. Article 16 The interpretation of these Measures is vested in the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China. Article 17 These Measures shall come into effect as of October 1, 2006. (All information published in this website is authentic in Chinese. English is provided for reference only. ) |
Provisions Regarding Issues of the Recognition and Execution of Foreign Arbitration Award Fee Collection and Examination Time Limits (Chinese Text)
October 6, 2006
The following text was retrieved from the Supreme People's Court Web site on October 6, 2006. |
Provisions Regarding People's Court Recognition of Judgments Relating to Taiwan Region Civil Trials
October 6, 2006
The following text was retrieved from the Supreme People's Court Web site on October 6, 2006. |
Arrangements Regarding Domestic and Hong Kong Special Administration Region Reciprocation in the Execution of Arbitration Awards (Chinese Text)
October 6, 2006
The following text was retrieved from the Supreme People's Court Web site on October 6, 2006. |
Opinion Regarding Certain Issues Relating to the Implementation of the General Principles of the Civil Law of the People's Republic of China (Trial Implementation)
October 6, 2006
The following text was retrieved from the Ministry of Commerce Web site on October 6, 2006. |
Provisions on Legal Aid Work in Criminal Litigation (CECC Full Translation)
October 5, 2006
The following is a translation prepared by the Congressional-Executive Commission on China of the "Provisions on Legal Aid Work in Criminal Litigation" jointly issued by the Supreme People's Court, Supreme People's Procuratorate, Ministry of Public Security, and Ministry of Justice on September 28, 2005. The Chinese text was retrieved from the Law-Lib.com <a href="https://www.law-lib.com/law/law_view.asp?id=111422">Web site</a> on November 21, 2005. A summary of the projected impact of these provisions is available <a href="/pages/virtualAcad/index.phpd?showsingle=30909">here</a>.<HR> Provisions of the Supreme People’s Court, Supreme People’s Procuratorate, Ministry of Public Security, and Ministry of Justice on Legal Aid Work in Criminal Litigation Article 1. These provisions are formulated, and the realities of legal aid work are combined, in accordance with the "Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China," "Law on Lawyers of the People's Republic of China," "Regulation on Legal Aid," and other related regulations, in order to strengthen and standardize legal aid work in criminal litigation. Article 2. Criminal suspects, defendants in cases of public prosecution, victims in cases of public prosecution and their legal representatives or close relatives, and private prosecutors in cases of private prosecution and their legal representatives who, due to financial hardship, have not retained a lawyer or entrusted an agent ad litem, can apply for legal aid with any of the legal aid organizations within the public security bureau, people's procuratorate, or people's court handling the case. As persons whose capacities are restricted, criminal suspects and defendants can be represented by their legal representative when applying for legal aid. Article 3. The criteria for measuring a citizen's financial hardship shall be implemented in accordance with the regulations of the people's government of the province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the central government receiving the case. Article 4. The public security bureaus and people's procuratorates shall, subsequent to lawful interrogation of a criminal suspect for the first time or from the day on which compulsory measures are adopted against him, and at the same time that they notify a criminal suspect that he has the right to retain a lawyer to provide him with legal advice and to file petitions and complaints on his behalf or to apply on his behalf for a guaranty pending trial, also notify him that if there is financial hardship, he can apply to a legal aid organization for legal aid. If a case involves state secrets, the criminal suspect shall be notified that his application for legal aid shall be approved by the investigating agency. The people's procuratorates shall, within three days of the date on which the case materials are transferred for investigation before prosecution, and at the same time that they notify the criminal suspect that he has the right to entrust a criminal defender, also notify him that if there is financial hardship, he can apply to a legal aid organization for legal aid; and at the same time that they notify a victim and his legal representative or close relatives that they have the right to entrust agents ad litem, also notify him that if there is financial hardship, he can apply to a legal aid organization for legal aid. The people's courts shall, within three days from the date on which investigation of a case for prosecution has been completed, and at the same time that they notify the defendant that he has the right to entrust a criminal defender, also notify him that if there is financial hardship, he can apply to a legal aid organization for legal aid. The people's courts shall, within three days from the date on which they receive the file record for a case of private prosecution, and at the same time that they notify the private prosecutor and his legal representative that they have the right to entrust an agent ad litem, also notify him that if there is a financial hardship, he can apply to a legal aid organization for legal aid. Article 5. Notification can be carried out verbally or in writing. A record shall be kept in the case of verbal notification and signed by the defendant; a written notification shall be returned for execution on the person's file. Article 6. The public security bureau, people's procuratorates, and people's courts shall, within 24 hours after receiving a request from a detained criminal suspect or criminal defendant for legal aid, transfer the application to the local legal aid organization and also inform the applicant's legal representative, close relatives, or other entrusted persons to assist in providing the relevant certifications, evidence, and case materials as mandated under Article 17 of the "Regulation on Legal Aid." Where the address of a criminal suspect's legal representative or close relatives is unclear, and such persons cannot be informed, the public security bureau, people's procuratorates, and people's court shall, at the time of transfer of the application, also notify the legal aid organization. Article 7. After a legal aid organization has received an application, it shall immediately examine the application and make its decision in accordance with the relevant regulations. With respect to cases that qualify for legal aid, the legal aid organization shall decide to provide legal aid and, within three days of the date of the decision, assign a lawyer and send written notification to the public security bureau, people's procuratorate, and people's court; with respect to cases failing to satisfy conditions for legal aid, the legal aid organization shall make a decision not to provide legal aid and, within three days of the date of the decision, provide written notification of its reasons to the applicant and written notification to the public security bureau, people's procuratorate, and people's court. In official correspondence regarding legal aid in criminal matters, a legal aid organization shall clearly indicate the name and contact information of the lawyer handling the case. Article 8. If an applicant objects to the decision of the legal aid organization not to provide legal aid, he can raise this with the judicial administration department assigned to the legal aid organization. The judicial administration bureau shall, within five business days of the date on which it receives the objection, initiate an investigation. If the investigation leads to the conclusion that the applicant has satisfied the conditions for legal aid, the judicial administration bureau shall, in written form, order the legal aid organization to immediately provide legal aid to the applicant and, at same time, notify the applicant. If the conclusion is that the applicant has failed to qualify for legal aid, the judicial administration bureau shall affirm the decision of the legal aid organization not to provide legal aid and also provide written notification of its affirming decision and reasons in a written notice to the applicant. Article 9. When a people's court appoints a criminal defender in accordance with the "Criminal Procedure Law" and related judicial interpretations, it shall deliver copies of the notification of appointment and criminal indictment, or a copy of the verdict, to the local legal aid organization. These documents will be consolidated for acceptance and organized for implementation by the legal aid organization. When a people's court decides to commence trial proceedings, it shall, ten days prior to commencement of the trial, deliver copies of the notification of appointment and criminal indictment, or a copy of the verdict, to the local legal aid organization. In its notification of appointment of a criminal defender, a people's court shall clearly indicate the nature of the case, defendant's name, reason for a court-appointed criminal defender, name and contact information of the person handling the case, and, where it has decided to commence trial proceedings, it shall clearly indicate the trial time and location. Article 10. A legal aid organization shall, three days prior to commencement of a trial, send written notification of the name and contact information of the legal aid representative appointed to handle the case to the people’s court. Article 11. After a lawyer has accepted his assignment by a legal aid organization, he shall complete the attorney filings in accordance with the relevant regulations. In court-appointed criminal defense cases, the lawyer shall, prior to commencement of the trial, seek approval from the defendant to be the person responsible for his criminal defense. If the criminal defendant disagrees, the lawyer shall make this notation in the record and also send written notification to the people's court and legal aid organization. Article 12. Where the defendant insists on defending himself and rejects being defended by court-appointed counsel, the people's court shall allow for this and make a notation in the case record. Where circumstances require that a defendant shall have a court-appointed criminal defender, the people's court shall investigate and determine the reason for the defendant's rejection of a court-appointed criminal defender. If there is good reason, the court shall allow for this, but the defendant must entrust another criminal defender. If the defendant does not entrust another criminal defender, the people's court shall appoint alternate counsel. Where a people's court, in accordance with the preceding paragraph, decides to appoint another criminal defender on behalf of defendant, it shall, within three days of the date on which the decision is made, send written notification to the legal aid organization charged with making the assignment. Article 13. Where circumstances set forth under Article 23 of the "Regulation on Legal Aid" arise in the implementation of legal aid in a criminal lawsuit, the legal aid organization or people's court that decides to terminate legal aid services or appointment of a criminal defender shall, on the day that such decision is made, send written notification to the other party. The other party shall then make a corresponding decision to terminate. Article 14. Where a people's court decides to change the time of commencement of trial, it shall, three days prior to commencement of the trial, notify the lawyer handling the legal aid case. Where the lawyer handling the legal aid case has a legitimate reason for not being able to make a timely appearance in court, he can apply to the people's court to postpone commencement of trial. Where the people's court agrees to postpone commencement of trial, it shall immediately notify the lawyer handling the legal aid case. Article 15. Where a people's court has decided not to initiate trial proceedings on a case, the lawyer handling a legal aid case shall, within ten days of the date on which he receives an assignment letter from a legal aid organization, submit his written defense opinion. Article 16. The public security bureaus and people's procuratorates shall, in accordance with law, support the lawyer handling a legal aid case in the development of his case. They shall inform the lawyer of the name of the crime that the criminal suspect is accused of, arrange for him to meet with the criminal suspect in detention as provided for under law, and provide the necessary conditions to facilitate the lawyer's ability to provide legal advice, file petitions and complaints, and apply for a guaranty pending trial and other measures on behalf of a criminal suspect in detention. Article 17. During the phase of investigation before prosecution, the people's procuratorate shall provide references, excerpts, and duplication of case files and forensic documents to a lawyer handling a legal aid case. It shall provide conditions to facilitate the lawyer's meetings and communications with a criminal suspect in detention. When investigating a case, a people's court shall listen to the opinions of the lawyer handling the legal aid case. Article 18. After a public security bureau has withdrawn a case or transferred a case for investigation before prosecution, or a people's court has initiated a public prosecution or made a decision not to prosecute, it shall, within five days, notify the lawyer handling a legal aid case of the action taken on the case. Article 19. A people's court shall, in accordance with law, support the lawyer handling a legal aid case in the development of his case. It shall provide references, excerpts, and duplication of materials containing the alleged facts of the crime to a lawyer handling a legal aid case. It shall make available conditions facilitating the lawyer's meetings and communications with a criminal suspect in detention. Article 20. The public security bureaus, people's procuratorates, and people's courts shall provide an exemption or discounted rate on fees for the duplication of necessary materials on behalf of a lawyer handling a legal aid case. The measure of the discount shall be calculated on the basis of required costs for duplication of materials. Article 21. In the course of handling a legal aid case, a lawyer shall do his best and respect professional ethics and codes of conduct. Legal aid organizations shall provide professional guidance and supervision to a lawyer in his legal aid activities, in order to guarantee the quality of the legal aid case. If, in the course of handling a case, the public security bureau, people's procuratorate, or people's court discovers that a lawyer has violated professional ethics and codes of conduct, thus damaging the interests of the recipient of legal aid, it shall immediately report the situation to the legal aid organization that made the assignment. Article 22. A people's court shall, in its verdict and sentence, indicate the assigning legal aid organization, the lawyer handling the legal aid case, and the professional organization with which that lawyer is affiliated. Article 23. These provisions will become effective as of December 1, 2005. Where there is a conflict with the "Joint Circular Regarding Legal Aid in Criminal Matters" issued by the Supreme People's Court and Ministry of Justice on April 9, 1997, the "Joint Circular Regarding Provision of Legal Aid in Criminal Actions" issued by the Supreme People's Procuratorate and Ministry of Justice on April 24, 2000, and the "Joint Circular Regarding Provision of Legal Aid in Criminal Actions" issued by the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Public Security on April 25, 2001, these provisions shall control. September 28, 2005 |
Central Party, State Council Joint Opinion on Perfecting Systems of Transparency in Village Affairs and Democratic Governance (Chinese Text)
October 4, 2006
The following text was retrieved from the Jincao <a href="https://www.jincao.com/fa/law25.92.htm">Web site</a> on January 10, 2006. |
Temporary Regulations on the Selection of Party and Government Leaders
October 4, 2006
The following regulations were retrieved from the China.org <a href="https://www.china.org.cn/chinese/zhuanti/177918.htm">Web site</a> on March 21, 2006. |
Anhui Party, Government Opinion on Comprehensive Rural Reform Experiments In Constructing New Mechanisms For Grassroots Rural Work
October 4, 2006
The following text was retrieved from the Law-Lib.com <a href="https://www.law-lib.com/law/law_view.asp?id=101631">web site</a> on February 28, 2006. |
Central Party Decision on Strengthening the Party's Ruling Capacity (Chinese Text)
October 4, 2006
The following text was retrieved from the China Internet Information Center <a href="https://www.china.org.cn/chinese/2004/Sep/668376.htm">Web site</a> on October 27, 2005. |
Central Party Opinion On Strengthening The Work Of The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference [Abstracted]
October 4, 2006
This document was retrieved from the Chinese government's <a href="https://www.gov.cn/jrzg/2006-03/01/content_215306.htm">Web site</a> on March 23, 2006. |
PRC Regulations on Passports and Visas (Chinese Text)
October 4, 2006
The following text was retrieved from the Zhejiang provincial government <a href="https://www.zhejiang.gov.cn/gb/zjnew/node3/node22/node166/node246/node1632/userobject9ai12281.html">Web site</a> on June 9, 2006. |
Supreme People's Court's Judicial Interpretation Regarding Compensation Cases for Personal Injuries (2003) (Chinese Text)
October 4, 2006
The following text was retrieved from the Supreme People's Court <a href="https://www.court.gov.cn/lawdata/explain/civilcation/200312300005.htm">Web site</a> on February 3, 2006. |
Provisions Regarding the Administration of Contracts to Print Bible Texts (CECC Full Translation)
October 4, 2006
The following is a translation prepared by the Congressional-Executive Commission on China of the "Provisions Regarding the Administration of Contracts to Print Bible Texts" jointly issued by the General Administration of Press and Publication, State Council Religious Affairs Bureau, and General Administration of Customs on November 22, 1994. The Chinese text was retrieved from the Qingdao Press and Publishing Bureau <a href="https://xwcbj.qingdao.gov.cn/flfg/Detail.asp?AutoID=287">Web site</a> on December 13, 2005. General Administration of Press and Publication, State Council Religious Affairs Bureau, and General Administration of Customs Provisions Regarding the Administration of Contracting the Printing of Bible Texts (November 22, 1994 [94] Joint New Publication Number 14) To the press and publication bureaus and religious affairs bureaus of each province, autonomous region, and municipality and to the Guangdong Customs Office and each subordinate customs office: The following rules have been formulated in order to strengthen the work of the administration of printing enterprises entering into contracts for printing jobs for Bible texts (which, as used herein, includes such things as Bible stories), and to prevent the chaotic situation of foreign processing of Bible texts. 1. Responsibility for the domestic printing of Bible texts is assigned to the national religious organizations. The printing must receive approval from the State Council Religious Affairs Bureau and be distributed internally within the church. 2. Contracting the printing of Bible texts with parties outside the borders (which, as used hereinafter, includes Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and foreign countries) shall be subject to the approval of the religious affairs bureau and press and publication bureau, and printed by a printing enterprise designated by the press and publication bureau in the province (autonomous region, municipality) in which the work unit contracting the printing is located. It shall be reported to the State Council Religious Affairs Bureau, General Administration of Customs, and the General Administration of Press and Publication. The finished products must be transported outside the borders; none is allowed to remain in the borders to be disseminated or sold. 3. In principle, contracting the printing of Chinese language or Chinese-foreign language editions of Bible texts from outside the borders is not allowed. If there is a special need, this must be reported to the State Council Religious Affairs Bureau for approval. 4. Contracting printing enterprises shall be nationally designated book and periodical printing enterprises and other provincial level designated book and periodical printing enterprises with an excellent management foundation and equipment and technical qualifications that are able to ensure product quality and print periods, as well as the Nanjing Amity Printing Company, Ltd., which is entrusted to print Chinese-language editions of Bible texts for national religious organizations. 5. Contracting enterprises must, during the printing process, assign a person to take responsibility and, according to the measures on the printing of classified materials, strictly manage affairs. Specifically, the person responsible must: (1) When contracting the printing, have in possession the original document certifying approval for the printing, in accordance with the above provisions. The party requesting the printing and the party undertaking it must sign a formal contract. (2) Strictly abide by the number of copies authorized to be printed and not make additional copies without authorization. (3) Guarantee the printing quality and take strict precautions against letting sub-standard products leave the premises. (4) Abide by the contracted amount and time limit to deliver the goods, and not permit shortchanging and procrastination. Products shall be sent abroad in accordance with the terms of the contract, and the destination may not be changed for any reason. (5) Strictly manage the finished and semi-finished products. A specialist shall be responsible for destroying excess and defective goods after verifying that there are no errors on the white paper, and may not lose track of these goods. (6) Return in entirety the master copy, film, and so on to the party that ordered the printing, when the printing is finished. The printing enterprise may not, without authorization, retain or transfer possession of the originals. 6. Customs shall, pursuant to the authorizing documentation requirements of these Provisions, provide registration to and carry out monitoring and supervision of all items that comply with rules on foreign processing and assembly in accordance with those rules. 7. Violations of these provisions on contracting printing of Bible texts shall be dealt with as the undertaking of illegal publishing activities. If criminal law is violated, the case will be referred to the judicial organs to investigate criminal responsibility. 8. Prior rules on the administration of the printing of Bible texts that are inconsistent with the rules of this document shall take these Provisions as their standard. |
Certain Provisions from the Supreme People's Procuratorate Regarding the Prevention and Correction of Extended Detention in Procuratorial Work (CECC Partial Translation)
October 4, 2006
The following is a partial translation prepared by the Congressional-Executive Commission on China of "Certain Provisions Regarding the Prevention and Correction of Extended Detention in Procuratorial Work," passed by the Supreme People's Procuratorate on September 24, 2003. The Chinese text was retrieved from an Anhui provincial government <a href="https://www.dss.gov.cn/Article_Print.asp?ArticleID=61402">Web site</a> on June 20, 2006.<HR> I. In order to correctly apply arrest measures in strict accordance with law, people's procuratorates at each level shall apply arrest and other compulsory measures depriving a person of their liberty in strict accordance with the relevant provisions of the PRC Criminal Procedure Law. They shall, in accordance with law, comprehensively and correctly grasp the conditions for making an arrest, cautiously use arrest measures, and only apply arrest measures when there is indeed a need for an arrest. Case-handling personnel shall establish consciousness regarding the safeguarding of human rights, increase the efficiency of case handling, and handle and conclude cases quickly, in accordance with law. Violating the conditions established by law and regulation, by misusing return of a case for supplementary investigation, discovery of new crimes, transfer of jurisdiction, and other methods that disguise the extended detention of a criminal suspect, is strictly prohibited. In cases where an arrest has already been made, but, through investigation or examination, it was deemed that the case does not constitute a crime or does not require investigation into criminal liability, or that the evidence is insufficient [to support the case] or the case does not meet the conditions for prosecution, the case shall be withdrawn or a decision shall be made not to prosecute in accordance with law, and the criminal suspect shall be released if in detention. III. In order to put into effect the system for sharing information about the status of a detention, after a people's procuratorate has restarted the investigative detention clock in a case where the criminal suspect has been arrested, or the procuratorate has made a decision to, or approved, prolonging the period of investigative detention, the investigative department shall, within three days, send written notification of the relevant status to [the Supreme People's Procuratorate] Procuratorial Office for Prisons and Jails. After a people's procuratorate has decided to prolong the period for examination before prosecution, transfer jurisdiction, or return a case for supplementary investigation and restart the clock on examination before prosecution, the public prosecution department shall, within three days, send written notification of the relevant status to [the Supreme People's Procuratorate] Procuratorial Office for Prisons and Jails. Where the criminal suspect is in detention in another jurisdiction, the case-handling agency shall send written notification of the relevant detention status to the procuratorial office for prisons and jails, at the people's procuratorate in the jurisdiction of detention. If the people's procuratorate in the jurisdiction of detention discovers that the detention has exceeded time limits, it shall promptly report to, or notify, the procuratorial office for prisons and jails, at the people's procuratorate that made the detention decision. The procuratorial office for prisons and jails, at the people's procuratorate that made the detention decision, shall produce a correcting opinion. If the people's procuratorate has established an intranet, the relevant department can use the intranet to report, or make an inquiry into, the detention status. VII. In order to establish a complaint and correction mechanism for extended detentions, if a criminal suspect and his legal representative or near relatives, or the lawyer entrusted by the criminal suspect and his criminal defender, believe that the detention has exceeded time limits, they have the right to complain to the people's procuratorate that made the decision to arrest, or to the next higher-level people's procuratorate, and demand relief from the relevant compulsory measures. A criminal suspect in detention may arrange a meeting with the on-site procuratorate personnel to launch a complaint regarding an extended detention. The procuratorial office for prisons and jails, at the people's procuratorate, is charged with receiving complaints about extended detentions, and shall accept the complaint materials or make a record of the content of the complaint. It shall promptly investigate the complaint and put forward a resolving opinion, for resolution by the Procurator General. If the Procurator General determines that the detention exceeds time limits, he shall immediately make a decision to release the criminal suspect or modify the compulsory measures. After the procuratorial office for prisons and jails, at the people's procuratorate, has dealt with the complaint, it shall promptly provide feedback through a resolving opinion to the complainant. VIII. In order to put into effect the system for investigating liability for extended detentions, and to further strengthen and carry out the system for investigating liability for extended detentions, there shall be strict prosecution and investigation of the relevant personnel responsible for extended detentions. In cases where the Criminal Procedure Law and these provisions have been violated, and there has been an abuse of power or a serious failure to perform responsibilities, and this brings about the extended detention of a criminal suspect, there shall be investigation into disciplinary liability against the supervisory party who is directly responsible and other personnel who are directly responsible. Where [the actions] constitute a crime, there shall be investigation into criminal liability under provisions on abuse of power or neglect of duty, in Article 397 of the PRC Criminal Law. |
Jilin Province People's Government provisions regarding further launching work-study activities (Chinese text)
October 4, 2006
The following Text was retrieved from Qingdao Education Information Net <a href="https://www.qdedu.gov.cn/jiaoyuguanli/fyfg/Law/24/east/law_24_east1023.htm">Web site</a> on September 14, 2006. |
Public Notice Regarding Launching the 100 Day Anti-Piracy Action
October 3, 2006
The following text was retrieved from the Shandong province Press and Publication Administration Web site on October 3, 2006. |
Interpretation on Several Issues of Concrete Application of Laws in Handling Criminal Cases of Infringing Intellectual Property (Chinese and English Text)
October 2, 2006
The following translation was retrieved from the Ministry of Commerce's <a href="https://www.ipr.gov.cn/ipr/en/info/Article.jsp?a_no=2038&col_no=121&dir=200603">Web site</a> on October 2, 2006. The Chinese text was retrieved from the Supreme People's Procuratorate <a href="https://www.spp.gov.cn/site2006/2006-02-22/00024-338.html">Web site</a> on October 2, 2006. <HR> Interpretation by the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Several Issues of Concrete Application of Laws in Handling Criminal Cases of Infringing Intellectual Property 2004-12-22 (Adopted at the 1331st Session of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People's Court on November 2, 2004 and the 28th Session of the Tenth Procuratorial Committee of the Supreme People's Procuratorate on November 11, 2004 and to be effective as of December 22, 2004.) To punish criminal acts of infringing on intellectual property in accordance with law and to maintain the order of the socialist market economy, some concrete problems regarding law application to handling criminal cases involving infringement on intellectual property are hereby interpreted as follows in accordance with applicable provisions of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China ("the Criminal Law"): Article 1 Using an identical trademark on the same merchandise without permission of its registered owner in any of the following circumstances falls under the definition of "the circumstances are serious" stipulated in Article 213 of the Criminal Law and shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention and shall also, or shall only, be fined for committing the crime of forging registered trademarks: (1) the amount of illegal business volume being more than RMB 50,000 or that of illegal gains being more than RMB 30,000; (2) forging more than two registered trademarks, the amount of illegal business volume being more than RMB 30,000 or that of illegal gains being more than RMB 20,000; (3) other circumstances of a serious nature. Whoever having any of the following acts that falls under the definition of "the circumstances are especially serious" stipulated in Article 213 of the Criminal Law shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years and shall also be fined for committing the crime of forging registered trademarks: (1) the amount of illegal business volume being more than RMB 250,000 or that of illegal gains being more than RMB 150,000; (2) forging more than two registered trademarks, the amount of illegal business volume being more than RMB 150,000 or that of illegal gains being more than RMB 100,000; (3) other circumstances of an especially serious nature. Article 2 Whoever knowingly sells commodities bearing counterfeited registered trademarks, if the amount of sales is more than RMB 50,000, and thus falls under the definition of "the amount of sales is relatively large" stipulated in Article 214 of the Criminal Law shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention and shall also, or shall only, be fined for committing the crime of selling commodities bearing counterfeited registered trademarks. Whoever selling such commodities of more than RMB 250,000 in value falls under the definition of "the amount of sales is huge" stipulated in Article 214 of the Criminal Law and shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years and shall also be fined for the crime of selling commodities bearing counterfeited registered trademarks. Article 3 Whoever forges or makes representations of another person's registered trademarks without authorization of the person or sells such representations in any of the following circumstances and thus falls under the definition of "the circumstances are serious" stipulated in Article 215 of the Criminal Law shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention or public surveillance and shall also, or shall only, be fined for committing the crime of illegally making registered trademarks and selling illegally-made registered trademarks: (1) the amount of the representations of other person's registered trademarks forged or made without authorization or that of the sold representations of other person's registered trademarks forged or made without authorization being more than 20,000 copies, or the amount of illegal business volume being more than RMB 50,000, or the amount of illegal gains being more than RMB 30,000; (2) the amount of the representations of other person's registered trademarks forged or made without authorization or that of the sold representations of more than two of other person's registered trademarks forged or made without authorization being more than 10,000 copies, or the amount of illegal business volume being more than RMB 30,000, or the amount of illegal gains being more than RMB 20,000; (3) other circumstances of a serious nature. Whoever having any of the following acts that falls under the definition of "circumstances of an especially serious nature" stipulated in Article 215 of the Criminal Law shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years and shall also be fined for committing the crime of illegally making registered trademarks and selling illegally-made registered trademarks: (1) the amount of the representations of other person's registered trademarks forged or made without authorization or that of the sold representations of other person's registered trademarks forged or made without authorization being more than 100,000 copies, or the amount of illegal business volume being more than RMB 250,000, or the amount of illegal gains being more than RMB 150,000; (2) the amount of the representations of other person's registered trademarks forged or made without authorization or that of the sold representations of more than two of other person's registered trademarks forged or made without authorization being more than 50,000 copies, or the amount of illegal business volume being more than RMB 150,000, or the amount of illegal gains being more than RMB 100,000; (3) other circumstances of an especially serious nature. Article 4 Whoever counterfeits the patent of another person in any of the following circumstances and thus falls under the definition of "the circumstances are serious" stipulated in Article 216 of the Criminal Law shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention and shall also, or shall only, be fined for committing the crime of counterfeiting the patent of another person: (1) the amount of illegal business volume being more than RMB 200,000 or that of illegal gains being more than RMB 100,000; (2) causing direct economic loss of more than RMB 500,000 to the owner of patent; (3) counterfeiting more than two patents, the amount of illegal business volume being more than RMB 100,000 or that of illegal gains being more than RMB 50,000; (4) other circumstances of a serious nature. Article 5 Whoever, for the purpose of making profits, commits any of the acts of infringement on copyright mentioned in Article 217 of the Criminal Law, if the amount of illegal gains is more than RMB 30,000, and thus falls under the definition of "the amount of illegal gains is relatively large"; or whoever has any of the following acts and thus falls under the definition of "there are other serious circumstances" shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention and shall also, or shall only, be fined for committing the crime of infringing on copyright: (1) the amount of illegal business volume being more than RMB 50,000; (2) reproducing and distributing more than 1,000 illegal copies of a written work, musical work, motion picture, television program or other visual works, computer software or other works without permission of the copyright owner; (3) other circumstances of a serious nature. Whoever, for the purpose of making profits, commits any of the acts of infringement on copyright mentioned in Article 217 of the Criminal Law, if the amount of illegal gains is more than RMB 150,000, and thus falls under the definition of "the amount of illegal gains is huge"; or whoever has any of the following acts and thus falls under the definition of "there are other especially serious circumstances" shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years and shall also be fined for committing the crime of infringing on copyright: (1) the amount of illegal business volume being more than RMB 250,000; (2) reproducing and distributing more than 5,000 illegal copies of a written work, musical work, motion picture, television program or other visual works, computer software or other works without permission of the copyright owner; (3) other circumstances of an especially serious nature. Article 6 Whoever, for the purpose of making profits, commits any of the acts stipulated in Article 218 of the Criminal Law, if the amount of illegal gains is more than RMB 100,000, and thus falls under the definition of "the amount of illegal gains is huge" shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention and shall also, or shall only, be fined for committing the crime of selling works reproduced by infringing on the copyright: Article 7 Whoever commits any of the acts stipulated in Article 219 of the Criminal Law to cause losses of more than RMB 500,000 to the obligee of business secrets and thus falls under the definition of "causing heavy losses to the obligee of business secrets" shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention and shall also, or shall only, be fined for committing the crime of infringing on business secrets. Whoever causes losses of more than RMB 2.5 million to the obligee of business secrets and thus falls under the definition of "the consequences are especially serious" stipulated in Article 219 of the Criminal Law shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years and shall also be fined for committing the crime of infringing on business secrets. Article 8 "Identical trademarks" as stipulated in Article 213 of the Criminal Law refers to the trademarks either identical to the registered trademarks infringed on, or showing no notable visual difference from the trademarks infringed on and thus being misleading to the public. "Use" as stipulated in Article 213 of the Criminal Law refers to such acts as applying registered trademarks or counterfeited registered trademarks to commodities, commodity packing and containers, commodity user guides and commodity transaction documents, or using registered trademarks or counterfeited registered trademarks for advertisement, publicity, exhibitions and other business activities. Article 9 "Amount of sales" as stipulated in Article 214 of the Criminal Law refers to all the illegal incomes gained or ought to be gained by selling commodities bearing counterfeited registered trademarks. Any of the following circumstances shall be regarded as falling under the definition of "knowingly" stipulated in Article 214 of the Criminal Law: (1) Knowing that the registered trademarks on the commodities that he/she sells have been altered, replaced or covered; (2) Selling the same commodities for which one has already been given administrative penalty or has borne civil responsibilities for selling commodities bearing counterfeited registered trademarks; (3) Counterfeiting or altering the authorization documents of the registrant or knowing such documents have been counterfeited or altered; (4) Other circumstances in which the fact that the registered trademarks borne by the commodities are counterfeited is known. Article 10 Any of the following acts falls under the definition of "counterfeiting patent of another person" stipulated in Article 216 of the Criminal Law: (1) Citing patent number on the commodities or the packing of the commodities one produces or sells without permission of the owner of the patent; (2) Citing patent number in advertisement or other publicity materials without permission of the owner of the patent so as to make people think that the involved technology is the patented technology of another person; (3) Citing patent number in contract without permission of the owner of the patent so as to make people think that the involved technology in the contract is the patented technology of another person; (4) Counterfeiting or altering the patent certificates, patent documents or patent application documents of another person. Article 11 The circumstances of charging directly or indirectly by such means as publishing paid advertisement fall under the definition of "for the purpose of making profits" stipulated in Article 217 of the Criminal Law. "Without permission of the copyright owner" as stipulated in Article 217 of the Criminal Law refers to the circumstances where authorization of the copyright owner is not obtained, the authorization documents of the copyright owner are altered or the authorization scope is exceeded. Distributing a written work, musical work, motion picture, television program or other visual works, computer software or other works to the public by information network falls under the definition of "reproducing and distributing" stipulated in Article 217 of the Criminal Law. Article 12 "Illegal business volume" as stipulated in the Interpretation refers to the value of the products produced, stored, transported and sold by the doer in the course of infringing on intellectual property. Value of the products produced by infringing on intellectual property shall be computed according to the prices at which such products are actually sold. Value of the products produced by infringing on intellectual property produced, stored, transported, and those not sold shall be computed according to the labeled prices or the actual prices found to be sold at after investigation. Value of the products produced by infringing on intellectual property without labeled prices or whose actual prices are impossible to be ascertained shall be computed according the middle market prices of such products. Values of illegal business volume, illegal gains and amount of sales shall be computed cumulatively in cases of repeatedly infringing on intellectual property where such acts have not yet been given administrative penalty or have not so far initiated criminal procedures. "Copies" as stipulated in Article 3 of the Interpretation refers to one piece of representation of the complete logo of the trademark. Article 13 Committing the crime of counterfeited registered trademarks stipulated in Article 213 of the Criminal Law while selling commodities bearing such counterfeited registered trademarks and thus constituting a crime shall be convicted and punished in accordance with provisions of Article 213 of the Criminal Law for committing the crime of counterfeiting registered trademarks. To whoever that commits the crime of counterfeiting registered trademarks stipulated in Article 213 of the Criminal Law while knowingly selling commodities bearing registered trademarks counterfeited by another person and thus constituting a crime, a combined punishment for several crimes shall be applied. Article 14 Committing the crime of infringing on copyright stipulated in Article 217 of the Criminal Law while selling commodities produced by infringing on copyright and thus constituting a crime shall be convicted and punished in accordance with provisions of Article 217 of the Criminal Law for committing the crime of infringing on copyright. To whoever that commits the crime of infringing on copyright stipulated in Article 217 of the Criminal Law while knowingly selling works reproduced by infringing on the copyright and thus constituting a crime, a combined punishment for several crimes shall be applied. Article 15 Where a unit commits any of the crimes stipulated in the Articles 213 through 219 of the Criminal Law, it shall be convicted and sentenced according to the criteria that are as three times higher as those for convicting and sentencing individuals committing same crimes according to the Interpretation. Article 16 Whoever knowingly provides loans, funds, bank accounts, invoices, certificates, licenses, production and operation places, as well as facilities and assistance in producing, storing and import-export agency services shall be deemed an accomplice in the crime of infringing on intellectual property. Article 17 Should discrepancies arise between the Interpretation and other legal interpretations promulgated previously regarding infringement on intellectual property, the previously promulgated interpretations shall not be applied after the Interpretation goes into effect. (Source: Judicial Protection of IPR in China) <HR> |
Regulations of the Supreme People's Court on Strictly Implementing the System of Public Trials (Chinese Text)
September 29, 2006
The following text was retrieved from the Ministry of Justice Web site on September 26, 2006. |
Company Law (Chinese Text)
September 28, 2006
The following text was retrieved from the PRC central government Web site on September 28, 2006. |