On July 24, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) held a press conference focused on the theme "Comprehensively and Accurately Implementing the Judicial Accountability System, Effectively Handling Each Case with High Quality and Efficiency".
The newly revised Several Opinions on the Comprehensive and Accurate Implementation of the Judicial Accountability System by People's Procuratorates and Regulation of the People's Procuratorates on Judicial Accountability were unveiled at the press conference.
Shi Weizhong, a permanent member at the deputy-ministerial level of the SPP's Procuratorial Committee, attended the press conference and made a presentation.
Reform of the judicial accountability system, which was mandated at the third plenary session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), signifies a profound transformation in the operation of judicial and procuratorial powers.
The just-concluded third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee emphasized the importance of "ensuring that law enforcement and judicial activities are subject to effective checks and oversight at every link and stage in the process" and of "enforcing and enhancing judicial accountability".
Shi said that, to implement the plans of the CPC Central Committee regarding the implementation of the judicial responsibility system, the SPP has, since the second half of 2023, organized a special task force to undertake comprehensive revisions of the Several Opinions released in September 2015 and the Regulation released in 2020.
The revised Several Opinions made a systematic arrangement for the comprehensive and accurate implementation of the judicial responsibility system by procuratorates nationwide, comprising eight parts with a total of 48 articles, said Shi.
The purpose is to promote the comprehensive and accurate implementation as well as the continuous improvement of the judicial responsibility system by procuratorates across the country and provide a more solid institutional guarantee for "effectively handling each case with high quality and efficiency", in order to ensure that the people can feel fairness and justice in every judicial case, he added.
The provisions of the Several Opinions are consistent with those in the Organic Law of the People's Procuratorates and the Procurators Law. In terms of power allocation, the Several Opinions clarify the responsibilities and authorities of procuratorial committees, chief prosecutors, and prosecutors, and define the responsibilities of procuratorial assistants, procuratorial clerks and other roles. Regarding the implementation of responsibilities, the Several Opinions not only specify the responsibilities in handling judicial cases but also outline supervisory and managerial responsibilities.
The Several Opinions balance delegating and controlling power, with a dedicated chapter detailing the "improvement of constraints and supervision mechanisms within procuratorates". It continues to push for the requirement that "ensuring the accountability of those who handle cases and make decisions".
"The revised Regulation consist of six parts with 30 articles, focusing on promoting timely, standardized, and precise accountability for judicial responsibilities to ensure that prosecutors fulfill their duties lawfully and exercise their powers impartially," Shi said.
The Regulation has added provisions concerning the scope of accountability for judicial responsibility. Based on the provisions of the Procurators Law, modifications and enhancements have been made to specific accountability scenarios. Additionally, the Regulation stipulates that if there are circumstances such as revisions to relevant laws and regulations leading to changes in the nature of a case, decision-making, withdrawal of prosecution, or acquittal, the prosecutors handling the case will not be held accountable.
The Regulation also optimizes the procedures for determining and pursuing judicial responsibilities, now consisting of three main stages of receiving information about violations of procuratorial duties, investigating and determining judicial responsibilities, and making decisions on accountability.
Mechanisms for receiving information about violations of procuratorial duties have been enhanced while the sources of such information have been expanded. Furthermore, the Regulation has strengthened the coordination mechanism between judicial penalty and disciplinary inspection and supervision authorities, incorporating additional related provisions in terms of case jurisdiction, procedures on accountability and punishment.
Shi emphasized that procuratorates at all levels will implement the guiding principles of the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, focusing on both "comprehensive and accurate implementation" and "continuous improvement" in fully implementing the revised Several Opinions and Regulation.
Gao Jingfeng, a member of the SPP's Procuratorial Committee and Head of the Law and Policy Research Office of the SPP; Shi Xianzhi, Deputy Head of the SPP's Case Management Office; and Wang Bingjiang, Deputy Director General of the SPP's Prosecutorial Inspection Bureau, were also present at the press conference, and answered questions from reporters.
