The Symposium on prevention and control of juvenile delinquency and the 40th anniversary of juvenile prosecution concluded in Shanghai on June 18. Shi Weizhong, Deputy Prosecutor General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, attended the closing ceremony and delivered a speech.
The meeting noted that since the establishment of the country's first juvenile prosecution team at the Changning District People's Procuratorate in Shanghai in 1986, juvenile procuratorial work has progressed through four stages: exploration and infancy, rapid development, sustained deepening, and comprehensive enhancement.
Reflecting on 40 years of progress, the meeting urged efforts to uphold five fundamental principles. These include upholding the absolute leadership of the Communist Party of China; adhering to a people-centered approach that prioritizes the best interests of minors while responding promptly to public needs and expectations; and following the rules of juvenile justice by implementing specialized systems and procedures, combining punishment with prevention, and tempering justice with mercy.
The meeting also stressed adherence to two-way protection by safeguarding the lawful rights and interests of juvenile offenders and the legitimate rights and interests of minor victims. It also called for adherence to the comprehensive performance of duties while addressing both symptoms and root causes, giving full play to the procuratorial function of legal supervision to advance the modernization of the social governance system and capacity for protecting minors.
The meeting emphasized that efforts should focus on effectively improving the quality and efficiency of judicial protection for minors. It called for adhering to the principles of "education, reformation, and rehabilitation," strengthening the awareness that "prevention is protection, and punishment is also a form of salvation." This entails punishing, educating and rehabilitating juvenile offenders in accordance with the law, continuously refining the content and methods of social investigations, regulating the application of conditional non-prosecution in accordance with the law, and integrating targeted assistance and education throughout the entire case-handling process.
The meeting also stressed the importance of upholding the principle of the best interests of minors, severely punishing crimes of sexual assault against minors, strengthening the protection of minor victims, and continuing to deepen comprehensive performance of duties and all-round protection for minors.
The meeting further called for fully performing the duty of legal supervision in accordance with the law, and continuing to coordinate efforts among families, schools, society, cyberspace, government departments, and the judiciary to protect minors.
Furthermore, the meeting urged efforts to cultivate versatile professionals with capabilities in psychological communication, correctional education and rehabilitation, comprehensive assistance, and governance promotion, in a bid to promote the development of a more stable and well-trained juvenile procuratorial workforce.
Continuous efforts were urged to improve an evaluation system that reflects the characteristics of juvenile procuratorial work. The meeting called for strengthening communication and collaboration with public security organs, courts, and judicial administrative departments, accelerating the deep integration of professional case handling and socialized protection, and promoting the development of a more coordinated and efficient social support system for juvenile procuratorial work.
The meeting also required the production of more high-quality original research outcomes to develop a more sophisticated and stable socialist juvenile procuratorial system with Chinese characteristics for the new era.
