Law to protect defendants’ rights

The Supreme People's Court will issue a legal explanation on the new Criminal Procedure Law to improve the legal aid situation in China.

According to a Legal Daily report on Monday, the explanation will adhere to the principle of respecting and protecting human rights and specify legal aid lawyers' working scope and procedures.

The new explanation will be issued within this week, according to a Legal Mirror report on Monday.

During a discussion on improving China's legal aid situation held in Beijing on Saturday and Sunday, legal professionals and experts from China and eight other countries agreed that allowing lawyers to properly help defendants or suspects exercise their right to defense is crucial for a country's justice system, according to the Legal Daily's report.

The Supreme Court's explanation will also strengthen the protection of legal rights for juvenile victims by stipulating that the court should help these victims or their guardians receive legal aid if they cannot afford an attorney, the Legal Daily reported.

But China's legal aid system is blighted by shortcomings such as under-qualified legal services, experts said at the meeting.

"Currently, law firms that enjoy a close relationship with the court can often be appointed as aid providers, and those law firms often send young, inexperienced lawyers to do the job," Si Weijiang, a Shanghai-based lawyer, told the Global Times.

As the court-appointed lawyers are not properly supervised, the quality of their service is not guaranteed, Si said on Monday, adding that in extreme cases the court will forcibly appoint a lawyer for defendants so that they cannot seek better lawyers to carry out their defense.

"More changes of rule are needed to ensure defendants choose the best lawyers," Si said.

China amended its Criminal Procedure Law in March this year, stressing the protection of suspects and defendants from "illegal restriction, detention and arrest," with the term "respecting and protecting human rights" included in its first chapter on basic principles.

The newly-amended law will go into effect on January 1, 2013.

On November 22, the Supreme People's Procuratorate released an updated set of criminal procedural rules for procuratorates, which were heavily modified to fit the demands of the amended Criminal Procedure Law.

The rules gained as many as 240 new articles with detailed stipulations for defense attorneys, evidence, case reception, special procedures and case management, according to a statement by the supreme procuratorate.

The newly-modified rules gave detailed stipulations on access to, and review of, interrogation recordings and videos, conditions and management for simplified procedures and examination concerning the necessity of detention, among other aspects.

The rules are expected to provide all-round standards for prosecutors' roles in criminal lawsuits while ensuring that suspects and defendants enjoy their full rights during the procuratorial stage, said the statement.