Sentence changes need court hearing: SPC

More commutation and probation cases will require court hearings and applications and decisions on these cases will be published online to strengthen judicial transparency, the Supreme People's Court (SPC) announced Tuesday.

According to the SPC, court hearings are required for six types of cases, such as cases involving officials accused of a crime, those guilty of financial or gang crime or convicts applying to have their sentences commuted if they have turned informant or have benefitted society.

"Paperwork was used more than court hearings to conserve judicial resources in the past since the previous judicial interpretation on commutation and probation lacks specific regulations about hearings and trial operation," Zhao Li, a Beijing-based lawyer, told the Global Times Tuesday.

"Using only paperwork can lead to potential judicial corruption because of a lack of transparency," Zhao noted.

In February, the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the Communist Party of China Central Committee issued an instructive document, vowing to deter judicial corruption in the commutation of sentences and probation following cases in which a string of convicts bribed their way out of prisons.

"Terms and procedures for commutation, parole and serving a sentence outside jail for medical reasons should be stringent within the framework of the law," the document said.

In a high-profile case, Zhang Hai, former chairman of Jianlibao Group, a Chinese beverage giant, fabricated evidence to have his sentence reduced by five years in a second trial. He had his jail term further reduced while he was serving his sentence.

Police officers and prison and court officials were involved in Zhang's lessened sentence and commutation. After his release in 2011, Zhang fled overseas with his girlfriend. Authorities are seeking his extradition, although his whereabouts are unknown, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

More than 52,000 people were found to have had their sentences changed improperly between 2008 and 2012, while 2,752 officials within the legal system were punished for helping them reduce their sentences, according to the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

"Courts have dealt with commutation and probation cases with different standards at the local level before the SPC regulation, and it caused a divided operation and hurt judicial equality," Zhao said.

To further enhance transparency, the new regulations also improved the publicity system by stipulating that materials related to a commutation and probation application should be shared on an open online platform within five days after registration.

Judging panels in these cases could include people's assessors to better supervise trials and ensure transparency, added the regulation.