Top procuratorate streamlines rules to correct miscarriage of justice

New rules for courts reviewing cases deemed unjust were issued by China's Supreme People's Procuratorate on Thursday.

Published in the form of a revised document, the new rules address prosecutors' work in handling petitions or appeals against binding judgements or judicial decisions filed by litigants or relevant parties.

It was published on the same day the higher court in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region began the retrial of a controversial 1996 rape and murder case.

Huugjilt, 18 at the time, had been found guilty of raping and murdering a woman. He was sentenced to death and executed in June 1996. However, another alleged serial rapist and killer, Zhao Zhihong, confessed to the murder after he was arrested in 2005.

The SPP document said the right of petition by the litigant parties should be better guaranteed and the procuratorates should better supervise judicial work, including the prosecutors' work.

The rule made it clear that prosecutors should consider elements, such as whether the facts were solid to sustain the original judgement, whether the petitioners have raised new facts or evidence that could challenge the binding judgements, or whether the original evidence was sufficient, to determine whether the original decision is possibly wrong.

Prosecutors should also weigh the possibility of contradictory or illegal evidence, improper application of law, violation of due process or the judicial workers' corruption conducts that could potentially lead to errors in judging.

If they believe the original decision may possibly be wrong, a review should be initiated, according to the document.

The rules also stipulated greater transparency of such reviews and stricter supervision from superior procuratorate over lower-level ones.

Lack of rules specific enough to handle such petitions in previous cases has sometimes led to some prosecutors' reluctance or inconvenience to challenge decisions of their peers or the courts.