China's top legislature on Friday passed a resolution to introduce "default judgment" in criminal trials to prosecute suspects who stay overseas and are involved in offenses of corruption, severely endangering state security or terrorist activities.
To qualify a trial involving "default judgment" of the latter two types of crimes, there should be a time-sensitive urgency in handling the case and an approval from the Supreme People's Procuratorate, according to the revised Criminal Procedure Law.
In the meantime, the revision also imposes stringent rules, requiring the courts to examine whether a case is applicable to a "default judgment."
If a court decides to proceed with a trial in the absence of the defendant, a subpoena and indictment papers should be delivered through relevant channels, the revision says.
It also gives the defendant the right to an attorney, who could also be entrusted by the defendant's close relatives, or assigned by legal aid agencies.
After the judgement is issued, the defendant and the close relatives could also appeal to the court of the next higher level, the revised law says.
Later on Friday, Wang Aili, director of the Criminal Law Office under the Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, answered questions about the revision at a press conference.
Wang said the introduction of the "default judgment" could push the judicial authorities to perform their duties, enrich means to punish crimes and boost inter-jurisdiction anti-corruption efforts.
"By handling the cases and evidence in a timely manner, we might be able to avoid the risks of losing evidence," Wang said.
"Moreover, issuing the default judgments in a timely manner also contributes to the authority of the rule of law, and safeguards the state and public interest.
"Actually, many countries have some sort of 'criminal default judgment' under certain conditions, which is not ruled out by international conventions if conducted when the defendants' rights are strictly safeguarded," Wang said.
Besides "default judgment," the revised law also includes arrangements on the duty of the national supervisory authorities and experience from recent judicial reforms.
