Regulations on the Work Procedures for Prison Requests for Commutation or Parole

[Source] http://www.legaldaily.com.cn/index_article/content/2014-10/20/content_5805178.htm

(Revisions to Ministry of Justice order 77 dated April 2, 2003, were adopted by the Ministry of Justice Ministry Affairs Committee on October 10, 2014.)

Chapter I: General Provisions

Article 1: These Regulations were drafted to integrate the actual work of penalty execution in order to standardize work procedure for prisons to propose commutation or parole in accordance with the "PRC Criminal Law", the PRC Criminal Procedure Law", the "PRC Prisons Law" and other relevant work provisions, together with actual criminal punishment work conditions.

Article 2: The proposal of commutation or parole by prisons shall be conducted in accordance with the conditions and procedures of the laws and regulations, adhere to the principles of openness, fairness, and justice, and strictly implement a system of case handling responsibility.

Article 3: The Intermediate People's Court in the jurisdiction where a prisoner in question is serving their sentence shall rule on proposals raised by the prison for the commutation or parole of prisoners who have been sentenced to a fixed term or whose sentence was commuted to a term of years.

Article 4: Proposals for sentence commutation for prisoners who were sentenced to the death penalty with a reprieve of two years or sentence commutation or parole for prisoners who were sentenced to indefinite imprisonment shall be raised by the prison and ruled by the superior people's court in the jurisdiction where a prisoner in question is serving their sentence after receiving the approval following examination and verification of the provincial, autonomous region, or self-governing municipality prison administration bureau.

Article 5: The provincial, autonomous region, or self-governing municipality prison administration bureaus shall create a committee for the review of sentence commutation and parole. It shall consist of leading officials and those in charge from relevant departments including execution of punishment, prison administration, education and reform, prison investigation, life and health, labor and reform, political and ideological work, and supervision, with the leading official serving as the committee head. The prison administration bureau and prison sentence commutation and parole review committee membership must not be fewer than 9 persons.

Article 6: The people's police in the branch prison region or the prison region which has not been sub-divided into branches shall conduct team research into proposals of commutation or parole made by prisons; the prison region head office council shall examine and verify the proposal, the prison penalty execution department shall review it, the prison commutation and parole review committee shall assess it, and the warden office council shall render the decision.

The penalty execution department of the provincial, autonomous region, or self-governing municipality prison administration bureau shall investigate the prison's proposal for commutation or parole per statutory procedure and provide their opinion. After the deputy director in charge who has been reported to convenes a meeting of the commutation and parole review committee for assessment, the director shall give their authorization; if necessary, they can convene a meeting of the director's office to render a decision.

Chapter II: Procedures for Prisons Requesting Commutations or Parole

Article 7: Proposals for commutation or parole shall be based on the legally provided requirements, together with the prisoner's performance during their sentence; with the subdistrict people's police collectively researching and submitting a recommendation on the commutation or parole proposal, and after reporting to the district warden's office committee for review and approval, the district will send it to the prison penalty execution department for review.

In directly subordinate subdistricts or where no subdistricts are established, the directly subordinate subdistrict or district people's police collectively research and submit a recommendation on the proposal for commutation or parole, and send it to the prison penalty execution department for review.

The circumstances of the subdistrict, directly subordinate subdistrict or, where there are no subdistricts, district people's police's collective research, and also of the district warden's office committee's review and approval, shall be recorded in writing and signed by committee members.

Article 8: Prison districts or directly subordinate subdristicts raising commutation or parole proposals shall deliver the following materials:

1. A Prisoner Commutation (Parole) Assessment Form

2. Records of the prison district warden working committee's, or directly-subordinate subdistrict or district people's police collective research committee

3. Copies of the appeal court's ruling, the notice of [sentence] implementation, and any previous rulings on sentence reduction;

4. The prisoner's detailed performance scoring form, evaluation and appraisal form, approval forms for awards and punishments, and relevant supporting materials;

5. Written documents with specific facts showing that the prisoner has really repented and mended their ways or made a meritorious service or major meritorious service.

Article 9: After the prison penalty execution department receives the commutation or parole proposal materials from a district or directly subordinate subbdistrict, it shall conduct a review of the following matters:

1. Whether the materials that must be submitted are complete, thorough, and within the rules;

2. Whether written materials with specific facts showing that the prisoner has really repented and mended their ways or made a meritorious service or major meritorious service are from lawful sources;

3. Whether the prisoner meets the legally proscribed requirements for commutation or parole;

4. Whether the recommendation for commutation or parole is appropriate.

经审查,对材料不齐全或者不符合提请条件的,应当通知监区或者直属分监区补充有关材料或者退回；对相关材料有疑义的,应当提讯罪犯进行核查；对材料齐全、符合提请条件的,应当出具审查意见,连同监区或者直属分监区报送的材料一并提交监狱减刑假释评审委员会评审。提请罪犯假释的,还应当委托县级司法行政机关对罪犯假释后对所居住社区影响进行调查评估,并将调查评估报告一并提交。

Article 10: 　监狱减刑假释评审委员会应当召开会议,对刑罚执行部门审查提交的提请减刑、假释建议进行评审,提出评审意见。会议应当有书面记录,并由与会人员签名。

A prison may invite the people's procuratorate to assign someone to represent at the commutation and parole appraisal committee meetings.

Article 11: 　监狱减刑假释评审委员会经评审后,应当将提请减刑、假释的罪犯名单以及减刑、假释意见在监狱内公示。公示内容应当包括罪犯的个人情况、原判罪名及刑期、历次减刑情况、提请减刑假释的建议及依据等。公示期限为5个工作日。公示期内,如有监狱人民警察或者罪犯对公示内容提出异议,监狱减刑假释评审委员会应当进行复核,并告知复核结果。

Article 12: 　监狱应当在减刑假释评审委员会完成评审和公示程序后,将提请减刑、假释建议送人民检察院征求意见。征求意见后,监狱减刑假释评审委员会应当将提请减刑、假释建议和评审意见连同人民检察院意见,一并报请监狱长办公会议审议决定。监狱对人民检察院意见未予采纳的,应当予以回复,并说明理由。

Article 13: 　监狱长办公会议决定提请减刑、假释的,由监狱长在《罪犯减刑(假释)审核表》上签署意见,加盖监狱公章,并由监狱刑罚执行部门根据法律规定制作《提请减刑建议书》或者《提请假释建议书》,连同有关材料一并提请人民法院裁定。人民检察院对提请减刑、假释提出的检察意见,应当一并移送受理减刑、假释案件的人民法院。

对本规定第四条所列罪犯决定提请减刑、假释的,监狱应当将《罪犯减刑(假释)审核表》连同有关材料报送省、自治区、直辖市监狱管理局审核。

Article 14: 　监狱在向人民法院提请减刑、假释的同时,应当将提请减刑、假释的建议书副本抄送人民检察院。

Article 15: 　监狱提请人民法院裁定减刑、假释,应当提交下列材料:

1. A Written Proposal for Commutation or a Written Proposal for Parole;

2. Copies of the appeal court's written ruling, the notice of enforcement, and any prior rulings on sentence reduction;

3. 罪犯计分考核明细表、评审鉴定表、奖惩审批表；

4. Documents with specific facts showing that the criminal has really repented and mended their ways or made a meritorious service or major meritorious service;

5. Those proposing parole shall attach an investigative assessment report by a county-level judicial administrative authority regarding the prisoner's impact on the community in which he would reside after parole;

6. Other materials that need to be submitted on the basis of case circumstances.

对本规定第四条所列罪犯提请减刑、假释的,应当同时提交省、自治区、直辖市监狱管理局签署意见的《罪犯减刑(假释)审核表》。

Chapter III: Procedures for the Bureau of Prison Management Review of Requests for Commutation or Parole

Article 16: 　省、自治区、直辖市监狱管理局刑罚执行部门收到监狱报送的提请减刑、假释建议的材料后,应当进行审查。审查中发现监狱报送的材料不齐全或者有疑义的,应当通知监狱补充有关材料或者作出说明。审查无误后,应当出具审查意见,报请分管副局长召集评审委员会进行审核。

Article 17: 　监狱管理局分管副局长主持完成审核后,应当将审核意见报请局长审定；分管副局长认为案件重大或者有其他特殊情况的,可以建议召开局长办公会议审议决定。

监狱管理局审核同意对罪犯提请减刑、假释的,由局长在《罪犯减刑(假释)审核表》上签署意见,加盖监狱管理局公章。

Chapter IV: Supplemental Provisions

Article 18: 　人民法院开庭审理减刑、假释案件的,监狱应当派员参加庭审,宣读提请减刑、假释建议书并说明理由,配合法庭核实相关情况。

Article 19: 　分监区、直属分监区或者未设分监区的监区人民警察集体研究会议、监区长办公会议、监狱评审委员会会议、监狱长办公会议、监狱管理局评审委员会会议、监狱管理局局长办公会议的记录和本规定第十五条所列的材料,应当存入档案并永久保存。

Article 20: 　违反法律规定和本规定提请减刑、假释,涉嫌违纪的,依照有关处分规定追究相关人员责任；涉嫌犯罪的,移送司法机关依法追究刑事责任。

Article 21: Prisons handling cases of commutation or parole for prisoners who committed crimes abusing public office shall follow the relevant provisions to report for review and for the record.

Article 22: These Regulations shall take effect on December 1, 2014.