SPP's 8 Prohibitions in Investigation of Crimes Abusing Public Office

Title: Notice on the Issuance of the Supreme People's Procuratorate's Eight Prohibitions in Investigations of Crimes Abusing Public Office

Promulgating Entities: Supreme People's Procuratorate

Reference number:

Promulgation Date: August 4, 2015

Expiration date:

Source of text: http://legal.people.com.cn/n/2015/0806/c42510-27420817.html

Notice on the Issuance of the Supreme People's Procuratorate's Eight Prohibitions in Investigations of Crimes Abusing Public Office

People's procuratorates of all provinces, autonomous regions and directly governed municipalities; military procuratorates and the people's procuratorate for the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps:

The "Supreme People's Procuratorate's Eight Prohibitions in Investigations of Crimes Abusing Public Office" are hereby issued to you, please strictly implement and enforce them.

Supreme People's Procuratorate

8/4/2015

The Supreme People's Procuratorate's Eight Prohibitions in Investigations of Crimes Abusing Public Office
So as to regulate judicial action, prevent case-handling in violation of laws and regulations, and ensure a just judiciary; and on the basis of the " Criminal Procedure Law" and "Supreme People's Procuratorate Rules of Criminal Procedure (Provisional)" and the "Procuratorate Personnel Disciplinary Sanctions Regulations (Provisional)" and "Regulations on Pursuit of Responsibility for Procuratorate Personnel's Fault in Law Enforcement"; these eight prohibitions that must be strictly enforced in protectorates efforts to investigate crimes abusing public office are hereby promulgated:

1, It is strictly prohibited to address case leads on one's own volition and conduct preliminary investigation as one pleases, or to employ compulsory measures against the targets of investigation during preliminary investigation that limit their rights in person or property. Violators are given warnings, demerit records or major demerits; where the circumstances are quite significant expulsion; and where a crime is constituted criminal responsibility is pursued in accordance with law.

2, The unlawful use of residential surveillance in a designated location is strictly prohibited. Where the law is intentionally circumvented to apply the measure of residential surveillance in a designated location such as by not reporting to the people's protectorate at the level above for approval or expanding the scope of its application, the disciplinary and legal responsibility of the decision makers and the implementers are pursued on the basis of the circumstances and the consequences.

3, Unlawful interference with regular production and operations activities of enterprises involved in the case is strictly prohibited. Unlawful meddling in construction projects and interference in project bidding, or unlawful meddling in economic disputes, or exceeding authority in case-handling, or accepting support, reimbursing expenses, or accepting meals and gifts at others' expense, and other such conduct in violation of laws and regulations is given demerits or major demerits; where the circumstances are quite significant, demotion or removal from office, and where a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility is provided in accordance with law.

4, It is strictly prohibited to violate laws and regulations in sealing, seizing or freezing assets involved in a case. The disciplinary and legal responsibility of decision makers and implementers is pursued in accordance with discipline and law where public or private property is arbitrarily sealed, seized, or frozen; assets that have been seized or frozen are not promptly returned in accordance with law; or seized or frozen assets and the fruits thereof are disposed of in violation of laws and regulations, such as by embezzling, misappropriating, secretly divvying or secretly depositing, exchanging, loaning out, or purchasing at lowered rates, Where it leads to State compensation, pursue recovery from the responsible persons in accordance with law.

5, It is strictly prohibited to obstruct or impede lawyers lawful meetings with criminal suspects. In cases where the law provides that permission is not required for meetings, There must not be barriers erected, disturbing or influencing lawyers' meetings; In especially large bribery cases, reasonable arrangements for lawyers meetings should be made on the basis of case-handling circumstances. Where provisions are violated to limit, disturb or impact lawyers' meetings, give warnings or demerits on the basis of the circumstances and consequences.

6, It is strictly prohibited to conduct interrogations without an audio-visual recording of the entire process. In cases where an audio-visual recording was not made of the entire course of interrogation activities, they must not be transferred to be reviewed for prosecution; where they have already been transferred for review for prosecution, the public prosecution department has the right to refuse to accept them or return them to the investigation department.

7, It is strictly prohibited to extort confessions by torture or otherwise act to illegally gather evidence. Where illegal methods such as use of torture to extract confessions, threats, enticements and deceit are adopted to obtain criminal suspects' confessions and witness testimony, it must not , without exception, be used as evidence; and where gathering of physical and documentary evidence does not comply with legally prescribed procedures, might influence judicial fairness, and cannot be supplemented or reasonably explained, it must not, without exception, be used as evidence. Violators are given demerits or major demerits; where the circumstances more significant, given demotion or dismissal; where the circumstance are serious, given expulsion; and where a crime is constituted, criminal liability is pursued in accordance with law.

8, It is strictly prohibited to violate case-handling safety discipline. Where case-handling in violation of laws and regulations, or serious irresponsibility, causes a case-handling safety incident such as suspects' flight, injury or suicide; or the injury or suicide of witnesses, the persons directing it and carrying out are without exception to be first suspended from their duties and then handled in accordance with discipline and law.

Where poor management or improper direction leads to a procurators violation of the eight prohibitions above, strictly pursue the leadership's responsibility.