Organic Law of the People's Procuratorate of the PRC (2018)

Promulgation Date: 2018-10-26
Title: 中华人民共和国人民检察院组织法
Document Number:
Expiration date: 
Promulgating Entities: Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
Source of text: http://www.npc.gov.cn/npc/xinwen/2018-10/26/content_2064476.htm
【法规全文】

(Adopted by the 2nd Session of the 5th National People's Congress on July 1, 1979; amended for the first time in accordance with the "Decision to Amend the 'P.R.C. Procuratorates Organic Law'" of the 2nd Session of the Standing Committee of the 6th National People's Congress on September 2, 1983; amended for the second time in accordance with the "Decision to Amend the 'P.R.C. Organic Law of Local People's Congresses at All Levels and Local People's Governments at All Levels'" of 18th Session of the Standing Committee of the 6th National People's Congress on December 2, 1986; revised by the 6th Session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress on October 26, 2018)

CONTENTS

Chapter I: General Provisions

Chapter II: The Setup and Authority of People's Procuratorates

Chapter III: The Case-handling Organizations of People's Procuratorates

Chapter IV: The Composition of People's Procuratorate Personnel

Chapter V: Safeguards for the People's Procuratorates' Exercise of Authority

Chapter VI: Supplementary Provisions

Chapter I: General Provisions

Article 1: This law is formulated on the basis of the Constitution, so as to standardize the setup, organization, and authority of the people's procuratorates, and to safeguard the people's procuratorates' performance of duties in accordance with law.

Article 2: The people's procuratorates of the the State's organ for legal supervision.

Through the exercise of procuratorial power, the people's procuratorates prosecute crimes, preserve national security and social order, safeguard the lawful interests of individuals and organizations, preserve State interests and social public interests, ensure the correct implementation of laws, preserve social fairness and justice, preserve the uniformity, dignity, and authority of the nation's laws, and ensure the smooth progress of building socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Article 3: People's procuratorates are to be established in accordance with the Constitution, laws, and decisions of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

Article 4: The people's procuratorates shall exercise the procuratorial power independently in accordance with the provisions of law, and are not to be interfered with by administrative organs, social groups, or individuals.

Article 5: In exercising procuratorial power, people's procuratorates are to apply the law equally to all, no organization or individual is permitted to have priveleges exceeding the law, and discrimination in any form is prohibited.

Article 6: People's procuratorates uphold judicial fairness; take facts as their basis and have law as their measure; follow legally prescribed procedures; and respect and protect human rights.

Article 7: People's procuratorates practice judicial openness, except where law provides otherwise.

Article 8: People's procuratorates practice judicial openness, except where law provides otherwise.

Article 9: The Supreme People's Procuratorate is responsible to, and report on its work to, the National People's Congress and its Standing Committee. Local people's procuratorates are responsible to, and report on their work to, the local people’s congresses at corresponding levels and their standing committees.

Standing committees of people's congresses at all levels conduct oversight of the work of the people's procuratorates at corresponding levels.

Article 10: The Supreme People's Procuratorate is the highest procuratorate organ.

The Supreme People's Procuratorate leads the efforts of all levels of local People’s Procuratorates and specialized People’s Procuratorates; People’s Procuratorates at the levels above lead the efforts of lower level People’s Procuratorates.

Article 11: People's procuratorates shall accept oversight of the masses, and safeguard the masses' enjoyment of the rights to know of, participate in, and supervise the people's procuratorate' work in accordance with law.

Chapter II: The Setup and Authority of People's Procuratorates

Article 12: The people's procuratorates are divided into:

(1) The Supreme People's Procuratorate;

(2) Various levels of local people's procuratorates;

(3) Military procuratorates and other specialized people's procuratorates.

Article 13: All levels of local people's procuratorate are divided into:

(1) provincial level people's procuratorates, including provincial, autonomous region, or directly governed municipality people's procuratorates.

(2) districted city leve people's procuratorates, including municipal people's procuratorates under provinces and autonomous regions, autonomous prefecture people's procuratorates, and branches of provincial, autonomous region, or directly governed municipality people's procuratorate.

(3) basic-level people's procuratorates, including people's procuratorates of counties, autonomous counties, undistricted cities, and districts within cities.

Article 14: The organization, scope of case jurisdiction, and appointment and removal of procuratorates of the people's procuratorates established in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region Construction and Production Corps, are to be in accordance with relevant provisions of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

Article 15: The establishment, organization, functions, and appointment and removal of procurators of specialized procuratorates are to be prescribed by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

Article 16: Provincial and districted city level people's procuratorates may establish people's procuratorates in designated areas in their jurisdictional region, to be local offices, with the consent of the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the relevant provincial level departments, and upon submission to the standing committee of the people's congress at that level.

Article 17: As necessary for procuratorate work, people's procuratorates may establish procuratorate offices in prisons and detention centers to exercise a portion of the authority of the people's procuratorate that dispatched it, and may also conduct procuratorate circuits of these premises.

Provincial level people's procuratorates establishing procuratorate offices shall do so upon the consent of the Supreme People's Procuratorate and relevant provincial level departments. Districted-city level people's procuratorates and basic level establishing procuratorate offices shall do so upon the consent of the Supreme People's Procuratorate and relevant provincial level departments.

Article 18: People's procuratorates are to establish necessary operations bodies as required for procuratorial work. Districted city and basic level people's procuratorates where the number of procurators is smaller may establish comprehensive operational bodies.

Article 19: The people's procuratorates may establish necessary procuratorial support bodies and administrative management bodies as required for procuratorial work.

Article 20: People's procuratorates exercise the following authority:

(1) Exercise investigative powers in criminal cases as provided by law;

(2) Conduct reviews of criminal cases, approving or deciding whether to arrest criminal suspects;

(3) Conduct reviews of criminal cases, decide whether to initiate public prosecutions, and support public prosecutions in cases where they decide to indict;

(4) Initiate public interest litigation in accordance with the provisions of law;

(5) Carry out legal supervision of litigation activity;

(6) Conduct legal supervision of the enforcement of judgments, rulings, and other such effective legal documents;

(7) Conduct legal supervision of law enforcement activities of prisons and detention centers;

(8) Other functions provided for by law.

Article 21: People's procuratorates exercising legal supervision authority as provided in article 20 of this Law may conduct an investigation, review, and submit procuratorial counter-appeals, corrective opinions, and procuratorial recommendations. Relevant units shall cooperate and promptly respond in writing to the people's procuratorate on the adoption of corrective opinions and procuratorial recommendations.

The scope of application and procedures for procuratorial counter-appeals, corrective opinions, and procuratorial recommendations are to follow the relevant provisions of law.

Article 22: The Supreme People's Procuratorate conducts supervision of the Supreme People's Court's activity in death penalty reviews, and review cases submitted for verification that they should be pursued and to decide whether to pursue them.

Article 23: The Supreme People's Procuratorate may make interpretations of specific issues on the application of law in procuratorate work.

The Supreme People's Procuratorate may release guiding cases.

Article 24: Higher level people's procuratorates exercise the following authority over lower level people's procuratorates:

(1) Where the lower level people's procuratorate's decision is found to be in error, order the lower level people's procuratorate to make corrections or revoke and modify it in accordance with law;

(2) may designate jurisdiction for cases in the jurisdiction of lower-level people's procuratorates;

(3) may handle cases in the jurisdiction of lower level people's procuratorates;

(4) may uniformly shift handling of cases by procuratorate staff in their jurisdictional region.

The decision of the higher level people's procuratorates shall be issued in written form.

Article 25: Lower level people's procuratorates shall enforce the decisions of higher level people's procuratorates; and where there are differing opinions, may report these to the higher level people's procuratorate while so enforcing.

Article 26: The chief procurators of people's procuratorate or a deputy chief procurator entrusted by the chief procurator, may observe meetings of the adjudication committee of people's courts at the same level.

Article 27: People's supervisors are to carry out supervision of people's procuratorates' case handling activities in accordance with provisions.

Chapter III: The Case-handling Organizations of People's Procuratorates

Article 28: On the basis of the circumstances of the case, people's procuratorates handling cases may have a single procurator handle it alone, and may also have two or more procurators for a case handling group to handle it.

Where procuratorial case handling groups handle it, the chief procurator shall designate one procurator to serve as the head procurator to organize and direct the handling of the case.

Article 29: Procurators carry out work under the direction of the chief procurator, with the chief procurator deciding on major case handling matters. The chief procurator may entrust procurators with the exercise of a portion of some authority and may authorize procurators to sign legal documents.

Article 30: All levels of people's procuratorate are to set up procuratorial committees. The procuratorial committee is comprised of the chief procurator, deputy chief procurators, and several senior procurators, and shall have an odd number of members.

Article 31: Procuratorial committees perform the following functions:

(1) Summarizing procuratorial work experience;

(2) Discussing and deciding upon major, difficult or complicated cases;

(3) Discussing and deciding upon other major issues related to procuratorial work.

The Supreme People's Procuratorate's interpretations of issues on the specific application of law in procuratorial work, or publication of guiding cases, shall be upon discussion and adoption by the procuratorial committee.

Article 32: Procuratorial committees convening meetings shall have at least half of the meetings members present.

Meetings of the procuratorial committee committee are presided over by the chief procurator or a deputy chief procurator entrusted by the chief procurator. The procuratorial committee carries out a system of democratic centralism.

Where the chief procurator of any level of local people's procuratorate does not agree with the majority opinion of the procuratorial committee on case handling, they may report to the people's procuratorate at the level above for a decision; where it is on a major matter, they may report to the people's procuratorate at the level above, or the standing committee of the people's congress at the same level, for a decision.

Article 33: Procurators may submit major cases and other major question to the chief procurator for a decision. Based on the case circumstances, the chief procurator may submit it to the procuratorial committee for discussion and decision.

In cases discussed by the procuratorial committee, procurators are responsible for the facts they report and the members of the procuratorial committee are responsible for the comments they express themselves and their vote. Procurators shall implement the procuratorial committee's decision.

Article 34: People's procuratorates carry out a responsibility system for procurator's handling or cases. Procurators are responsible for decisions the make on cases within the scope of their authority. Where chief procurators and procuratorial committees make decisions on cases, they bear corresponding responsibility.

Chapter IV: The Composition of People's Procuratorate Personnel

Article 35: The procuratorate staff of people's procuratorates is comprised of the chief procurator, deputy chief procurators, procuratorial committee members, and procurators.

Article 36: The chief procurators of people's procuratorates lead the work of that procuratorate, and manage that procuratorate's administrative affairs. Deputy chief procurators assist in the chief procurator's work.

Article 37: The Procurator-General of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate is elected and removed by the National People’s Congress; its Deputy Procurators-General, members of the procuratorial committee and procuratorate personnel are appointed and removed by request of Procurator-General to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

Article 38: The chief procurators of each level of local people’s procuratorate are elected and removed by that level of People’s Congress, and their deputy chief procurators, procuratorial committee members, and procuratorial personnel are appointed or removed by request of the chief procurator to the Standing Committee of that level of People’s Congress.

The appointment and removal of chief procurators of each level of local people’s procuratorate must be reported to people's procuratorate at the level above for approval to be requested from the standing committee of the people's congress at that level.

The chief procurators, deputy chief procurators, and procuratorial committee members, and procuratorate personnel of provincial, autonomous region, or directly governed municipality people’s procuratorates are appointed or removed by request of the provincial, autonomous region, or directly governed municipality people's procuratorate's chief procurator to the Standing Committee of that level of People’s Congress.

Article 39:The term of office of chief procurators of people's procuratorates is the same as that of people’s congress delegates that produced them.

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and the standing committees of provincial, autonomous region, or directly governed municipality people's congresses may dismiss and replace lower level people's procuratorates' chief procurators, deputy chief procurators, and procuratorial committee members, on the basis of the recommendation of the recommendation of the chief procurator of the people's procuratorate at their level.

Article 40: Categorical management is implemented for people's procuratorate procurators, procuratorate support personal, and judicial administration personnel.

Article 41: A personnel ratio system is implemented for procurators. The personnel ratio of procurators is determined on the basis of factors such as the case volume, the economic and social development situation, the population size, and the level of people's procuratorate.

The number of procurators in the Supreme People's Procuratorate is determined by the Supreme People's Procuratorate in consultation with relevant departments. The personnel ratio of procurators for all levels of local people's procuratorate is subject to total volume control and dynamic management in provinces, autonomous regions, and directly governed municipalities.

Article 42: Procurators are selected from among those that have obtained legal professional qualifications and also meet other requirements for procurators. The prosecutor selection committee is to review the professional capacity of new prosecutors. Preference is general given to procurators of lower level people's procuratorates in selecting higher level people's procuratorates' procurators.

The chief procurator shall possess legal knowledge and legal practice experience. Deputy chief procurators, and procuratorial committee members shall be selected from among procurators, judges, or others with requirements to be procurators or judges.

The duties, administration, and safeguards for procurators are in accordance with the "People's Republic of China Law on Procurators" .

Article 43: Procurators' assistants of people's procuratorates are responsible for procuratorial support matters, such as the inspection of case materials and drafting of legal documents, under the guidance of procurators.

Procurators assistants who meet the requirements for holding a position as a procurator, may be appointed as procurators, after being selected, in accordance with the procedures for appointing and removing procurators.

Article 44: Clerks of people's procuratorates are responsible for procuratorial support matters such making case handling records.

Article 45: The judicial police of people's procuratorates are responsible for policing matters such as vigilance at case handling locations, and the secure escort and guarding of personnel.

Administration of judicial police is in accordance with the "Police Law of the PRC".

Article 46: As required for procuratorial work, people's procuratorates may establish procuratorial technicians, responsible for matters related to procuratorial work.

Chapter V: Safeguards for the People's Procuratorates' Exercise of Authority

Article 47:Units and individuals must not request that procurators engage in tasks beyond the scope of their duties.

Where leading cadres and others interfere with judicial activities or tampering with the handling of specific cases, or internal people's procuratorate personnel pry into cases, the case handling personnel shall fully and truthfully record and report it, and the relevant organs are to pursue the perpetrators' responsibility.

Article 48: People's procuratorates are to employ necessary measures to preserve case-handling security. Legal responsibility is to be pursued for illegal and criminal conduct that impedes the people's procuratorates' lawful exercise of the procuratorial power.

Article 49: People's procuratorates implement a system of training by which procurators, procuratorial support personnel and judicial administrative personnel shall receive theoretical and operational training.

Article 50: Special management is carried out for people's procuratorates' personnel allotments.

Article 51: The funding of people's procuratorates is to be included in fiscal budgets in accordance with the division of powers, ensuring the needs of procuratorial work.

Article 52: People's procuratorates shall strengthen the establishment of informatization, utilizing modern information technologies to promote judicial openness and increase efficiency.

Chapter VI: Supplementary Provisions

Article 53:This law is to take effect on January 1, 2019.