Organic Law of the People's Procuratorates of the People's Republic of China (Draft Revisions)

[Source] http://www.npc.gov.cn/npc/flcazqyj/2017-09/04/content_2028320.htm
【End of Comment Period】2017年10月3日

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: Component Members and Other Personnel of the People’s Procuratorates

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 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 People’s Republic of China are the State's organs of legal supervision and exercise the procuratorial power in accordance with law.

Article 3: The task of people's procuratorates is to exercise the procuratorial power to prosecute crime, protect human rights, preserve national security and social order, lawfully supervise the exercise of authority by state organs and their staffs, ensure the correct implementation of the nation's laws, preserve the public interest, preserve social fairness and justice, and to preserve the uniformity, dignity, and authority of the nation's laws.

Article 4: People's procuratorates are to be established in accordance with the provisions of this law; and where this law makes no provisions, they are established on the basis of decisions by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

Article 5: 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 6: People's procuratorates uphold the equality of all before the law, and do not permit any privilege or discrimination.

Article 7: People's procuratorates uphold judicial fairness; take facts as their basis and have law as their measure; and respect and protect human rights.

Article 8: People's procuratorates uphold judicial democracy; the masses enjoy the rights to know of, participate in, and supervise the work of the people's procuratorates in accordance with law.

Article 9: People's procuratorates persist in procuratorial openness, except where law provides that disclosure would be inappropriate.

Article 10: People's procuratorates are to implement judicial responsibility systems, establishing and completing operating mechanisms for the judicial powers that integrate power and responsibility.

Article 11: The Supreme People’s Procuratorate is responsible to, and reports 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.

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) Each level of local people's procuratorate, including provincial level, municipal level, and basic level people's procuratorates;

(3) Specialized people's procuratorates, including military procuratorates and other such procuratorates.

Article 13: The people's procuratorates exercise the following authority:

(1)exercise investigative powers in criminal cases that the law provides they are to handle;

(2) Conduct reviews of criminal cases and decide whether to arrest criminal suspects;

(3) Conduct reviews of criminal cases where investigation has concluded and decide whether to indict;

(4) Conduct legal supervision of criminal, civil, and administrative proceedings;

(5) Conduct legal supervision of the enforcement of criminal, civil, and administrative judgments, rulings, and other such effective legal documents;

(6) Conduct legal supervision of law enforcement efforts by prions, community corrections establishments, and detention centers;

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

(8) Other authority provided for by law.

Article 14: People's procuratorates exercising legal supervision authority may employ methods such as submitting procuratorial counter-appeals, corrective opinions, and procuratorial recommendations. The scope of application and procedures for methods such as procuratorial counter-appeals, corrective opinions, and procuratorial recommendations are to follow the relevant provisions of law.

Article 15: People's procuratorates shall strengthen guidance and supervision of exercise investigative activity in criminal cases that the law provides they are to handle; Where investigative activities have unlawful circumstances, investigation and verification shall be conducted, and the unlawful circumstances shall be handled in accordance with law.

Article 16: The Supreme People's Procuratorate is the State's highest procuratoratorial organ. The Supreme People's Procuratorate may exercise the following authority:

(1) Introduce bills to the National People's Congress and its Standing committee;

(2) Submit requests for legal interpretations to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress;

(3) Submit requests to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for review of administrative regulations, local regulations, autonomous regulations, and special regulations;

(4) Conduct interpretations on issues of the specific application of law in procuratorial work;

(5) Conduct legal supervision over final review of death sentences by the Supreme People’s Court;

(6) Conduct reviews of criminal cases reported by the investigating organs for review and approval of prosecution and decide whether to prosecute;

(7) Other authority provided for by law.

Article 17: Provincial level people's procuratorates include:

(1) Provincial people's procuratorates;

(2) autonomous region people's procuratorates;

(3)directly governed municipalities' people's procuratorates;

Article 18: Municipal people's procuratorates include:

(1) people's procuratorates of municipalities directly under the jurisdiction of a province or autonomous region;

(2) Branch procuratorates of provincial, autonomous region, or directly governed municipality people's procuratorates;

(3)autonomous prefecture's people's procuratorates;

Article 19: Basic level people's procuratorates include:

(1) people's procuratorates of counties, autonomous counties, and banners;

(2) people's procuratorates of undistricted municipalities;

(3) people's procuratorates of municipal districts.

Article 20: The establishment and scope of case jurisdiction of all levels of people's procuratorate of 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 21: Upon approval of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, cross-administrative region people's procuratorates may be established to handle cases that cross administrative regions.

Article 22: Provincial and municipal 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 23: On the basis of the requirements of procuratorial work, people's procuratorates may establish procuratorate offices in locations such as prisons, to exercise part of the people's procuratorate's power.

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. Municipal 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 24: As required for procuratorial work, people's procuratorates may establish necessary case-handling bodies. Municipal and basic level people's procuratorates where the number of procurators is smaller may establish comprehensive case-handling bodies.

As required for procuratorial work, people's procuratorates may establish comprehensive operational bodies. Municipal and basic level people's procuratorates where the number of procurators is smaller may choose to not establish comprehensive operational bodies.

Article 25: As required for work, people's procuratorates may establish necessary procuratorial support bodies and judicial administration bodies, and may also allow social forces to participate in procuratorial support work and judicial administration work.

Article 26: The Supreme People's Procuratorate guides the work of all levels of local people's procuratorate and specialized people's procuratorates.

Higher level people's procuratorates guide the work of lower levels of local people's procuratorate. 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 a lower-level people's procuratorate;

(4) may uniformly call for the jurisdictions' procurators to handle cases.

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

Article 27: 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 28: 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 29: People's supervisors are to carry out supervision of people's procuratorates' handling of criminal cases in accordance with provisions of law.

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

Article 30: On the basis of the circumstances of the case, people's procuratorates handling cases may have two or more procurators compose a case handling group to handle it, and may also have a single procurator handle it alone.

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

Article 31: 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 32: All levels of people's procuratorate are to establish a procuratorial committee. The task of procuratorial committees is to summarize procuratorial work experience, discuss and decide on major or difficult cases, and other major issues.

Article 33: 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 deliberation and adoption by the procuratorial committee.

Article 34: The procuratorial committee is comprised of the chief procurator, deputy chief procurators, and other senior procurators, and has an odd number of members.

The procuratorial committee may establish full-time members.

Article 35: Meetings of the procuratorial committee shall have more than half of the committee members present to convene. 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 36: Head procurators may submit major cases and other major questions to the procuratorial committee for discussion, and the chief procurator will decide whether to convene a meeting of the procuratorial committee.

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 final vote. Procurators shall implement the procuratorial committee's decision.

Article 37: People's procuratorates are to implement procurator case handling responsibility systems. 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: Component Members and Other Personnel of the People’s Procuratorates

Article 38: People’s procuratorates are composed of a single chief procurator, deputy chief procurators, procuratorial committee members, and other procurators.

The chief procurator shall possess legal knowledge and legal practice experience. Deputy chief procurators and procuratorial committee members shall be selected from among the procurators.

Article 39: 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 40: 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 other procurators are appointed and removed by request of Procurator-General to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

Article 41: 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 other procurators 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 other procurators 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 42: The appointment and removal of chief procurators, deputy chief procurators, procuratorial committee members, and other procurators of all levels of people's procuratorate of 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 43: The term of office of chief procurators of people's procuratorates is the same as that of people’s congress delegates that produced them and they must not serve more than two consecutive terms.

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 44: Categorical management is implemented for people's procuratorates' procurators, procuratorial support staff, and judicial administrative personnel.

Article 45: A personnel ratio system is implemented for procurators. The personnel ratio of procurators is determined on the basis of factors such as the level of people's procuratorate, the case volume, as well as the economic and social development situation and population. 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 46: Preference in hiring is given to procurators that have obtained legal professional qualifications and meet other requirements for procurators. Newly appointed procurators must be professionally reviewed by the procurator selection committee. Preference is general given to procurators of lower level people's procuratorates in selecting higher level people's procuratorates' procurators.

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

Article 47: Procurators' assistants of people's procuratorates handle procuratorial support matters, such as the inspection of litigation 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 48: Clerks of people's procuratorates handle procuratorial support matters such making case handling records.

Article 49: The judicial police of people's procuratorates hand 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 50: As required for procuratorial work, people's procuratorates may establish procuratorial technicians, handling matter related to procuratorial work in accordance with law.

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

Article 51: People's procuratorates have the right to refuse to engage in activities that violate legally prescribed duties.

Article 52: People's procuratorates shall 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 53: The personal dignity and physical safety of procurators receive the protection of law. The relevant organs shall promptly stop illegal and criminal conduct such as harassment, insulting, threatening,or violence towards procurators or their close relative,and shall strictly punish it in accordance with law.

Article 54: Procurators must not be transferred,demoted, removed, dismissed or sanctioned for matters not proscribed by law or without having gone through legally prescribed procedures.

Article 55: The people's procuratorates are to consult with the relevant departments to establish an independent job sequence and salary system for procurators, improving the system of professional safeguards.

Article 56: People's procuratorates implement a system of training and advanced studies, by which procurators, procuratorial support personnel and judicial administrative personnel shall receive theoretical and operational training.

Article 57: Special management is carried out for people's procuratorates' personnel allotments. The specific measures for the special management are to be separately provided by the Supreme People's Procuratorate in consultation with the relevant departments.

Article 58: People's procuratorates shall strengthen the establishment of informatization, utilizing internet, big data, and other modern information technologies to increase efficiency and ensure judicial fairness.

Article 59: 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.

Chapter VI: Supplementary Provisions

Article 60: This Law shall take effect on xx-xx-xxxx.