Fast-track trials for minor offenses to be piloted
Print Edition
CHINA’S top legislature has approved a pilot program to speed up trials for minor criminal offenses.
The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress yesterday adopted a resolution authorizing the Supreme People’s Court and Supreme People’s Procuratorate to start the program.
Cases can be fast-tracked when the facts are clear, the evidence sufficient, the law not contested, the defendant pleads guilty and sentence will be no more than one year or a fine.
Fast-track trials can be for traffic offences, minor theft or fraud, assault and robbery.
Fast-tracking means court investigation and debate may be waived, said Chief Justice Zhou Qiang when he explained the bill to legislators earlier.
The pilot will officially start when a procedural guideline is announced and will run for two years in 18 cities, including Shanghai and Beijing, where cases are piling up.
According to the supreme court, about 38 percent of criminal cases ended up with sentences of less than a year in 2013. The number has been increasing since drunk driving was made a crime in 2011.
Chen Weidong, of Renmin University, said putting these cases through normal proceedings was a waste of resources and meant defendants often spent longer in custody than necessary.
“Judges give prison terms of at least as long as the time the defendant spends in jail before the case is closed. In some cases the sentence is more severe than it should be,” Chen said.
A fast track trial will help prevent this situation and improve the efficiency of courts that are overloaded and shorthanded, he said.
Lawmakers have expressed concern about justice and protection of defendants’ rights if there was no court investigation or debate.
Liu Zhenwei, a NPC Standing Committee member, said that with so much discretion granted to judges, the guideline must be very clear.
The consent of defendants is a precondition to fast-tracking and they can still make a final statement before the judge and appeal. Detention centers will offer legal advice on request. Courts must ensure defendants plead voluntarily and understand the legal consequences of the fast-track policy.
Lawmakers also questioned allowing some trials to take place behind closed doors. They said this could be manipulated by celebrities or officials. Lawmaker Xu Xianming suggested strict restrictions on such requests from defendants.
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