Editorial Laments Failures of Courts and Procuratorates for Allowing “Muddled Cases”

“糊涂案”何以连闯三关

Bejing News, 2009-07-16

In response to news of a confused court verdict in rural Anhui Province involving convictions on crimes different than what prosecutors charged and sentences well below statutory minimums, an editorial in the Beijing News reflects on the failings of the basic-level criminal justice system. It blames those failings primarily on the difficulties—due to a longstanding inquisitorial tradition—in fully implementing the leadership and supervisory functions of the procuratorate over police as outlined in the amended 1996 Criminal Procedure Law. The many safeguards that law envisions are often ignored “in some places” as cooperation amongst police, prosecutors and courts in fighting crime is emphasized at the detriment of mutual checks and balances. “In recent years, although the independence of procuratorates and courts has been somewhat strengthened, circumstances in which power is unrestricted still exist, due to certain deep-rooted rules outside the law and hidden rules.”