The relevant information on the "Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the 'Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China'" (Fa Shi [2021] No. 1, hereinafter referred to as the "New Criminal Procedure Law Interpretation") is as follows:

On October 26, 2018, the Sixth Meeting of the Thirteenth National People's Congress Standing Committee adopted the "Decision on Amending the 'Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China'" (hereinafter referred to as the "Criminal Procedure Law Amendment Decision"), which has been implemented since October 26, 2018. This is another very important reform and improvement of the criminal procedure system with Chinese characteristics after the amendments to the Criminal Procedure Law in 1996 and 2012. The "Criminal Procedure Law Amendment Decision" has a total of 26 articles, amending 18 articles of the Criminal Procedure Law, and adding 18 new articles, mainly involving improving the connection mechanism between supervision and criminal proceedings, establishing a criminal trial in absentia procedure, improving the leniency system for admitting guilt and accepting punishment, and adding a summary procedure, as well as amendments made to coordinate with other laws. The revised Criminal Procedure Law has increased from 290 articles to 308 articles.

The amendment to the Criminal Procedure Law involves rich content and has a significant impact on criminal trial work. To ensure the accurate and effective implementation of the law, the Supreme People's Court closely followed the legislative process during the amendment of the Criminal Procedure Law and simultaneously carried out the preliminary preparation for amending the "Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the 'Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China'" (Fa Shi [2012] No. 21, hereinafter referred to as the "2012 Interpretation"), solicited opinions on the revision of judicial interpretation from relevant departments within the court, and entrusted seventeen higher courts, eight intermediate courts, and three basic-level courts to conduct preliminary research on several important topics to ensure that the drafting of judicial interpretation adheres to problem orientation and gathers the wisdom of judicial practice. After the "Criminal Procedure Law Amendment Decision" was passed, the draft interpretation was drafted after repeated research and argumentation, and opinions were solicited from relevant central departments and local courts for many times, and more than ten criminal procedure law experts were invited to conduct argumentation. In particular, in order to accurately reflect the spirit of the legislation, the opinions of the legislative body were solicited many times during the drafting of the interpretation. On December 7, 2020, Zhou Qiang, President of the Supreme People's Court and Chief Justice, presided over the 1820th meeting of the Adjudication Committee of the Supreme People's Court to deliberate and approve the "New Criminal Procedure Law Interpretation", and it is now decided to officially release it to the public and implement it from March 1, 2021.

The "New Criminal Procedure Law Interpretation" has a total of 27 chapters and 655 articles. It has undergone eight deliberations by the Criminal Adjudication Professional Committee of the Supreme People's Court and three deliberations by the plenary meeting of the Adjudication Committee of the Supreme People's Court. It is the judicial interpretation with the largest number of articles in the history of the Supreme People's Court, and it is also one of the most content-rich and most important judicial interpretations. The interpretation adheres to the guidance of Xi Jinping's thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, earnestly implements Xi Jinping's thought on the rule of law, comprehensively summarizes the new situations and new problems in China's criminal trial practice, and systematically stipulates the relevant issues of criminal trial procedures. The promulgation and implementation of the "New Criminal Procedure Law Interpretation" is of great significance for the people's courts to strictly perform their trial duties in accordance with legal procedures, standardize case-handling activities, protect litigation rights, ensure the accurate and effective implementation of the revised Criminal Procedure Law, and achieve the organic unity of punishing crimes and protecting human rights.

Compared with the "2012 Interpretation", the "New Criminal Procedure Law Interpretation" adds three chapters: "Trial of Cases of Confession and Punishment", "Summary Procedure", and "Trial in Absentia Procedure", adding 107 articles, and making substantive amendments to more than 200 articles. The key points are as follows:

(1) Adhere to the people-centered approach and strengthen the judicial protection of human rights

Taking the people as the center is the essential requirement of the socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that the fundamental purpose of promoting the comprehensive rule of law is to protect the interests of the people in accordance with the law. The "New Criminal Procedure Law Interpretation" adheres to the concept of taking the people as the center, takes strengthening the protection of litigation rights as the main thread running through the entire process, and through specific system design, protects the litigation rights of defendants in accordance with the law, fully protects the defense lawyers' performance of their defense duties in accordance with the law, effectively safeguards the legitimate rights and interests of victims, and puts the respect and protection of human rights into practice.

First, further strengthen the protection of the right to defense. The right to defense is the core of litigation rights. According to the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Law and the specific circumstances of judicial practice, the "New Criminal Procedure Law Interpretation" stipulates that if the defendant has not entrusted a defender and the legal aid agency has not appointed a lawyer to provide him with defense, the people's court shall inform the defendant that he has the right to meet with the duty lawyer to promote full coverage of criminal defense and legal assistance; in response to the situation where designated defense and entrusted defense coexist, it is clearly stipulated that the defendant should be given the right to choose and respect the defendant's choice; for the audio and video recordings of interrogations transferred to the people's court as evidence, defense lawyers are allowed to consult them to effectively protect the right to consult; it is clarified that with the permission of the people's court, lawyers can bring an assistant to participate in court hearings and engage in relevant auxiliary work, providing full protection for lawyers to perform their duties and promoting the "transmission, assistance, and guidance" of the lawyer team.

Second, further strengthen the protection of the right to cross-examination. The "New Criminal Procedure Law Interpretation" reiterates the general principle of hearing the same case together, requiring that separate hearings should be based on the premise of facilitating the guarantee of the quality and efficiency of the court hearing, and emphasizes that separate hearings shall not affect the exercise of litigation rights such as the right of the parties to cross-examination. In particular, during the trial, when necessary, the defendants in jointly committed or related criminal cases that are being tried separately may be summoned to court for confrontation. For jointly committed or related criminal cases that are prosecuted separately, if the people's court, after review, believes that a joint trial is more conducive to ascertaining the facts of the case, protecting litigation rights, and accurately determining guilt and sentencing, it may conduct a joint trial.

Third, further strengthen the protection of the litigation rights of the defendant unit. The determination of the litigation representative of the defendant unit is the basis of the trial procedure for unit crimes. In response to the practical problem of the difficulty in determining the litigation representative in judicial practice, the "New Criminal Procedure Law Interpretation" appropriately expands the scope of determination of the litigation representative: taking internal personnel of the unit as the first choice, including the legal representative, actual controller, or main person in charge of the defendant unit, as well as other persons in charge or employees of the defendant unit; in the case where there is no suitable person within the defendant unit to serve as the litigation representative, the defendant unit may entrust a lawyer or other person outside the unit as the litigation representative to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the defendant unit.

Fourth, further strengthen the protection of the rights and interests of minors. The "New Interpretation of the Criminal Procedure Law" implements the concepts, spirit, and institutional requirements of the newly revised "Law on the Protection of Minors" and "Law on the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency." It stipulates that when hearing cases involving sexual assault or violent injury against minors, measures such as simultaneous audio and video recording should be taken when questioning minor victims and witnesses to complete the process as much as possible in one go. It is necessary to strengthen cooperation with relevant departments to implement necessary psychological intervention, economic assistance, legal aid, school transfer arrangements, and other protective measures for minor victims of sexual assault or violent injury and their families, and to strengthen special protection for minors. At the same time, in order to effectively implement the relevant provisions of the Criminal Procedure Law, it is clarified that if the legal representative or appropriate adult of a minor is not present during interrogation, their confession should be excluded according to law.

(II) Adhering to the principle of centering on trial and effectively safeguarding judicial justice

Advancing the reform of the criminal procedure system centered on trials is a major decision and deployment made by the Party Central Committee. According to the requirements of centering on trials, the "New Interpretation of the Criminal Procedure Law" strengthens the principle of evidence-based adjudication, refines trial procedures, ensures that court trials play a decisive role in ascertaining facts, identifying evidence, protecting litigation rights, and making fair judgments, achieving substantive justice in case adjudication, and enhancing judicial credibility.

First, strengthening the requirements for evidence-based adjudication. In response to the problem of incomplete transfer of evidence materials in some cases in practice, the "New Interpretation of the Criminal Procedure Law" stipulates that the people's court should review whether all evidence materials proving the defendant's guilt, innocence, heavier punishment, or lighter punishment have been transferred with the case; if they have not been transferred with the case, it should notify the transfer within the specified time; if the transfer is not made after notification, the people's court should make a determination of the facts of the case based on the evidence on file. This means that if the relevant facts are in doubt due to the failure to transfer evidence, the determination should be made in accordance with the principle of favoring the defendant.

Second, strengthening the central position of court trials. The "New Interpretation of the Criminal Procedure Law" clarifies the relationship between pre-trial conferences and trial procedures, and clarifies that for procedural matters on which the opinions of the prosecution and defense have been heard in the pre-trial conference, the people's court may make a decision according to law after the pre-trial conference, and announce the decision and explain the reasons in the court trial; improve the court investigation procedure, and notify witnesses, expert witnesses, and persons with specialized knowledge to appear in court according to law. For witnesses, expert witnesses, and victims whose personal safety or the safety of their close relatives is at risk due to appearing in court to testify during the trial, the people's court should take protective measures; strengthen the reasoning of judgments and rulings, requiring judgments and rulings to state the basis for the judgment, explain the reasons for the judgment, and reflect the opinions of the prosecution and defense and explain the reasons for adopting or not adopting them.

Third, clarifying that second-instance cases of suspended death sentences shall be heard in court. In order to further implement the system of two instances of trial, improve the trial procedure for death penalty cases, and ensure the quality of death penalty cases, the "New Interpretation of the Criminal Procedure Law" stipulates that in cases where the defendant is sentenced to death, including cases where the death penalty is suspended for two years, the second-instance people's court shall hold a court hearing; if the defendant sentenced to immediate execution of the death penalty or suspension of the death penalty for two years does not appeal, and other defendants in the same case appeal, the second-instance people's court shall also hold a court hearing.

(III) Standardizing the handling of property involved in the case and strengthening judicial protection of property rights

With the development of economy and society, more and more criminal cases involve the handling of property, the amount of property involved in the case is increasing, the value is increasing, and the interest relationship is becoming more and more complicated. In order to strengthen the judicial protection of property rights, the "New Interpretation of the Criminal Procedure Law" enriches and improves the relevant provisions on the review, handling, and execution of property involved in the case, and requires equal emphasis on conviction, sentencing, and handling of property involved in the case.

First, further strengthening the pre-trial review of property involved in the case. The "New Interpretation of the Criminal Procedure Law" stipulates that in the case review stage, it is necessary to review whether the property involved in the case has been transferred with the case and listed the ownership status, and whether there is evidence material proving that the relevant property is illegal income or other property involved in the case that should be recovered according to law; in the pre-trial conference, opinions can be heard on the ownership status and handling suggestions of the property involved in the case.

Second, further strengthening the in-court investigation of property involved in the case. The "New Interpretation of the Criminal Procedure Law" stipulates that during the court trial, an investigation should be conducted on the ownership, source, and other circumstances of the property sealed up, seized, and frozen, as well as the proceeds thereof, and whether it belongs to illegal income or other property involved in the case that should be recovered according to law. The public prosecutor should explain the situation, present evidence, and put forward handling suggestions, and listen to the opinions of the defendant, defender, and other litigation participants; if an outsider raises an objection to the ownership of the property involved in the case, the people's court should listen to the outsider's opinion, and if necessary, notify the outsider to appear in court; during the court debate, a debate should be conducted on the relevant issues of handling the property involved in the case.

Third, further strengthening the handling and execution of property involved in the case. In response to the problem of missing judgments on property involved in the case transferred with the case in individual cases, the "New Interpretation of the Criminal Procedure Law" stipulates that if it is discovered during the second instance, it can be sent back to the original people's court for retrial, and the original people's court shall handle it according to law; if it is discovered after the judgment becomes effective, the original people's court shall separately handle the property involved in the case according to law. According to the centralized custody reform of property involved in the case, the relevant provisions on the execution of property involved in the case have been improved.

(IV) Doing a good job in the connection between the Supervision Law and the Criminal Procedure Law and maintaining a high-pressure anti-corruption stance

According to the provisions of the "Supervision Law" and the revised Criminal Procedure Law, the "New Interpretation of the Criminal Procedure Law" improves the connection mechanism between the trial procedure and the supervision investigation, refines and improves the provisions on the procedure for confiscation of illegal income and the procedure for trial in absentia, and provides strong judicial guarantee for the anti-corruption struggle and international pursuit of fugitives and recovery of stolen goods in the new era.

First, clarifying the rules for the use of evidence from supervision investigations. According to the provisions of the "Supervision Law", the "New Interpretation of the Criminal Procedure Law" clarifies that the evidence materials collected by the supervisory authority according to law can be used as evidence in criminal proceedings; the requirements and standards for criminal trials regarding evidence apply to the review and judgment of evidence collected by the supervisory authority.

Second, improving the connection mechanism between the trial procedure and the supervision investigation. The "New Interpretation of the Criminal Procedure Law" increases the requirements for reviewing matters related to supervision investigations, stipulating that for cases where public prosecution is initiated, it should be reviewed whether the indictment states whether the defendant has been or is being punished, the circumstances of being placed under detention, and whether the various legal procedures and litigation documents of the supervision investigation are complete; clarifying the review rules for audio and video recordings of supervision interrogations, stipulating that when the court decides to investigate the legality of evidence collection, it can selectively play the audio and video recordings of supervision investigation interrogations; clarifying the relevant issues of supervision investigators appearing in court, stipulating that when the court decides to investigate the legality of evidence collection, the public prosecutor can prove the legality of evidence collection by reading out the interrogation transcript, requesting the court to notify relevant investigators to appear in court to explain the situation, etc.

Third, improve the procedure for confiscating illegal gains. According to the provisions of the Supervision Law and in combination with practical judicial experience, the "New Interpretation of the Criminal Procedure Law" stipulates that for major criminal cases such as corruption, bribery, dereliction of duty, terrorist activities, mafia-style organizations, and telecommunications fraud, if the criminal suspect or defendant flees and cannot be brought to justice after being wanted for one year, the procedure for confiscating illegal gains may be applied if his illegal gains and other involved property should be recovered in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Law; the procedure for confiscating illegal gains may also be applied if the criminal suspect or defendant dies and his illegal gains and other involved property should be recovered in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Law.

Fourth, refine the procedure for trial in absentia. In order to meet the needs of international pursuit of fugitives and recovery of stolen goods in the new era, and in accordance with the provisions of the revised Criminal Procedure Law, the "New Interpretation of the Criminal Procedure Law" sets up a special chapter to refine the procedure for trial in absentia, stipulating that for cases of corruption and bribery, as well as cases of serious crimes endangering national security and terrorist activities that need to be tried in a timely manner and approved by the Supreme People's Procuratorate, if the criminal suspect or defendant is abroad, the procedure for trial in absentia may be applied to make a judgment in accordance with the law, and the illegal gains and other involved property shall be dealt with, so that corrupt elements and other criminals will never be allowed to remain at large and evade punishment.

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Interpretation on the Application of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China