Prison procuratorial agencies renamed "Criminal Execution Procuratorial Institutions" with expanded duties and more comprehensive functions.
The term "prison procuratorial" used for over 30 years will be phased out.
To meet new task requirements and with approval from relevant authorities, the Supreme People's Procuratorate has decided to uniformly rename prison and detention inspection agencies as criminal execution inspection agencies. "This renaming is not a simple change of department name or title." Yuan Qiguo, Director of the Criminal Execution Inspection Department of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, said in an interview with Legal Daily today that the renaming will help the Supreme People's Procuratorate strengthen unified leadership, management, and coordination of criminal execution inspection work across national procuratorial organs, promoting comprehensive and in-depth development of criminal execution inspection operations.
The original name cannot cover all responsibilities.
In recent years, with the development of China's economy, society, and legal construction, especially the implementation of the amended Criminal Procedure Law in 2013 and the abolition of the re-education through labor system, the responsibilities of prison and detention inspection departments have undergone significant changes. According to Yuan Qiguo, the changes in prison and detention inspection responsibilities mainly include, on the basis of original duties, the addition of duties such as on-site supervision of death penalty execution, community correction supervision, property penalty execution supervision, supervision of residential surveillance at designated locations, review of necessity for detention, and supervision of compulsory medical treatment execution.
It is reported that the newly added duties mainly involve three aspects: supervision of penalty execution, supervision of criminal compulsory measures execution, and supervision of compulsory medical treatment execution, all falling under the category of criminal execution inspection. "The name 'prison and detention inspection' can no longer cover the department's responsibilities. Using the name 'criminal execution inspection' can comprehensively and accurately reflect the department's work nature and scope of duties, and better embody the consistency and legality of the department's name and responsibilities. Therefore, the Supreme People's Procuratorate has decided to rename the Prison and Detention Inspection Department as the Criminal Execution Inspection Department," Yuan Qiguo said.
It is reported that after the Supreme People's Procuratorate established the Criminal Execution Inspection Department, local procuratorial organs at all levels have correspondingly set up criminal execution inspection departments.
The renaming aligns with new requirements for upholding justice.
In 2014, the series of illegal commutation cases involving Zhang Hai, former chairman of Guangdong Jianlibao Group, drew widespread attention. In this series of illegal commutation cases, 24 individuals, including 11 from the judicial administration and prison system, 3 from the detention center system, 1 from the court system, 2 lawyers, and 7 members of the public, were placed under investigation by procuratorial authorities. "The Zhang Hai illegal commutation series cases were discovered and handled by the criminal execution inspection departments of the procuratorial organs, severely punishing corruption behind prison walls and effectively upholding the uniformity of penalty execution," said Yuan Qiguo. He stated that the renaming of the Supreme People's Procuratorate is an important measure to thoroughly implement the spirit of the Third and Fourth Plenary Sessions of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, fully fulfill the criminal execution supervision duties granted by the Criminal Procedure Law, and actively respond to the people's new expectations and demands for strengthening legal supervision and maintaining social fairness and justice.
Reporters learned that the renamed Criminal Execution Inspection Department of the Supreme People's Procuratorate is responsible for guiding the criminal execution legal supervision work of procuratorial organs nationwide, with seven major functions including:
Guiding the supervision of the legality of activities by courts, public security organs, prisons, detention centers, community correction institutions, and other executing agencies in executing penalties, as well as changes in execution such as commutation, parole, and temporary service of sentence outside prison;
Guiding the supervision of the legality of activities by public security organs in executing the custody of criminal suspects and defendants under criminal detention, arrest, and residential surveillance at designated locations, as well as supervision of extended detention, clearance of long-pending cases, and review of the necessity of detention;
Guiding the supervision of the legality of compulsory medical treatment execution activities;
Guiding the investigation of duty-related crimes occurring in criminal execution, including cases of abuse of detainees, unlawful release of detainees, dereliction of duty leading to escape of detainees, illegal commutation, parole, temporary service of sentence outside prison through favoritism, and bribery, handled by criminal execution inspection departments.
Responsible for guiding the review of arrest and prosecution of new crimes committed by criminals during criminal execution.
Handling requests for guidance on difficult issues in the criminal execution inspection work of lower-level courts.
Researching and formulating detailed rules and regulations for criminal execution inspection work.
Strengthening supervision of criminal execution to protect human rights.
Since the implementation of the new Criminal Procedure Law, procuratorial organs nationwide have focused on strengthening supervision of criminal execution and judicial protection of human rights, with key priorities in criminal execution inspection work. Reporters learned that on March 20, 2014, the Supreme People's Procuratorate launched a special inspection campaign across national procuratorial organs lasting over nine months, targeting commutation, parole, and temporary execution outside prison, supervising and correcting a number of illegal issues; it researched and formulated regulations for procuratorial organs handling commutation and parole cases, established a filing and review system for changes in the execution of sentences for duty-related crimes, and jointly formulated regulations on temporary execution outside prison with relevant departments.
As of November 2014, national procuratorial organs had investigated 936 cases involving 1,134 individuals for duty-related crimes in criminal execution activities. For cases where continued detention was unnecessary, they proposed release or changes in compulsory measures for 17,676 individuals, with 17,074 adopted. For improper enforcement of compulsory medical treatment, they issued 239 corrective opinions, with 231 corrected. They strengthened supervision of residential surveillance at designated locations, issuing 648 corrective opinions and suggestions for improper enforcement. They worked with relevant departments to handle multiple long-term detention cases that could not be released, prosecuted, or sentenced, such as those of Fujian's Nian Bin and Henan's Li Huailiang, resulting in acquittals. Through efforts in recent years, the number of deaths of detainees in national detention facilities has shown a significant downward trend.
According to reports, the criminal execution inspection department will strengthen supervision over physical abuse and mistreatment of detainees in detention facilities, as well as the illegal use of restraints or solitary confinement measures. It will increase efforts to protect the legitimate rights and interests of minors, the elderly, the sick, and the disabled among detainees and prisoners, and lawfully crack down on "prison bullies" and recidivism. It will focus on investigating duty-related crimes such as bribery, dereliction of duty, and rights violations that seriously undermine the fairness and integrity of criminal execution, severely impact supervision safety and social stability, and gravely infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of criminal detainees.
It is understood that in October this year, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress will hear a special report from the Supreme People's Procuratorate on the supervision of penalty execution. "Next, the national criminal execution inspection departments will focus on supervising the delivery of penalties, changes in penalty execution, community corrections, and the necessity of detention. They will make great efforts to strengthen supervision over property penalty execution, residential surveillance execution at designated locations, compulsory medical treatment execution, and on-site supervision of death penalty execution, to effectively uphold fairness and justice," said Yuan Qiguo.
(Legal Daily)
