China News Service, May 18, according to the Supreme People's Procuratorate website, in order to improve the operation and supervision mechanism of the procuratorial power for handling cases of pleading guilty and punishment, and to strengthen the prevention and control of the integrity of the prosecutors in handling cases, the Supreme People's Procuratorate has recently issued a "Measures" (hereinafter referred to as "Measures"). There are 25 articles in the "Measures", which provide clear provisions for the prosecution's power operation mechanism and supervision and management measures for handling pleading guilty and punishment cases from all angles and angles, which further tightens the "fence" that regulates the application of the leniency plea punishment and leniency system. ".
Why strengthen supervision and management of handling plead guilty and punishment cases
Talking about the necessity and urgency of promulgating the "Measures", Miao Shengming, Director of the First Procuratorate of the Supreme Prosecutor's Office, stated that the reform of the judicial responsibility system has given post prosecutors more authority to deal with cases. Officials not only assume more and greater responsibilities, but also dominate responsibilities, but also engage in a lot of communication and consultation with criminal suspects, victims and lawyers in confession education, criminal reconciliation, prosecution and defense consultations, and sentencing recommendations. Increased contact with personnel involved in the case, and it is easy to be "hunted". "
"Strictly preventing legal negotiations from becoming a transaction of power and money, and ensuring that judicial handling of cases is open, fair, efficient, and clean, is the fundamental guarantee for pleading guilty, punishment, leniency, and stability." Director Miao Shengming believes that the expansion of power accompanies the risk of handling a clean government. Increase, it is necessary to improve the corresponding supervision and management mechanism from the early stage of the implementation of the system, standardize the process, prompt on risks, and supervise during operation, further clarify the case handling authority, and let the prosecutor handle the case with rules and regulations Must follow, violations must be investigated.
What principles should be adhered to in the supervision and management of confession and punishment cases
The Measures stipulate that to strengthen the supervision and management of prosecutors in pleading guilty and punishment cases, they should adhere to the four principles, that is, the combination of supervision and management of case handling activities and the guarantee of the prosecutor's exercise of power according to law; Combining; combining case management, process monitoring with information traceability, openness and transparency; strengthening the combination of internal supervision and management of procuratorial organs and external supervision and control.
"The" Measures "on the one hand meet the requirements of the reform of the judicial responsibility system, simplify internal approval procedures, and minimize the burden of prosecutors; on the other hand, clarify the post prosecutor's authority to handle cases, formulate and divide power responsibilities according to local conditions. The requirements of who decides who is responsible also clearly expresses the responsibilities and functions of the supervisory department, focusing on internal and external control and supervision, preventing abuse of power, using power for personal gain, and strengthening the prevention and control of integrity risks. "Miao Shengming introduced.
Prosecutors how to avoid the risk of handling cases
In the case of pleading guilty and punishment, for prosecutors handling cases, the integrity risk mainly comes from three aspects: first, because of the need for handling cases, there is a significant increase in contact and communication with the parties and defenders, and there needs to be more targeted system constraints; second, prosecutors The relatively large discretionary power of the sentencing proposal requires corresponding internal constraints and external consultation mechanisms. Third, the application of non-censorship and non-prosecution in cases of pleading guilty and punishment will increase considerably, and a review and decision mechanism needs to be improved. In this regard, the "Measures" clarify how prosecutors contact the parties to the case in handling pleading guilty and punishment cases, report the special circumstances in a timely manner, propose the sentencing recommendations, and adjust the handling methods after adjustment. The possible risk points of responsibilities are restricted and regulated.
The "Measures" require that in handling cases of pleading guilty and punishment, prosecutors shall perform various legal duties including hearing the opinions of criminal suspects, defendants and their defenders or duty lawyers, victims and their litigation agents in accordance with the law, and safeguard criminal suspects and defendants according to law People's litigation rights and the voluntariness, authenticity and legitimacy of confession and punishment. If the defender, the victim and their litigation agent request to reflect their opinions in person, the prosecutor should generally receive it during working hours and office space. If it is indeed necessary for special and legitimate reasons to be received in non-working hours or non-office premises, the prosecutor shall go through the examination and approval procedures in accordance with relevant regulations and be approved before meeting.
In terms of standardizing the prosecutor ’s discretionary powers in sentencing recommendations, the Measures emphasize that in handling cases of pleading guilty and punishment, the prosecutor should fully listen to opinions, initiate prosecution and defense consultations, and determine the sentencing recommendations that should be submitted to the court within the scope of jurisdiction according to law. The prosecutor ’s suggestion of sentencing should be balanced with the punishment scale of the case of the same type and the same circumstances by the judicial organ. After the case is filed for public prosecution, a new sentencing prosecutor can make adjustments based on the circumstances. At the same time, the "Measures" also require that for cases where the criminal suspect has a lighter crime and pleads guilty, the prosecutor intends to make a decision not to approve the arrest or prosecution, and shall report to the Prosecutor General for decision.
What to do in case of special case or special situation
According to the "Measures", prosecutors handle cases of pleading guilty and punishment. If they encounter certain special circumstances, they should report to the person in charge of the department to check and approve the decision of the chief prosecutor (deputy prosecutor in charge).
"Measures" clearly pointed out that when handling cases of pleading guilty and punishment, if there are cases where the results of the case may conflict with the results of similar or related cases; there are ten cases of case handling, such as major differences of opinion between the supervisory agency, the investigating agency, and the court, the case is handled The prosecutor should report to the person in charge of the department.
According to the "Measures", the victim does not understand and disagree with the leniency; it has a certain social impact and it is necessary to disclose it to the public; the parties involved in multiple complaints and complaints, and social conflicts have not been resolved; food, medical, education, environment and other areas and people's livelihood Closely related, public hearings are conducive to publicizing the rule of law and promoting comprehensive social governance; they are of a certain type and have five types of leniency, including confession and punishment without arrest and prosecution, and can be publicly heard. In cases of pleading guilty and punishment for public hearings, the people ’s supervisor may be invited to participate and listen to the opinions of the people ’s supervisor on the facts, evidence and handling of the case.
"In some cases of injury, the defendant voluntarily pleaded guilty, sincerely repented, and was willing to compensate as much as possible. However, the victim could not pay the compensation required by the victim. The victim firmly refused to understand. In this case, if the plea punishment is applied, the leniency can be handled. Public hearings, convening socially representative people's congress representatives, CPPCC members, legal experts, media, and victims, on the one hand, can maximize the resolution of contradictions, and on the other hand, they can also ensure the legitimacy of confession and punishment through external supervision. "Miao Sheng Director Ming said.
What supervisory responsibilities do department heads and deputy inspectors in charge have?
"Articles 11 to 15 of the" Measures "stipulate from the perspective of supervisors and managers." Director Miao Shengming said.
According to the "Measures", department heads and deputy prosecutors in charge listen to or request the prosecutor to report the case, consult the case file if necessary, review the materials related to the case, and request the prosecutor to explain the case, review, supplement, Improve the evidence to supervise the cases handled by the prosecutor.
Article 13 of the "Measures" clearly stipulates the case in which the person in charge of the department and the deputy prosecutor in charge report to the prosecutor for decision. Article 15 stipulates the authority of the prosecutor. Miao Shengming explained that on the one hand, this requirement requires that the prosecutor-general approve the decision of the key nodes that are at risk, which can effectively prevent the abuse of the prosecutor ’s power; The opinions and decisions on the review of the case should be made in writing and attached. This is not only the basis for clarifying responsibilities during the review and evaluation, but also the strengthening of the supervision and power constraints on the decision of the chief prosecutor (in charge of the prosecutor).
Who will supervise outside the case handling process
The "Measures" clearly stipulates the specific responsibilities of the supervision department beyond the process of the case handling department, such as monitoring, supervision, restraint, and discipline.
According to the "Measures", the case management department can make a decision to handle beyond the scope of authorization and the list of powers; if the original decision is changed after reconsideration, review, and review; seven types of cases, such as obvious improper sentencing recommendations, are regarded as re-examination cases, and they are carried out case by case. Review.
"The purpose of the case evaluation is to supervise and manage the integrity risks on the one hand, but it can also promote the improvement of the quality of the case. If a prosecutor handles many cases where the defendant has pleaded guilty and confessed, and there are many cases of repentance, it is indeed necessary to conduct an evaluation To find out the reasons, help them improve their work, and ensure the standard implementation of the leniency system for pleading guilty and punishment. "Miao Shengming said.
The "Measures" also make it clear that the prosecution supervision department should guide the case handling department to do a good job in the prevention and control of the integrity risk of pleading guilty and punishment cases, the supervision of the prosecutor's duty and the punishment for default. In the process of supervising lower-level procuratorates' cases of pleading guilty and punishment, the higher-level procuratorates should provide supervision and correction opinions on the existence of serious flaws or irregular judicial actions.
How to blame for errors in handling a case
The "Measures" stipulates the implementation of the requirements of the "three regulations", the handling of pleading guilty and punishment cases with errors and judicial responsibility after serious consequences.
The "Measures" emphasizes the need to strictly implement relevant regulations such as leading cadres interfering in judicial activities and intervening in specific cases, interrogation of cases by judicial personnel, judicial personnel's improper contact records and accountability, and accountability for violations of regulations. Accountability.
"In view of the relatively greater risk of honesty and punishment in cases of confession and punishment, the requirements for recording reports are also stricter." Miao Shengming introduced, "The two high and three departments" jointly issued the "On the further regulation of judicial personnel and parties, lawyers, special Several Provisions on Contacts and Interactions of Related Persons and Intermediary Organizations (hereinafter referred to as "Several Provisions") requires "judicial personnel to contact parties, lawyers, special relations during non-working hours or non-working places due to unknown circumstances or other reasons during the process of the case Persons and intermediary organizations should report the relevant situation to the discipline inspection and supervision department of their unit within three days. "The" Measures "have stricter regulations, that is, contact with non-working hours or non-working places due to unknown circumstances or other reasons should Report the relevant situation to the Procuratorate and Supervision Department of this hospital on the same day or the next day, emphasizing that the situation encountered by the "three regulations" in the process of pleading guilty and punishment should be reported more actively and promptly. Pay attention to processing. If they fail to report in time in accordance with the regulations, they shall be liable in accordance with the "Several Regulations"; the "Measures" also stipulate that the prosecutor shall bear judicial responsibility if he deliberately violates the laws and regulations or because of gross negligence resulting in an error in the case handling and serious consequences. Prosecutors with supervision and management responsibilities negligently or grossly negligently exercise their duties or improperly perform their duties and cause serious consequences, they shall bear judicial responsibility.