The Supreme People's Court (SPC) has ruled that appeal cases in which defendants have been sentenced to death should be heard in a courtroom by second-instance courts, in the SPC's latest interpretation of the revised Criminal Procedure Law.
The judicial interpretation issued Thursday by the SPC also stipulates that appeal hearings should also apply where those facing the death penalty have been given a two-year reprieve.
SPC official Shen Liang hailed the interpretation, which further clarifies the capital case trial procedures, as an important measure to strictly enforce the Criminal Law and the Criminal Procedure Law.
It will help strengthen human rights protection in the judicial process and prevent wrongful convictions, Shen said.
In hearing second-instance cases with a suspended death sentence, a comprehensive review of the facts found in the first-instance judgment and the applicable law will be conducted in strict accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Law, with a focus on the disputed or questionable parts of the first-instance judgment, according to Shen.
The revised Criminal Procedure Law was adopted by China's top legislature in October 2018, the third revision after the law was promulgated in 1979.
