On the Special Criminal Procedure for Crimes of Legal Person in the Amendment of the Chinese Criminal Procedure Law

• In Event: Further Reform of Chinese Criminal Justice--the New Amendment to Chinese Criminal Procedure Law

Abstract

At present, the Chinese Criminal Procedure Law lacks a dedicated criminal procedure for crimes of legal persons. Although judicial interpretations and other normative documents provide certain provisions, they remain insufficient in terms of comprehensiveness and systematic structure. A comparative analysis of the typology of criminal procedures for crimes of legal persons in foreign jurisdictions can offer valuable insights for improving Chinese criminal procedure for crimes of legal persons. Based on this, it is necessary to introduce a dedicated criminal procedure of such in the fourth revision of the Criminal Procedure Law. Specifically, regarding the legislative structure, it is recommended to add a chapter on “Criminal Procedure for Crimes of Legal Persons” under the section on “Special Procedures” in the Criminal Procedure Law. Regarding jurisdictional rules, for case initiation jurisdiction, it is advisable to apply the rules governing natural person crimes by analogy; for trial jurisdiction, a flexible approach should be adopted based on a comprehensive standard to determine the level of jurisdiction, while the principle of closest connection should be introduced to address issues in territorial jurisdiction. Regarding compulsory measures against legal persons, a system should be established with a focus on the qualifications of market entities and cash flow control. Regarding the duty of legal persons to assist in investigations, it should be explicitly stipulated that legal persons are not entitled to the privilege against self-incrimination. Regarding the rules on the appearance of litigation representatives of legal persons in court, a bail system and case-splitting mechanism should be introduced to address situations where the litigation representative refuses to appear in court.

Author

• Wu Hongyao, China University of Political Science and Law