Procedural Practice of Prosecutors Not Indicting

Author: Peng Dong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-03-01
Features: "Practical Work of Prosecutors Not Prosecuting" is a book that integrates practical analysis of prosecutor's work with theoretical discussions, combining judicial demonstration and prosecutorial theory research. It is a key selection in the newly published "Practical Series on Prosecutorial Case Handling Skills" by the China Procuratorial Press. The book elaborates on practical issues of prosecutorial non-prosecution from multiple perspectives. It includes summaries and analyses of the author's years of experience in prosecutor's work, as well as investigations and reflections on new situations and problems in non-prosecution. The book is rich in content, concise, highly targeted, and practical, playing an important guiding role in enhancing case-handling skills and improving the quality of law enforcement personnel.
Preface
The non-prosecution system refers to the practice of deciding not to submit a case to a competent court for trial because it does not meet the legal conditions for prosecution or lacks the necessity for prosecution, thereby terminating criminal proceedings. Currently, most countries in the world have a non-prosecution system or similar mechanisms, though due to significant differences in legal traditions, procedural mechanisms, and criminal justice philosophies between common law and civil law systems, the guiding principles, scope, procedures, and constraints/reiefs of non-prosecution vary between the two systems.
In China, the development of the non-prosecution system has undergone a long historical process. From the ideological and cultural origins of China's non-prosecution system, ancient Chinese practices of leniency and severity in criminal punishment, such as conditional pardons, disintegration of enemy forces, differentiated treatment, and observation of future performance, have had a positive impact on the establishment and development of the non-prosecution system. In terms of the emergence of non-prosecution in China, there are records as early as in documents from the democratic revolution period. Regarding the formation of China's non-prosecution system, it evolved from the coexistence of the non-prosecution system and the system of exemption from prosecution in the 1979 Criminal Procedure Law to the 1996 revision of the Criminal Procedure Law, which abolished the system of exemption from prosecution and expanded the scope of non-prosecution.
The current Criminal Procedure Law of China has made a series of provisions on the types and conditions of non-prosecution, the procedural handling of non-prosecution cases, and the constraints and reiefs on the right of non-prosecution, basically forming a relatively complete non-prosecution system in China. From the provisions of the current Criminal Procedure Law, the overall framework of China's non-prosecution system is scientific and reasonable, and the content is relatively comprehensive. However, due to factors such as traditional concepts and legislative experience, China's non-prosecution system still faces issues such as a too narrow scope of application for non-prosecution, unreasonable and uneconomical non-prosecution reief procedures, which to some extent affect the correct application of non-prosecution in judicial practice and the full realization of its intended functions.
Currently, the number of cases handled by procuratorial organs using non-prosecution is increasing year by year, but research on the non-prosecution system is still insufficient. In light of this, we have attempted, without pretense of modesty, to analyze the ideological origins, historical development, and current content and operational status of China's non-prosecution system, as well as comparative studies of non-prosecution systems in multiple countries and regions, to identify existing problems in China's current non-prosecution system and explore ways to reform and improve it. We hope this book will draw attention to and further research on China's non-prosecution system.
It should be noted that during the writing of this book, we referred to and drew on the extensive writings and insights of predecessors in the fields of criminal law and criminal procedure law, as well as peers from judicial practice, some of which have been critically reviewed. We express our sincere gratitude for this, and we hope for your understanding and guidance in any shortcomings. At the same time, due to constraints such as time and expertise, the viewpoints and arguments presented in this book are undoubtedly immature and incomplete. Therefore, we kindly request your valuable feedback, and we will be deeply grateful for it.
Peng Dong, Zhang Hanyu
January 1, 2005