Criminal Procedure Law

Author: Wang Minyuan, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-06-01
Features: This book breaks the traditional pattern of writing teaching materials in accordance with the procedural criminal law code. It offers a new interpretation of the disciplinary system of criminal procedure law from two aspects: basic theories and basic systems of criminal procedure law. Tailored to the teaching characteristics of the legal master's program, it emphasizes the combination of theory and practice, highlighting the analysis of criminal procedure law practice while focusing on theoretical discussions. The inclusion of "Problems and Reflections," "Review Questions and Answer Hints," "Reading List," and "Glossary" greatly facilitates readers in quickly and accurately understanding the knowledge of criminal procedure law and further reflecting on its theoretical and practical issues. For a textbook on criminal procedure law, providing an introductory text to guide learners to broadly understand the content and underlying principles of the theories they will study is highly beneficial. On one hand, a general understanding of the content to be learned helps grasp criminal procedure law as a whole, enabling a systematic understanding of its various parts. This will help avoid getting lost in one aspect while neglecting the organic connections between different parts. On the other hand, a comprehensive grasp of the overall knowledge of criminal procedure law requires corresponding connecting threads, and the classification and related principles of criminal procedure law mentioned here serve as excellent connecting threads. Therefore, guiding learners to broadly understand the classification and related principles of criminal procedure law they will study will contribute to a systematic learning and research of criminal procedure law. Based on the aforementioned reasons, we use the title "Preface" to fulfill the function of an "Introduction," providing a general explanation of the classification and related principles of criminal procedure law knowledge. The knowledge of criminal procedure law is not only extensive in content but also covers a wide range. To fully understand and master the knowledge of criminal procedure law, it is necessary to recognize its classification and significance. Generally speaking, categorization is the foundation for in-depth study. Therefore, before systematically learning the knowledge of criminal procedure law, we indeed need to understand its classification issues and reveal the significance of classification. According to different standards and purposes, the knowledge of criminal procedure law can be classified differently. The following classifications are mainly based on the characteristics of the relevant knowledge of criminal procedure law, with the purpose of facilitating students in systematically grasping various types of knowledge when studying this textbook.
I. Criminal Procedure: Practice, Law, and Theory
First, we can divide the relevant knowledge of criminal procedure law into three aspects based on the different levels of practice, law, and theory: knowledge of criminal procedure practice, knowledge of criminal procedure law, and knowledge of criminal procedure theory. The purpose of this classification is not only to understand the characteristics, value, and organic connections of the knowledge in each part of criminal procedure law but also to recognize the different significance of various learning methods for studying criminal procedure law.
(1) Knowledge of Criminal Procedure Practice
The knowledge of criminal procedure practice refers to the knowledge related to criminal procedure activities. This content mainly includes knowledge about how the activities of relevant subjects in criminal procedure are conducted and carried out. As a criminal procedure aimed at resolving issues of criminal liability conducted according to statutory procedures by various relevant subjects, its actual implementation is a critical concern for criminal procedure law, a highly practical discipline. Without this knowledge, our understanding of criminal procedure law and criminal procedure theory will become like water without a source or roots, and criminal procedure law will lose its distinctive practical characteristics. However, although the knowledge of criminal procedure practice is so important, it is not the main content of criminal procedure law taught in the classroom. The reason for this is that the vivid, rich, and highly dynamic practical knowledge in criminal procedure law cannot be fully reflected in rigid textbooks and is difficult to convey through classroom teaching. For this reason, we should recognize the limitations of classroom teaching: any knowledge of criminal procedure law obtained through classroom teaching cannot replace the practical, experiential knowledge of criminal procedure practice, which can only be obtained by actively participating in criminal procedure practice. It is not intended to provide a reason to neglect this knowledge but to explain that it is a special type of knowledge that is difficult to obtain through classroom teaching. At the same time, it should be recognized that if we lack this knowledge, the criminal procedure law knowledge obtained through classroom teaching will not only be limited but also flawed. From this perspective, we can also gain a deeper understanding of the learning methods for this course: in classroom teaching, criminal procedure law teachers should focus more on case teaching methods; outside the classroom, if possible, students studying criminal procedure law should participate in criminal procedure practice through various means such as legal clinics. This is an effective way to partially compensate for the defects that may arise from classroom teaching's emphasis on written law and abstract theory. Of course, we should not overestimate the knowledge of criminal procedure practice. After all, it is only a part of knowledge, and although it is a very important part, it is also a one-sided part. Since practice is always the activity of specific subjects, its experience and knowledge are inevitably related to the actions and focus of their specific purposes. Therefore, it is inevitable that it will be one-sided. For example, when public security organs and judicial organs decide to adopt detention measures, they are always based on the purpose of "ensuring the smooth progress of criminal procedure," making it difficult to consider "ensuring the personal freedom rights of the defendant." Therefore, their experience in this regard is mainly limited to the scope of "ensuring the smooth progress of criminal procedure." The one-sidedness of practical knowledge is often normal. However, the criminal procedure law that regulates their behavior and the criminal procedure law theory that guides legislation and adjudication are different. While considering the purpose of "ensuring the smooth progress of criminal procedure," they must also consider the purpose of "ensuring the personal freedom rights of the defendant." Otherwise, not only will they make mistakes at the epistemological level but also deviate from values. For this reason, we still need to learn the knowledge of criminal procedure law and the knowledge of criminal procedure theory.
(2) Knowledge of Criminal Procedure Law
The knowledge of criminal procedure law refers to the knowledge of law that criminal procedure subjects and their activities must rely on. This content mainly includes laws, regulations, and judicial interpretations that have a regulatory effect on the activities of criminal procedure subjects exercising rights and fulfilling obligations. As a criminal procedure that should be conducted in accordance with law, its basis mainly includes two aspects: criminal law and criminal procedure law. Among them, criminal law is substantive law, and criminal procedure law is procedural law. From the perspective of criminal procedure law research, criminal procedure should be conducted in accordance with statutory procedures, focusing on procedural legal norms, that is, how criminal procedure law regulates criminal procedure in terms of procedures. This knowledge is the main content of our classroom teaching. Although the criminal procedure code is the main part of criminal procedure law and is one of the main contents of studying criminal procedure law, the laws, regulations, and judicial interpretations that regulate criminal procedure activities also include other laws, regulations, and judicial interpretations. Therefore, the study of criminal procedure law knowledge must not be limited to the content of the criminal procedure code but should be extended to all legal norms that have a procedural regulatory significance for criminal procedure, especially judicial interpretations and legal documents with legal normative significance made by relevant departments for criminal procedure. The judicial interpretations and legal documents with legal normative significance made by relevant departments for criminal procedure are not only extensive in content but also numerous in quantity. In terms of content, they include judicial interpretations and other legal documents made by various relevant departments. For example, the Supreme People's Court's "Interpretation of Several Issues Concerning the Implementation of the Criminal Procedure Law," the Supreme People's Procuratorate's "Procedural Rules of the People's Procuratorate for Criminal Procedure," the Ministry of Public Security's "Procedural Provisions of Public Security Organs for Handling Criminal Cases," and the Legal Work Commission of the National People's Congress and other six ministries and commissions' "Provisions on Several Issues in the Implementation of the Criminal Procedure Law." In terms of quantity, not only is the number of legal documents large (since the revision of the Criminal Procedure Law in 1996, legal documents issued by the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and the relevant central ministries and commissions have already exceeded 30), but some documents even contain more articles than the Criminal Procedure Law (the "Interpretation of Several Issues Concerning the Implementation of the Criminal Procedure Law" has 367 articles, and the "Procedural Rules of the People's Procuratorate for Criminal Procedure" has 468 articles). Of course, the mention of the numerous procedural legal documents and the large number of articles in this explanation is not intended to make learners feel overwhelmed but only to prevent them from limiting their study to the criminal procedure code. The expansion of the scope may increase the number of legal articles we face, but the learning difficulty will not increase proportionally. Because learning the knowledge of criminal procedure law is not about rote memorization of legal provisions but about understanding and comprehending their meanings. In this regard, it is not the number of legal provisions to be memorized but the degree of our understanding and comprehension of the meanings of the relevant laws that can serve as the basis for evaluating the level of learners in this course. Of course, to understand and comprehend the meanings of relevant laws, it is necessary to rely on the knowledge of criminal procedure theory.
(3) Knowledge of Criminal Procedure Theory
The knowledge of criminal procedure theory refers to the knowledge of concepts, principles, and the theoretical system they constitute in criminal procedure law. A correct understanding and comprehension of criminal procedure practice and criminal procedure law require the guidance of criminal procedure law theory. Since criminal procedure law, as a systematic discipline, is mainly composed of many concepts with the characteristics of the discipline and related basic principles, the main task of learning criminal procedure law is to recognize and master the knowledge of concepts, principles, and the theoretical system of criminal procedure law. The knowledge of criminal procedure theory is an important content of classroom teaching in this course. Criminal procedure law theory is constructed on the basis of many concepts with the characteristics of the discipline, which is the same as other disciplines in law being constructed on the basis of their own unique concepts. The uniqueness of concepts in criminal procedure law lies not only in their unique textual expressions, such as suspect, arrest, defense, final statement, etc., but also more importantly in their unique meanings and applicable scope. Therefore, many basic concepts in criminal procedure law, even if their textual expressions are not unique or are shared with other disciplines, have unique meanings and applicable scopes as concepts unique to criminal procedure law. It is precisely this unique meaning and applicable scope that makes the concepts in criminal procedure law distinctive. When learning the concepts of criminal procedure law, we should fully recognize this. The unique disciplinary status of criminal procedure law compared to other legal disciplines not only lies in the uniqueness of its concepts but also in the uniqueness of its many concepts and principles. For example, the concepts of the principle of innocence, the principle of favoring the defendant, the concept of procedural justice, and the relationship between safeguarding rights and combating crime (principle), as well as the relationship between procedural justice and substantive justice (principle), etc. Criminal procedure theory and criminal procedure law are constructed around these basic concepts and principles. Criminal procedure practice also needs to be carried out based on these. Therefore, recognizing and deeply grasping the many concepts and principles of criminal procedure is one of the keys to learning criminal procedure law well. However, although the concepts and principles of criminal procedure are very important, their comprehension and mastery are relatively difficult. On one hand, this is because the concepts and principles of criminal procedure are not only highly abstract but also often uncertain in content, unlike legal provisions, which usually have clear meanings. On the other hand, this is because there are many disagreements in people's understanding of the concepts and principles of criminal procedure. In the face of such disagreements, not only are beginners or those who have just entered the field of criminal procedure law but even experts in criminal procedure law often find themselves at a loss or blindly following. Due to the greater difficulties in learning this knowledge compared to other content, we need to pay extra attention to it. Of course, simply paying more attention without focusing on methods will yield limited and questionable results. Academia has made tremendous efforts in accumulating and updating knowledge in this area, but the dominant knowledge in criminal procedure law in China today, which has the nature of a "general consensus," still contains some erroneous arguments that are seemingly plausible. In my opinion, the main reason for this is that the problem of research methods has not been properly addressed. For example, when researching this issue, it is necessary to pay attention to the difference between epistemological methods and value methods, while also grasping the comprehensive application of epistemological methods and value methods. However, academia lacks a correct understanding of these methods and their characteristics in this research. Our graduate students should avoid repeating these mistakes.
II. Norms, Systems, and Principles of Criminal Procedure Law
We can also divide the knowledge related to criminal procedure law into three aspects based on the different levels of legal norms of criminal procedure law: knowledge of criminal procedure principles, criminal procedure systems, and specific legal norms of criminal procedure. If we liken criminal procedure law to a building, then the specific legal norms of criminal procedure are equivalent to the building materials, the criminal procedure systems are equivalent to the structural connections between its various parts, and the criminal procedure principles are the design philosophy or blueprint of the building. Of course, generally speaking, metaphors cannot fully express or accurately convey, so they should not be taken literally. Although this is the case, this metaphor can still vividly illustrate the different meanings of the three aspects of criminal procedure law knowledge, which is helpful in explaining the issues to pay attention to when learning this knowledge.
(1) Specific Legal Norms of Criminal Procedure Law