Procedural Review (Volume 9)

Author: Sun Qian
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-11-01
Features: It must be admitted that, "for a long period in the past, we emphasized policies and directives more, and acted directly according to them more, while we spoke less about the rule of law and legal systems, and less about strictly adhering to the law. We paid little attention to and emphasized little the principles of having laws to rely on, strictly enforcing the law, and punishing violations of the law. This was something that could only be done during the revolutionary period to overthrow reactionary regimes. However, after establishing a people's democratic regime led by the working class and basically eliminating counter-revolutionaries, and basically completing the task of eliminating the production relations of feudal and capitalist ownership, we still did not promptly and simultaneously emphasize strengthening the legal system, speeding up its construction, emphasizing strict adherence to the law, and insisting on having laws to rely on, strictly enforcing the law, punishing violations of the law. This was a major mistake." After reflecting deeply on our past shortcomings, we spent nearly 30 years, and the country has basically realized a historical leap from a "lawless state" to "legal system construction," and then to making the realization of a "rule-of-law state" its goal. However, to achieve this goal, we still have a long way to go. Nowadays, although some people still doubt the "guiding role" of law in real life, and although there are still many shortcomings in the construction of the rule of law, the objective standard for judging right and wrong is gradually shifting from "what people say" to "what the law says." Meanwhile, the people-centered constitutional spirit of "the state respects and protects human rights" has become the cornerstone of national reform and development, and also the focus of all judicial work. The rule of law is not all-powerful, but without it, nothing can be done. Of course, in the process of governing the country according to law, we have basically followed the path of "building as we go" and "improving as we build." This is because there is almost no ready-made path to follow. With the transformation of the economic base, the entire vast superstructure also changes, either slowly or quickly. And if we do not resolutely reform the flaws in the current system, some of the serious problems that occurred in the past may reappear in the future. Reform has become the mainstream of the era; but how to reform has become the focal point we must face and resolve. To this end, the Party's "16th National Congress" clearly pointed out that political system reform is the self-improvement and development of the socialist political system. It is necessary to adhere to the realities of our country, summarize our own practical experience, and at the same time learn from the useful achievements of human political civilization. It is essential to focus on strengthening the system, achieving the institutionalization, standardization, and proceduralization of socialist democratic politics. The determination of the goals, tasks, and major measures of the judicial system reform should be based on the realities of our country, align with the state system and political system, and conform to the operational laws of the socialist modern judicial system. Based on this, this volume takes the reform of the procuratorial system as the main thread, compiling 23 related articles that explore the internal logic of the contemporary Chinese procuratorial system from different perspectives. At the same time, starting from the issues most prominent in public feedback and with the strongest demands, it puts forward many constructive academic viewpoints and specific measures to address the existing problems of the procuratorial system. These include discussions on "the transformation of law enforcement concepts" and "reflections on the leadership system," the definition of "the organizational principles of procuratorial organ activities," and the feasibility of "measures related to international treaties"; as well as explorations on "the reasonable positioning of procuratorial power" and "independent exercise of procuratorial power," improvements to the "procurator system" and "investigation mechanisms." In a nutshell, the articles compiled in this volume are beneficial for readers to broaden their horizons, contribute to the theoretical research and innovation of the procuratorial system and its working mechanisms, and promote the advancement of judicial reform.