Journal of Procuratorial Studies. 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, acted directly according to them more, talked less about the rule of law and legal systems, and stressed less the strict adherence to the law, the importance of having laws to rely on, the necessity of enforcing laws strictly, and the severity of punishing violations. This was only possible during the revolutionary period that overthrew the reactionary regime. However, after establishing the people's democratic regime led by the working class, largely 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, accelerating its development, and stressed strict adherence to the law, insisting on having laws to rely on, the necessity of enforcing laws strictly, and punishing violations severely. This was a major mistake." After reflecting deeply on our shortcomings, we spent nearly 30 years, and the country has basically realized a historical leap from a "lawless wilderness" to "legal system construction," and then to making the realization of a "rule-of-law state" its goal. But to achieve this goal, there is still a long way to go. Currently, although some people still doubt the "guiding role" of law in real life, and although the development of the rule of law still has many shortcomings, the objective standard for judging right and wrong is shifting from "what people say" to "what the law says." Meanwhile, the people-centered constitutional spirit of "the state respects and safeguards human rights" has become the cornerstone of national reform and development, as well as 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 "correcting as we establish." This is because there is almost no existing road to follow. With the transformation of the economic base, the entire vast superstructure also changes slowly or quickly. And if we do not resolutely reform the shortcomings 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 times; 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 institutional system to achieve 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 modernization 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 the strongest demands, it proposes many constructive academic viewpoints and specific measures to address the existing problems in the procuratorial system. These include the "transformation of law enforcement concepts" and "reflection on the leadership system," the definition of the "principles of organizational activities of the procuratorate," and the "relevance of international treaty measures." They also cover the "reasonable positioning of procuratorial power," the discussion on "independently exercising procuratorial power," the improvement of the "prosecutor system," and the "investigation mechanism." In a nutshell, the compiled articles are beneficial to readers in broadening their horizons, contributing to the theoretical research and innovation of the procuratorial system, and advancing judicial reform.