Experts call for compensation shake-up

Chen Man (center) speaks to the media after his conviction was overturned. China Daily

Chen was awarded 2.75 million yuan after spending nearly 24 years in prison, having been detained in 1992, before being wrongfully convicted of murder and arson in 1994.

"Initially, we asked for compensation of more than 9.66 million yuan, but the sum we finally received was not as much as we expected," Wang said. "The major part of the award was for more than two decades of wrongful imprisonment."

Last year, the daily payment for wrongful imprisonment was calculated in line with average earnings in 2015.

However, in May, the Supreme People's Court issued the latest standard, which states that compensation will now be set at a fixed daily rate of 258.89 yuan.

"Ten years ago, the figure was about 80 yuan," Wang said, noting that although daily compensation rates have risen every year, the process has been too slow.

"The courts now have a clear formula to use, so it's easier for them to agree compensation for wrongful imprisonment," she said, adding that daily compensation levels should be tailored to individual circumstances.

"After all, the salaries of civil servants or business executives subject to miscarriages of justice are very different to those of regular workers," she noted.

A major development

According to Zhang, the lawyer in Beijing, the greater availability of compensation for psychological trauma is a major judicial development.

"It is the highlight of the revised law, because it indicates how the far the situation has progressed. Compensation for mental anguish is not only a comfort to the applicants and their families, but also an apology from the nation for mistakes made by the judicial system," he said.

Legal interpretations of the revised State Compensation Law suggest that payments for psychological trauma should not exceed 35 percent of the compensation paid for wrongful detention.