Death penalty appeals to be heard in open court
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-12-08 14:28

The Supreme People's Court of China on Wednesday issued a notice, requiring that local courts sit in open session when hearing appeals in death penalty cases. The Court's direction is aimed at ensuring justice and openness in death penalty cases.

The Supreme People's Court requires that from January 1 2006, appeals in death penalty cases which have provoked major controversy are to be heard in public, and from July 1, 2006, all appeals in death penalty cases are to be heard in open court.

This notice marks another important step in the Supreme People's Court's reforms of the conduct of death penalty cases, following their announcement in October that they are to once again assume the power to review death sentences, transferring that responsibility from the provincial higher people錕斤拷s courts.

"To hold appeals against the death penalty in open court session is conducive to improving the protection of human rights錕斤拷, a leading official from the Supreme People's Court said on Wednesday. 錕斤拷It serves as a procedural guarantee for preventing mis- judgements in death sentence cases,".

According to China's Criminal Procedural Law, a people's court shall hold open court sessions when hearing appeals in cases raised by a people's procuratorate. The Law says in regard to other appeals, that a people's court should, in principle, hear the case in open court. For cases in which the facts are clear, it is not necessary for the court to sit in public.

In reality, many courts have failed to hear death penalty appeals cases in public. Commencing from early 2005, the Chinese media exposed several miscarriages of justice in death penalty cases, criticizing the courts錕斤拷 lack of caution in applying the death penalty.

In October, the Supreme People's Court released its Second Five-Year Reform Plan, which states that people's courts should hold appeals in death penalty cases in open court.

When reconsidering such cases, a people's court should carefully hear the reasons for an appeal or protest and review the evidence in dispute. If necessary, important witnesses for the plaintiff or the accused should be asked to attend the court session. The courts should make thorough-going efforts to safeguard the rights of the accused and avoid wrong judgements in death penalty cases.