The judiciary is one of the branches of government of China. Technically, the judiciary is the court system in China. Chinese judicial system is predicated on civil law. The judicial system in China is similar to that of France or Germany. However, it is tailor-made to address local socio-political and economic characteristics. Courts exercise their power independently as bestowed on them in the Constitution. It comprises of the procuratorate system, court system as well as the public security system. Therefore, the judicial system does not only refer to courts but also to security organs and procuratorates. Unlike in most countries, in China, the judiciary is not autonomous from the ruling party. Court system aims at dispensing justice to the parties involved.
This essay will attempt to delve into the judicial system of China. More specifically, the paper will seek to evaluate the criminal responsibility vis-à-vis the procedural and substantive legal practices. Additionally, the essay will give a brief but precise description of China’s judicial system when rape or murder is a criminal act involved. The paper will analyze the considerations employable during the assignment of criminal responsibility. Again, the essay will provide an argument as to the approach applied by China and what benefits accrue to an offender, the Chinese government or both the offender and the government.
According to Professor Herbert Packer, there are two crime control models – the due process model and the crime control model. These two models are competing for value systems within the criminal justice system in the world. There are disharmony and conflict between these two approaches. The crime control approach helps in crime repression, as this is the most significant role of criminal justice. This model is advantageous to the offender. The Chinese judicial system assigns criminal responsibility to the defendant in the event of a case of murder or rape. This is because the criminal justice system ought to focus on vindicating the rights of a victim as opposed to protecting defendants’ rights. The crime control approach gives the police more powers to enable them to investigate criminal activities, search, arrest, seize and even convict criminals. The legal technicalities, which obstruct actions of the police, are eliminated.
Additionally, the Chinese judicial system operates like a conveyor belt, moving cases along towards their disposition. The police arrest criminals while prosecutors file criminal charges against them. An accused is always presumed guilty until proven not guilty since the fact-finding missions by the prosecutors and the police are highly reliable. In such a model, the objective of the judicial process is to discover the truth or to establish the factual guilt of the accused. The due process approach is completely opposite to the crime control approach. The due process model provides all parties with fundamental evenhandedness under the law. The criminal justice system does not concentrate on victims’ rights or defendants` rights. Police powers in a due process are limited in order to prevent any official oppression. The due process emphasizes the constitutionality of rights, which are not mere technicalities.
The judicial authorities should be accountable to guidelines, rules, and procedures in order to ensure consistency and fairness in the judicial process. In such a model, there are procedural safeguards, which protect the innocent until they are found guilty. There are legal procedures that are followed in fact-finding. This is not the case in China’s judicial system, which uses the crime control approach and not the due process approach. The justice system in China represents the country’s conservative values as advocated by the Communist Party. Contrariwise, the due process approach represents liberal values. The political climate in China provides a good environment for the application of the crime control model. The Chinese justice system prefers the crime control model due to the country’s political nature as opposed to the due process model that is common in countries with liberal political climates.
