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This article examines the changes that have happened in the Chinese criminal justice system since the early 2000s. It assesses the relevant legal and political trends and the debates concerning the protection of human rights in the context of criminal justice reforms. The article considers two case studies - the revision of the Criminal Procedure Law in 2012 and the abolition of the system of re-education through labor - to explain the interaction among the various political, institutional, social and ideological factors that inform the process of change in the Chinese contemporary criminal justice. On the whole, the article argues that notwithstanding the numerous recent attempts to make the criminal trial fairer and transparent, changes have been happening slowly and very often un systematically determined by political needs.

The present article examines human rights practice by China's weiquan ('rights-defence') lawyers in the years 2003–2014. Notwithstanding the Chinese authorities' hostility and overt repression towards rights defenders, the number of weiquan lawy

The present article examines human rights practice by China's weiquan ('rights-defence') lawyers in the years 2003–2014. Notwithstanding the Chinese authorities' hostility and overt repression towards rights defenders, the number of weiquan lawy

This article examines law, practice, and ideas concerning detention and imprisonment of women in the People's Republic of China (PRC). It is based on an empirical study we conducted at five research sites (two women's prisons and three pre-trial detention centres) in China in 2013. The analysis is based on the 2010 United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-Custodial Measures for Women Offenders (Bangkok Rules). Issues surrounding the detention and imprisonment of women have been addressed only marginally by the existing literature, both within and outside China, marking our article as a valuable contribution. Our central argument is that in the PRC, the issue of women's deprivation of liberty demonstrates a latent tension between two key sets of values. On the one hand, it reflects the humanitarian and paternalistic ethos that have traditionally characterized the treatment of women within the Chinese justice system since ancient times. On the other, it responds to politically led priorities organized around ideas of justice efficiency and the maintenance of social stability as mirrored by existing legislation. Our empirical research highlights that this area of justice administration is scarcely regulated. Special provisions have only been made regarding pregnant and breastfeeding women, separate custody and control, the location for the construction of women's prisons, and other limited areas. The few provisions in the legislation show a heightened degree of awareness that women have unique needs and vulnerabilities and deserve special treatment and protection. However, since the law lacks specificity, it is left to the discretion of local authorities to interpret and implement it in accordance with local circumstances. Authorities struggle to find a balance between the need to protect women and their unique needs and the need to ensure order and security among the population of women inmates.

This review examines the literature on procedural justice and the fair trial over the past two decades in the People's Republic of China. Part 1 gives a wide-angle view of the key political events and developments that have shaped the experience of procedural justice and the fair trial in contemporary China. It provides a storyline that explains the political environment in which these concepts have developed over time. Part 2 examines how scholars understand the legal structures of the criminal process in relation to China's political culture. Part 3 presents scholarly views on three enduring problems relating to the fair trial: the presumption of innocence, interrogational torture, and the role of lawyers in the criminal trial process. Procedural justice is a particularly pertinent issue today in China, because Xi Jinping's yifa zhiguo 依法治国 (governing the nation in accordance with the law) governance platform seeks to embed a greater appreciation for procedural justice in criminal justice decision-making, to correct a politicolegal tradition overwhelmingly focused on substantive justice. Overall, the literature reviewed in this article points to the serious limitations in overcoming the politicolegal barriers to justice reforms that remain intact in the system, despite nearly four decades of constant reform.

Since their emergence in China in the mid-1990s, labor NGOs have been exposed to a wide array of threats by the Party-state. But under Xi Jinping the repressive strategies of the Chinese authorities have become more sophisticated, with the adoption of new laws and regulations aimed at enforcing state control and efforts to cut the NGOs' access to foreign funding. How do Chinese labor NGO activists cope with these threats? Do the attacks silence them or reinforce their commitment? This article assesses the consequences of repression on two levels: at a subjective level, affecting the outlook and motivations of individual activists, and on an operational level, affecting the priorities and strategies of labor NGOs. We argue that while labor activists are equipped to deal with the "rough" side of repression, the more sophisticated approach recently pursued by Chinese authorities is much more threatening. (China J/GIGA)

AbstractThis review examines the literature on procedural justice and the fair trial over the past two decades in the People's Republic of China. Part 1 gives a wide-angle view of the key political events and developments that have shaped the experience of procedural justice and the fair trial in contemporary China. It provides a storyline that explains the political environment in which these concepts have developed over time. Part 2 examines how scholars understand the legal structures of the criminal process in relation to China's political culture. Part 3 presents scholarly views on three enduring problems relating to the fair trial: the presumption of innocence, interrogational torture, and the role of lawyers in the criminal trial process.Procedural justice is a particularly pertinent issue today in China, because Xi Jinping's yifa zhiguo 依法治国 (governing the nation in accordance with the law) governance platform seeks to embed a greater appreciation for procedural justice in criminal justice decision-making, to correct a politicolegal tradition overwhelmingly focused on substantive justice. Overall, the literature reviewed in this article points to the serious limitations in overcoming the politicolegal barriers to justice reforms that remain intact in the system, despite nearly four decades of constant reform.

XI JINPING AND THE PARTY leadership have been reshaping China's justice and security agendas to strengthen both the authoritarian rule of the Party and the authoritarian rule of law. They advocate what they call 'rule of law thinking' to rebuild public trust in the country's politico-legal institutions, which include courts, procuratorates (the institutions encompassing public investigators and prosecutors), police, national security and parapolicing agencies. This is a strategic shift, following a decade of weiwen or 'Stability Maintenance', a political program closely associated with the Hu Jintao–Wen Jiabao era that covers a range of politicolegal activities aimed at preventing and/or breaking up collective protests and dealing with court cases raised by individual complainants.

XI JINPING AND THE PARTY leadership have been reshaping China's justice and security agendas to strengthen both the authoritarian rule of the Party and the authoritarian rule of law. They advocate what they call 'rule of law thinking' to rebuild public trust in the country's politico-legal institutions, which include courts, procuratorates (the institutions encompassing public investigators and prosecutors), police, national security and parapolicing agencies. This is a strategic shift, following a decade of weiwen or 'Stability Maintenance', a political program closely associated with the Hu Jintao–Wen Jiabao era that covers a range of politicolegal activities aimed at preventing and/or breaking up collective protests and dealing with court cases raised by individual complainants.

This paper reviews current criminal justice reforms that have been initiated in recent years under the governance platform Governing the Nation in Accordance with the Law [yifa zhiguo].
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These initiatives are helping to reframe criminal justice processes to correspond with the broad governance intentions of President Xi Jinping: finessing center-local power relations, making the authorities in the justice system more accountable for their decision-making, and improving procedures that aim to bring about greater fairness and efficiency. We examine these ongoing reforms in two main areas: the handling of minor crimes and the punishment of serious offenses. We find that yifa zhiguo and the reforms made in its name continue to reflect a highly legalist and instrumentalist vision of law whose goal is to enhance Party-state governance to control dissent and crime more effectively through criminal law, to enhance politico-legal institutional credibility, and, ultimately, to sustain Party supremacy and social stability.