CHINA-CPPCC/NPC: JUDICIAL REFORM
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During the ongoing annual meetings of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the China People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Zhu Zhengfu, a delegate to the CPPCC and Deputy Director of the All-China Lawyers Association, criticized the common practice of using televised confessions, which are used “to humiliate human rights advocates, lawyers” and others as part of the current crackdown launched by President Xi Jinping. He also proposed nine judicial reforms that include expanding bail, allowing lawyers to be present when suspects are interrogated, and articulating conditions for a judge to declare a suspect innocent. Zhu Zhengfu additionally criticized the “presumption of guilt” among Chinese “law enforcers,” which he said prompts the use of torture, which accelerates the process from arrest to confession.
(Comment: The ongoing CPPCC and NPC sessions are to discuss a report by the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) on “Judicial Reform of Chinese Courts,” which details extensive reforms that could make
significant progress toward reducing the Maoist stamp on the court system.)
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