THESIS
2013
viii leaves, 112 pages : illustrations ; 30 cm
Abstract
Despite a series of legal reforms in China, criminal injustices have recurred. Current research
has commonly suggested the lack of independence of Chinese legal institutions and
autonomy. But some important issues have not been adequately and systematically addressed.
How does the lack of independence affect the daily operation of the criminal justice system?
How do the legal institutions affect individual citizens’ justice? Based on a collection of more
than 160 cases and interviews with 15 legal professionals, this study examines the causes of
criminal injustices in China. It identifies several sets of factors that have caused criminal
injustices in China: (1) Conflict of interests between public units and individuals;(2) legal
agents’ motivation for promotion; (3) local autho...[
Read more ]
Despite a series of legal reforms in China, criminal injustices have recurred. Current research
has commonly suggested the lack of independence of Chinese legal institutions and
autonomy. But some important issues have not been adequately and systematically addressed.
How does the lack of independence affect the daily operation of the criminal justice system?
How do the legal institutions affect individual citizens’ justice? Based on a collection of more
than 160 cases and interviews with 15 legal professionals, this study examines the causes of
criminal injustices in China. It identifies several sets of factors that have caused criminal
injustices in China: (1) Conflict of interests between public units and individuals;(2) legal
agents’ motivation for promotion; (3) local authorities’ intervention; (4)inefficient checks on
legal organs; and (5) technical factors. This study also shows that external assistance remains
to be crucial to the correction of criminal injustices in China. This paper argues that the
strong tension between judicial accountability and
judicial independence in post-reform China has created a dilemma.
On one hand, most wrongful convictions are unintended consequences of the judicial
accountability system; on the other hand, the correction of wrongful convictions relies
heavily on external intervention. Therefore, the party-state has to extended more efforts to
address this dilemma in order to build a healthy legal system.
Keywords: Wrongful Convictions, Causes, Correction, China
Post a Comment