Criminal Procedure Law
What the exam tests
Criminal Procedure Law tests the sequence from filing and investigation through prosecution, trial, and enforcement, plus defence rights, compulsory measures, evidence rules, and special procedures. The exam tests legality of state coercion and the limits of confession-based proof.
Core rules
- The public security organs investigate most cases; the procuratorate approves arrest, decides prosecution, and investigates certain crimes involving judicial personnel. Courts try cases independently.
- No person may be found guilty without a judgment of a court. The burden of proof in a criminal case is on the prosecution, and the standard is that facts are clear and evidence is sufficient.
- Defence counsel may intervene after the first interrogation or from the date of a compulsory measure; in legal-aid cases, duty lawyers protect rights.
- Confessions obtained by torture, coercion, or other illegal methods must be excluded. Derivative evidence may be excluded if the illegality is serious and cannot be corrected.
- Compulsory measures include summons, release on bail, residential surveillance, detention, and arrest, each with statutory time limits.
Worked example
Police detain a suspect and interrogate him for 30 hours without food or rest; he confesses. At trial, the confession is challenged. The analysis: the confession was obtained by methods that violate the Criminal Procedure Law and the prohibition of torture. It must be excluded. The court then asks whether other evidence is sufficient to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If the remaining evidence is only the suspect's later repetition without independent corroboration, the case fails. The reasoning is not that the police had a hunch; it is legality of evidence plus sufficiency.
Traps
Do not say the procuratorate investigates all crimes. Do not confuse the presumption of innocence with the PRC formulation that guilt is determined only by court judgment. Do not treat a confession as the king of evidence. Do not ignore time limits for detention. Do not assume defence counsel can be excluded at will. Do not confuse arrest with detention.