Judicial officers have been put under a microscope to ensure that no malpractices in legal proceedings are carried out.

Five central judicial departments have jointly issued a regulation that strengthens supervision of the officers.

The regulation lists 12 circumstances in which procuratorate authorities can investigate judicial officers. They include:

Prosecuting a person when officers know he or she is innocent;

Releasing a person when there is sufficient evidence to show he or she could be guilty;

Illegally detaining or using other means to curb the freedom of others;

Illegally searching people or their homes, or illegally breaking into someone's home;

Forcing confessions or using violence or bribery to prevent someone from giving evidence;

Beating or torturing detainees or prisoners, or asking others to do so;

Taking bribes from people involved in litigations.

If problems are found, procuratorate authorities can issue rectification notices, suggest changing judicial officers involved, or investigate officers involved in job-related crimes.

The regulation was issued by the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of State Security and the Ministry of Justice.

A written Q&A issued by the five departments on Saturday said the regulation will better supervise judicial officers to ensure fair and just handling of all cases.

In China, judicial officers mainly refer to the police, prosecutors, judges and prison guards. Procuratorate authorities bear the responsibility to supervise other judicial organs.

Meanwhile, to protect the legal rights of officers being investigated, the regulation sets down appeal procedures.

If the officers disagree with the results, they can petition the procuratorate, which must re-examine the case and report within 10 days.

If the officers are still not satisfied, they can appeal to a higher level of the procuratorate, which should redo the investigation and come to a conclusion within 20 days, the regulation said.

Xu Yongjun, a senior prosecutor at Haidian People's Procuratorate in Beijing, said the regulation is a specific measure to protect the rights and interests of parties involved in lawsuits.

He said a majority of China's petition cases are caused by unfair justice. "Judicial fairness and justice is the last defense line of people's legitimate rights, which must be maintained," Xu said on Sunday.

However, Yue Shenshan, a lawyer with the Beijing-based Yuecheng law firm, said some malpractices, such as prosecuting people who are known to be innocent, are already illegal under the law.

He hoped the regulation would further coordinate the different departments such as the procuratorate, the courts and public security bureaus, to make the supervision of litigations more feasible.

Moreover, "it's best to prescribe a timeline for each department to deal with malpractices during litigations, so that the regulation can be in fact effective", he said.