A Beijing court using a new trial method of moral judgment to
convict the accused has raised fears justice will not prevail in
the Chinese law system.
In this case that opened on April 19, a man surnamed Wang was
accused of urging his friends to stab the plaintiff Wan, leaving
him in serious condition. During the trial, a spokesman from the
local Judicial Office which oversees the region where Wang lives,
read a "Social Investigative Report", testifying Wang was an
upstanding citizen who was of good character and petitioning for a
lighter sentence.
This is the first time a governmental unit gave a testimony in
lawsuits, which raises concern of many lawyers who argue that
although some other countries impose the "morality inquiry" system,
there are no specific laws in China approving such
testimony.?
According to Xinhua, some experts criticized the court for taking
this route as a way to reform the current legal procedure, as they
believe it's difficult to simply determine whether a person is good
or bad through other people's subjective views. They are afraid the
judge might be misled by untruthful testimonials or have further
power to convict suspects.
Others, however, are not worried about this new legal
development. Doc. Hu Lingbin in Tahata Beijing Partners law office
said moral behavior would not affect conviction, but should be used
when determining how long the criminal should be sentenced in jail
or how much they should be fined. Hu told China Daily website that
referring to a defendant's previous behavior has long been adopted
on Chinese courts, and what made this case unique is the Judicial
Office's formal testimonial, which he views as progress in judicial
system and predicts this practice will be widely used.
The judge at the Fengtai court said the so-called "social
investigative" system could only be applied in cases in which
criminals are less harmful to society or are eligible for
probation. Specific guidelines on this new method of testimony have
yet to be set, after more exploration, he said.
(Chinadaily.com.cn April 25, 2007)