Tag: Criminal Procedure Law

NPCSC Amends Criminal Procedure Law, Overhauls Judicial System Organic Laws, Loosens Stock Buyback Restrictions & Designates SPC as National IP Appeals Court (FURTHER UPDATED)

UPDATE (Oct. 31, 2018): An English translation of the Criminal Procedure Law with the latest amendment incorporated is available here.

UPDATE (Oct. 30, 2018): An English translation of the International Criminal Justice Assistance Law is available here.

The 13th NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) concluded its sixth session on Friday. Below we will take a look at the series of laws and decisions it adopted, with a focus on five of them: an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Law, revisions to the organic laws of courts and procuratorates, an amendment to the Company Law, and a decision altering appeals procedures in technical intellectual property cases.

Continue reading “NPCSC Amends Criminal Procedure Law, Overhauls Judicial System Organic Laws, Loosens Stock Buyback Restrictions & Designates SPC as National IP Appeals Court (FURTHER UPDATED)” →

NPCSC Session Watch: Anti-Corruption, Judicial Reform, Stock Buybacks, Drug Approval & Patent Litigation (UPDATED)

The NPC Observer turns two today! We thank our readers, subscribers, and donors for your support over the past two unforgettable years. We strive to continue delivering high-quality content in the (hopefully) many more years to come.

UPDATE (Oct. 22, 2018): According to the finalized agenda released on Monday, the State Council submitted for consideration a draft amendment to the Drug Administration Law [药品管理法] to codify the marketing authorization holder system (discussed below), among other changes. It appears that there will be an opportunity for public comments before this amendment passes.

In addition, the draft decision relating to patent litigation procedure (see below) is poised to authorize the Intellectual Property Division of the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) to hear (second-instance) appeals in all civil or administrative patent cases (other than those involving design patents) and certain other types of intellectual property cases involving technical expertise—thus bypassing provincial high courts. In other words, it looks like that the SPC’s IP Division will essentially act as China’s Federal Circuit. But whether the Division’s decisions are further reviewable is not clear at this point. As we said below, we expect the decision to pass this Friday, at which point we will have more information.

The Council of Chairmen decided on Monday (October 15) that the NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) will hold a five-day session next week, from October 22 to 26. Absent any bill added at the last minute, the session is scheduled to review 12 legislative bills. Below is our usual rundown.

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NPCSC Solicits Public Comments on Draft Civil Code, Amendment to Criminal Procedure Law & Three Other Bills (UPDATED)

UPDATE (Sept. 5, 2018): The comments deadline has been extended to October 4, 2018 for all draft laws except the draft Separate Parts of the Civil Code, which will be open for public comments until November 3, 2018.

The NPC Standing Committee is now soliciting public comments on the following draft laws until October 2, 2018 (the deadline is likely not finalized):

All linked files are PDF documents in Chinese. English translations will be linked to if and when available. The accompanying explanations of these drafts can be read here (PDF).

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Recording & Review Pt. 3: Are Parrots Bred in Captivity Still “Wild”?

Photo by Magda Ehlers from Pexels.

Are parrots bred in captivity still “wild”? Common sense would answer no. But the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) disagreed—according to its interpretation of a Criminal Law provision that punishes trade in “rare and endangered wild animals.” A Shenzhen man, convicted in 2017 under this provision for buying and selling parrots he himself bred, contested this interpretation before the NPC Standing Committee’s Legislative Affairs Commission (LAC)—the body charged with reviewing judicial interpretations (among other types of documents) at the request of citizens for any inconsistency with statutes. The Commission recently informed the man that the SPC would amend the interpretation. Yet it is far from clear that he won this battle. In this third installment of Recording & Review, we will tell the story of Wang Peng [王鹏] and his parrots.

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NPCSC Session Watch: Separate Parts of Civil Code, Tax Bills, Criminal Procedure, and More

The Council of Chairmen met on August 17 and decided that the 13th NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) will meet for its fifth session from August 27 to 31. The session will consider at least seven legislative bills, including the much-anticipated draft Separate Parts of China’s first Civil Code, draft E-Commerce Law, and three tax bills. As usual, below we take a look at the legislative bills on the session’s agenda.

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NPC Calendar: June 2018

The 13th NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) is expected to convene for its third session later this month. The Council of Chairmen is expected to meet in mid-June to decide on the dates and agenda of the session.

The following draft laws (links to our law wiki pages) have been tentatively scheduled for this upcoming session according to the NPCSC’s 2018 legislative plan:

It is possible that the draft amendment to the Criminal Procedure Law (刑事诉讼法) would be submitted for another round of deliberation as well. We also expect the State Council to submit one or more amendments to existing laws to implement its 2018 reorganization plan.

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NPCSC Solicits Public Comments on Draft Amendment to Criminal Procedure Law (Trial in Absentia Procedures Translated) (UPDATED)

UPDATE (May 11, 2018): The link to an English translation of the draft amendment is added below.

The NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) is soliciting public comments on a new draft amendment to the Criminal Procedure Law (刑事诉讼法) that it just considered at its session last month. The comments period ends on June 7, 2018. We expect the amendment to pass by late August at the latest.

The original Chinese (PDF) version is available here. An English translation is available on China Law Translate. Its accompanying explanation can be read here.

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NPC Calendar: May 2018

The Heroes and Martyrs Protection Law takes effect on May 1.

We expect the NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) to release the draft amendment to the Criminal Procedure Law for public comments later this week.

The NPCSC has released its 2018 legislative and oversight plans. We have partially translated and analyzed the legislative plan here.

The NPCSC’s next regularly scheduled session will take place in late June.

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25th Session Watch Pt. 4: More Information on the State Supervision System Reform (UPDATED)

Update (Nov. 6, 2017): This post has been superseded by this one, published on November 5, 2017.

Update (Feb. 13, 2017): This post has been updated to clarify the range of personnel subject to supervision by the supervision commissions.

In the decision to carry out pilots programs of the state supervision system reform, the NPCSC details the composition, duties, and powers of the supervision commissions (see here for our prior discussion of this reform), as well as the legal provisions that will no longer be enforced in the pilot regions. The main content is summarized below, followed by a few comments.

An English translation of the Decision is underway at China Law Translate.

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