Criminal
Prosecutorial approval of arrest, and a wide capital-offence list
The Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure Law govern. Formal arrest requires procuratorate approval, and the death penalty remains available for a broad range of offences including non-violent economic crimes.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Basic people's courts try most offences; intermediate courts hear cases carrying life imprisonment or death.
- Deadline — Police detention normally up to 37 days before arrest must be approved
- Deadline — Family notification within 24 hours of detention, subject to statutory exceptions
Governing law
- Criminal Law of the PRC1997, as amended
- Criminal Procedure Law of the PRCrevised 2018
Penalties and consequences
- Death penalty, including suspended death sentences commuted after two years
- Fixed-term imprisonment, life imprisonment, criminal detention and control
In practice
The 2018 amendment added a plea-leniency system that now resolves a large share of prosecutions. Residential surveillance at a designated location permits detention away from home and, for endangering-national-security cases, delayed access to counsel. Conviction rates are extremely high, so the practical contest is usually over sentence rather than guilt. All death sentences require review and approval by the Supreme People's Court.