A/HRC/7/3/Add.2
page 17
“Regulations on filing cases standard on infringing rights by dereliction of duty”
(Supreme People’s Procuratorate, 26 July 2006), aimed at investigating abuses. In
addition, reforms to the death penalty system aimed at reducing the number of
executions, are a positive sign that criminal law reform is possible. Furthermore,
instituting a system of review may ensure that cases of wrongful conviction are
overturned before executions are carried out. However, while these regulations are
necessary improvements, they lack adequate methods of enforcement. Not a single
change has been made to the criminal or criminal procedure laws. Necessary changes
would include the provision of a comprehensive definition of torture in line with article 1
of the Convention against Torture; adoption of fair trial guarantees as provided for in the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which China is a
signatory; and the abolition of administrative forms of detention, including ReeducationThrough-Labor (RTL). Despite the recommendation of these changes in the Special
Rapporteur’s 2006 report, such changes have gone unimplemented.
75.
Recommendation (b) stated: All allegations of torture and ill-treatment
should be promptly and thoroughly investigated by an independent authority with
no connection to the authority investigating or prosecuting the case against the
alleged victim.
76.
Recommendation (c) stated: Any public official indicted for abuse or torture,
including prosecutors and judges implicated in colluding in torture or ignoring
evidence, should be immediately suspended from duty pending trial, and
prosecuted.
77.
Recommendation (d) stated: The declaration should be made with respect to
article 22 of CAT recognizing the competence of the Committee against Torture to
receive and consider communications from individuals who claim to be victims of a
violation of the provisions of the Convention.
Prevention of torture and ill-treatment through safeguards in the criminal justice
system
78.
Recommendation (e) stated: Those legally arrested should not be held in
facilities under the control of their interrogators or investigators for more than the
time required by law to obtain a judicial warrant of pre-trial detention, which
normally should not exceed a period of 48 hours. After this period they should be
transferred to a pre-trial facility under a different authority, where no further
unsupervised contact with the interrogators or investigators is permitted.
79.
Recommendation (f) stated: Recourse to pre-trial detention in the Criminal
Procedure Law should be restricted, particularly for non violent, minor or less
serious offences, and the application of non custodial measures such as bail and
recognizance be increased.
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