Speech by Zhu Xiaoqing, Deputy Procurator-General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate

March 27, 2006


To improve the working mechanism of coordinating administrative enforcement of law and criminal judicature and to crack down more severely on crimes of disrupting the order of the socialist market economy, crimes of obstructing the administration of public order and other crimes, the following opinions are proposed regarding timely transfer of cases of suspected crimes in the course of administrative enforcement of law in accordance with regulations of The Criminal Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China, Regulations Regarding Transfer of Cases of Suspected Crimes of the Administrative Law Enforcement Institutions of the State Council and other application regulations:

1. In the process of investigating and handling cases, the administrative law enforcement institutions should prepare Transfer Report of Cases of Suspected Crimes of all cases meeting penal prosecution standards as well as case of suspected crimes, transfer such cases to public security organs of the same level on a timely basis, and send copies of all involved documents to the people’s procuratorates of the same level. Where such cases of suspected crimes are not transferred on a timely basis and administrative penalties are exercised, the administrative law enforcement institutions should, with ten days of the exercises of such penalties, send copies of Transfer Report of Cases of Suspected Crimes to both the public security organs and people’s procuratorates of the same level, and issue notifications in writing to the obligees.

Where value of goods captured in handling such cases or other facts meet standards of criminal prosecution and are suspected of committing crimes, such cases should be transferred to the public security organs for handling.

2. Should any units or persons discover that administrative law enforcement institutions fail to transfer to the public security organs cases of suspected crimes or fail to inform the public security organs, the people’s procuratorates, the supervision institutions or the superior administrative law enforcement institutions of such cases in accordance with applicable regulations, the public security organs, the people’s procuratorates, the supervision institutions or the superior administrative law enforcement institutions should handle such cases in accordance with applicable regulations on a timely basis and feedback the results to the informants.

3. On receiving accusation or report of failure of the administrative law enforcement institutions to transfer cases of suspected crimes, the people’s procuratorates may, after confirming the basic facts after examination and inspections, enquire information regarding the cases in question from the administrative law enforcement institutions, require that the administrative law enforcement institutions supply materials or send personnel to inspect case documents. The administrative law enforcement institutions should cooperate accordingly. Where such cases that should be transferred to the public security organs are not transferred, the people’s procuratorates should require in writing that the administrative law enforcement institutions transfer them. The administrative law enforcement institutions should thus transfer accordingly.

4. In the process of handling cases, the administrative law enforcement institutions should properly preserve relevant evidences of the cases. Necessary measures should be taken to keep evidences and other materials and articles involved that can easily rot, degenerate, lose or that cannot be kept properly. All the materials and articles involved requiring inspection and assessment should be inspected and assessed by relevant departments and institutions in accordance with law and reports and diagnoses of such inspections and assessments should be accordingly issued.

When transferring cases of suspected crimes to the public security organs, the administrative law enforcement institutions should supply inspection reports of cases of suspected crimes, list of materials and articles involved, inspection reports, assessment conclusions and other materials involved with cases of suspected crimes.

5. The public security organs should handled cases of suspected crimes transferred by the administrative law enforcement institutions on a timely basis and decisions regarding whether to place a case or not should be made within ten days of reception of the transferred cases. Those cases of major importance and complicated, decisions regarding whether to place a case or not should be made within thirty days of reception of the transferred cases. Decisions of the public security organs regarding whether to place a case or not should be notified in writing to the administrative law enforcement institutions from which such cases are transferred, the people’s procuratorates of the same level and the concerned obligees.

Where jurisdiction of such cases do not belong to the public security organs, such cases should be transferred to institutions having jurisdiction over such cases within twenty-four hours and notifications in writing should be sent to the administrative law enforcement institutions transferring such cases, the people’s procuratorates of the same level and the concerned obligees.

6. Where the public security organs decide to place a case, the administrative law enforcement institutions should, within three days of reception of notifications in writing, transfer materials, articles and other materials involved with the cases and finish the take-over formalities. Where laws and administrative regulations stipulate otherwise, such laws and regulations should govern.

7. Where the administrative law enforcement institutions disagree with the public security organs on their decisions of not placing cases, they may, within three days of reception of notification in writing, require the public security organs that make such decisions to reconsider the cases in question, or may suggest to the people’s procuratorates the cases be placed for supervision.

The public security organs should, within three days of reception of requirement of the administrative law enforcement institutions to reconsider the cases, make decisions to reconsider and issue notifications in writing to the administrative law enforcement institutions that require for such reconsiderations. Where the administrative law enforcement institutions still disagree to decisions of the public security organs of not placing cases after reconsiderations, they may, within three days of reception of results of reconsiderations, suggest that the people’s procuratorates place cases for supervision.

8. On reception of suggestions of placing cases of suspected of crimes for supervision from the administrative law enforcement institutions, the people’s procuratorates should require the public security organs to provide reasons of turning down the above mentioned suggestions and the public security organs should provide explanations in writing to the people’s procuratorates within seven days. The people’s procuratorates of the same level should examine explanations from the public security organs or even conduct investigations if necessary. Where they consider reasons of the public security organs not to place cases for supervision acceptable, the people’s procuratorates should notify, in writing, the administrative law enforcement institutions making the above mentioned suggestions of the results of reconsiderations. Where they consider reasons of the public security organs not to places cases for supervision unacceptable, the people’s procuratorates should notify the public security organs to place cases. On reception of placing cases, the public security organs should place cases within fifteen days and send written decisions to the people’s procuratorates and notify the administrative law enforcement institutions in writing.

9. If illegal acts found by the public security organs are proved having not committed crimes after investigation or of a minor nature and thus can be exempt from criminal responsibilities after being placed cases for investigation but should still bear administrative responsibilities, the public security organs should transfer such cases to the administrative law enforcement institutions on a timely basis. The administrative law enforcement institutions should handle such cases in accordance with law and notify, in writing, the public securities and the people’s procuratorates of the results.

10. If the cases are complicated, difficult and whose nature are hard to pin down, the administrative law enforcement institutions may consult the public security organs and the people’s procuratorates. The public security organs and the people’s procuratorates should consider these cases in question carefully and reply within seven days. Where there are evidences to show that doers of suspected crimes may escape or destroy evidences and thus participation and cooperation of the public security organs are needed, the administrative law enforcement institutions may consult with the public security organs to ask them to participate in advance. The public security organs may send personnel to participate. Where the doers are suspected of committing crimes, the public security organs should place cases to investigate on a timely basis.

11. For suspected crimes cases, which are of a material and influential nature, the people’s procuratorates may, at the request of the public security organs, to send personnel to participate in the investigation of the public security organs, take part in their discussion about the cases, examine materials involved, give suggestions regarding obtaining evidence, and provide legal supervision over investigation and other activities.

12. If, in the process of handling illegal acts, state functionaries are found to have committed crimes of embezzlement and bribery, or clues to other crimes, such as dereliction of duty, the administrative law enforcement institutions should transfer the cases in question to the supervision institutions or the people’s procuratorates in time. The supervision institutions and the people’s procuratorates should examine the cases carefully and handle them in accordance with law and regulations, and then notify the administrative law enforcement institutions from which the cases are transferred in writing.

13. The supervision institutions should supervise over handling and transfer of cases of suspected crimes in accordance with law and should, upon discovery of any illegal acts or other acts not complying with regulations, handle the situation properly in accordance with applicable regulations. If post-related crimes are found, such cases should be transferred to the people’s procuratorates immediately.

14. The people’s procuratorates should supervise over transfer of cases of suspected crimes of the administrative law enforcement institutions and should, upon discovery of abuse of right for their own benefits on the part of the law-enforcement officers or failure to transfer cases of suspected crimes of serious circumstances and thus constituting a crime, invest the administrative law enforcement institutions of their criminal responsibilities.

15. Should anyone, either state functionaries, personnel performing public services in organizations exercise state administrative powers, or personnel performing public services entrusted by state institutions to exercise power in behalf of the state, or personnel performing public services in state institutions although not listed as a full formal state functionary, abuse their power to interfere with law-enforcement activities of the administrative law enforcement institutions and the public securities or impeding case transfer and criminal prosecution and thus constituting a crime, the people’s procuratorates shall investigate his criminal responsibility of dereliction of duty in accordance the criminal law. Should anyone other than state administrative institutions, organizations authorized by law and regulations to perform public affairs administration, organizations entrusted by state administrative institutions and other handymen of such organizations abuse their power to interfere with law-enforcement activities of the administrative law enforcement institutions and the public securities or impeding case transfer and criminal prosecution and thus illegal acts, the people’s procuratorates shall investigate his criminal responsibility of dereliction of duty in accordance the criminal law.

16. In handling illegal acts and crimes, the public security organs, the supervision institutions, the administrative law enforcement institutions and the people’s procuratorates should set up joint meetings and other mechanisms to circulate and share information. They should also strengthen relations, cooperate closely, perform their own respective duties, and restrict each other to ensure that law is accurately and effectively enforced.

17. Administrative law enforcement institutions as stated in these Opinions refer to the administrative institutions empowered to exercise administrative penalties regarding crimes of disrupting the order of the socialist market economy and crimes of obstructing the administration of public order in accordance with laws, administrative regulations and rules, and the organizations empowered by laws and administrative regulations to perform public affairs administration and exercise administrative penalties within the scope of authority, excluding public security organs and the supervision institutions.