What are the guiding principles for the application of evidence in China s Criminal Procedure Law?

Human and material evidence is an important basis for criminal punishment.

The guiding principles for the use of evidence in the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China are as follows:

1. According to the different sources of evidence, it can be divided into original evidence and transmitted evidence;

2. Based on the probative role of evidence, whether it affirms that the criminal suspect or defendant committed a crime or denies that the criminal suspect or defendant committed a crime can be divided into guilty evidence and innocent evidence;

3. Based on the method of forming the evidence, the form of expression, the state of existence, the method of provision, etc., it can be divided into verbal evidence and physical evidence;

4. The materials that can be used to prove the facts of the case are all evidence. Witness testimony, victim statements, confessions and justifications of criminal suspects and defendants, appraisal opinions, inquests, inspections, identifications, investigative experiments, and other records, audio-visual materials, and electronic data. Evidence must be verified to be true before it can be used as the basis for a verdict.

Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China

Article 55.

In sentencing all cases, emphasis should be placed on evidence, investigation and study, and confessions should not be easily believed. Where there is only the defendant's confession and there is no other evidence, the defendant cannot be found guilty and punished; Where there is no confession from the defendant and the evidence is credible and sufficient, the defendant may be found guilty and given a punishment.

The evidence is credible and sufficient, and shall meet the following requirements:

1) The facts of conviction and sentencing are all supported by evidence;

2) The evidence on which the verdict is based has been verified to be true through legally-prescribed procedures;

3) Summarizing all the evidence in the case, reasonable doubt has been eliminated as to the facts ascertained.

Legal Analysis] The basic principles that should be followed in the judgment of evidentiary capacity: 1. The principle of relevance. It means that there is some objective connection between the evidentiary material as the content of the evidence and the facts to be proven.

2. The principle of substantive impartiality. The key to collecting evidence is to seek truth from facts, to be faithful to the facts, and to return the case to its original face. The process of collecting evidence is also the process of judging the capacity of evidence.

When examining the capacity of evidence, the procuratorate should exclude hearsay evidence that may cause unreliability and cannot be checked through the main and cross-examination, so as to prevent evidence that may be untrue from entering the courtroom. Similarly, the judge should comprehensively weigh and review whether the evidentiary capacity of the evidence presented by the public prosecution has substantive impartiality, and must be investigated and debated by the court before deciding whether to admit and determine whether to admit and affirm it. 3. The principle of procedural fairness.

The process of collecting evidence must comply with legal procedures, strictly follow the rules of the Criminal Procedure Law for the exclusion of illegal evidence, and do not accept the investigation.

Legal basis] Article 50 of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China: Materials that can be used to prove the facts of a case are all evidence. Evidence includes: (1) physical evidence; (2) documentary evidence; (3) Witness testimony; (4) The victim's statement; (5) Confessions and justifications of criminal suspects or defendants; (6) Appraisal opinions; (7) Records of inquests, inspections, identifications, investigative experiments, and so forth; (8) Audio-visual materials and electronic data.

The evidence must be verified and verified before it can be used as the basis for a verdict.

1. The principle of evidence collection by the adjudication organs.

2. Best Evidence Rule. Article 53 of the Interpretation of the Supreme Court stipulates that the documentary evidence collected and collected shall be the original.

Copies or photocopies may only be made if there is genuine difficulty in obtaining the originals. The physical evidence collected or collected shall be the original. Only when the original is inconvenient to transport, difficult to preserve, or should be returned to the victim in accordance with law, may a video of the original be filmed that is sufficient to reflect the appearance or content of the original.

This shows that the best evidence rules laid down in China's criminal procedure law apply not only to documentary evidence but also to physical evidence.

3. The principle of exclusion of evidence of illegal speech. Article 43 of the Criminal Procedure Law and Article 61 of the Interpretation expressly prohibit the collection of evidence by illegal means, and make it clear that illegally obtained testimony, victim statements, and defendants' confessions cannot be used as the basis for a verdict.

4. Rules for reinforcing confessions. Restricting the probative capacity of confessions, not recognizing their independent and complete probative force against the facts of the case, and prohibiting the defendant's confession as the sole basis for a guilty verdict and requiring other evidence to be reinforced, are the reinforcing rules in criminal evidence. Article 46 of China's Criminal Procedure Law stipulates that all cases must be sentenced with heavy evidence and light confessions, and only if the defendant confesses and has no other evidence, he cannot be found guilty and punished.

5. Rules for witnesses to testify. Article 48 of China's Criminal Procedure Law clearly stipulates the obligation of witnesses to testify, and in addition, the Criminal Procedure Law, the Interpretation of the Supreme Court, and the Provisions of the Six Ministries and Commissions also make specific provisions on the protection of the rights of witnesses, the conditions that witnesses must have, the methods of collecting witness testimony, the procedures for cross-examination of evidence, and the requirements for admissibility.

6. Certification rules. The second paragraph of Article 42 of China's Criminal Procedure Law stipulates that the above evidence must be verified and verified before it can be used as the basis for a verdict. Article 58 of the Supreme Court's Interpretation further clarifies that evidence must be verified as true through court investigation procedures such as presentation, identification, and cross-examination, otherwise it cannot be used as the basis for a verdict.

This legislatively clarifies that pre-trial authentication is a kind of illegal authentication, and evidence that has not been verified by court procedures cannot be used as the basis for a verdict, even if it is objectively true in itself.

1. Who bears the burden of proof in criminal proceedings.

The people's procuratorate bears the burden of proof of the defendant's guilt in a public prosecution case, and the burden of proof of the defendant's guilt in a private prosecution case is borne by the private prosecutor.

2. The types of evidence provided for in the Criminal Procedure Law.

Evidence; documentary evidence; witness testimony; victim statements; confessions and justifications of criminal suspects and defendants; Appraisal opinions; Records of inquests, inspections, identifications, imitation of early investigation experiments, etc.; Audiovisual materials, electronic data.

Legal analysis: China's criminal procedure evidence rules are: 1. Authentication rules.

2. Best Evidence Rule. 3. The principle of exclusion of illegal verbal evidence is Huitong. 4. Rules for reinforcing confessions.

5. Rules for witnesses to testify. Article 56 of the Criminal Procedure Law provides that confessions of criminal suspects or defendants obtained by extorting confessions by torture or other illegal methods, as well as witness testimony and victim statements collected by violence, threats or other illegal methods, shall be excluded.

Legal basis: "Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China" Article 56: Confessions of criminal suspects or defendants gathered by torture or other illegal methods, as well as witness testimony and victim statements gathered by violence, threats, or other illegal methods, shall be excluded. Where the collection of physical or documentary evidence does not comply with legally-prescribed procedures and might seriously impact judicial fairness, it shall be supplemented and corrected or a reasonable explanation shall be made; and where it cannot be supplemented or corrected or a reasonable explanation can be made, the evidence shall be excluded.

Where evidence that should be excluded is discovered during investigation, review for prosecution, or trial, it shall be excluded in accordance with law, and must not be the basis for prosecution opinions, prosecution decisions, or judgments.