Criminal Reconciliation In Contemporary China

Criminal reconciliation, a special procedure stipulated in PRC’s 2013 Criminal Procedure Law, allows the alleged perpetrators and victims of certain crimes to resolve criminal cases through reconciliation or mediation. Based on empirical studies on pilot practices of this mechanism in three cities in China, this book argues that criminal reconciliation enables abuses of power and infringement of the parties’ access to justice. This programme further throws light on certain fundamental problems with the wider criminal justice system.

Punishment in contemporary China has experienced dramatic shifts over the last seven decades or so. This book focuses on the evolution, development and change of punishment in the Maoist (1949-1977), reform (1978-2001) and post-reform eras (2002-) of China to understand the shaping and transformation of punishment within the context of a range of socio-cultural changes across different historical periods. It aims to fill the gap of existing research by developing a distinctive theoretical framework for the China’s penality, exploring it as a separate and complex legal-social system to observe the impact social foundations, political-economic genesis, cultural significance and meanings have exerted on penal form, discourse and force in contemporary China. It sheds light on the sociology of punishment in this socialist Party-state by investigating law reform, penal policy, social control, crime prevention and sentencing as interconnected elements in the criminal justice and penal system. This book will be of great interest to those who study Chinese criminal law, penal and policing system, as well as to law academics, criminologists and sociologists whose research interests lie in the fields of comparative criminology and criminal justice.

This book examines the conciliatory institutions that operate within criminal law in the People's Republic of China and Taiwan. Despite having the same legal traditions, the two countries have taken very different political and social roads over the past century. Taking these important factors into account, the book compares the conciliatory mechanisms that have emerged in the two countries, particularly focusing on the influence of Confucian tradition in current criminal reconciliation practices. By drawing upon in-depth interviews with multiple experts in the area, the role of tradition in the discipline of modern Xingshi Hejie is explored, alongside an analysis of the reasons that lead victims and offenders to choose this conciliatory procedure. The book offers a fascinating account of this feature of criminal justice in China and Taiwan, and will be of particular interest to scholars interested in comparative approaches to criminology and criminal justice.

'Comparative Perspectives on Criminal Justice in China is highly recommended. The editors have assembled the leading Western and Chinese scholars in the field to examine the administration of criminal justice in China, showing both how far the system has come and the challenges that lie ahead. This is an important and timely book. It is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand or has to deal with the Chinese criminal justice system.' Klaus Mühlhahn, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany 'This highly informative and engaging volume on the Chinese criminal justice system today provides a window into the vagaries of law and its operation in the People's Republic. McConville and Pils bring together an impressive array of scholars whose studies span the criminal process. From initial police investigation, through to prosecution and sentencing of defendants, we see how dominant values in the Chinese state and its structures of power make the practice of criminal justice today still intensely political.' Susan Trevaskes, Griffith University, Australia Comparative Perspectives on Criminal Justice in China is an anthology of chapters on the contemporary criminal justice system in mainland China, bringing together the work of recognised scholars from China and around the world. The book addresses issues at various stages of the criminal justice process (investigation and prosecution of crime and criminal trial) as well as problems pertaining to criminal defence and to parallel systems of punishment. All of the contributions discuss the criminal justice system in the context of China's legal reforms. Several of the contributions urge the conclusion that the criminal process and related processes remain marred by overwhelming powers of the police and Party-State, and a chapter discussing China's 2012 revision of its Criminal Procedure Law argues that the revision is unlikely to bring significant improvement. This diverse comparative study will appeal to academics in Chinese law, society and politics, members of the human rights NGO and diplomatic communities as well as legal professionals interested in China.

This book considers 'law on display' in Chinese courts. As the first sustained study of criminal trials, rallies, and campaigns in Chinese courts, it offers an account of how law and punishment is constructed and represented both in practice and in rhetoric.

This book provides insights into the history, development, and practice of restorative justice methods in China. Traditionally in China, mediation has played an important role in criminal proceedings, which has many characteristics in common with the “Western” concept of restorative justice. Through case studies and theoretical examination, the author of this timely work aims to bridge the research on restorative justice models mainly developed in the West with restorative justice as practiced in China. After a Brief overview and introduction, the author compares and contrasts case studies of restorative justice-like practices from different districts in China. The author examines cases studies from several regions within China, and explores the key question: can the restoration model developed in the West take root in China, and if so what legal, cultural and societal accommodations may need to be made? This work will be of interest to researchers in Criminology and Criminal Justice, particularly with an interest in alternative justice practices, restorative justice, and international comparative criminology; as well as researchers interested in Chinese affairs or Asian Studies.

This work investigates inequality and social exclusion in contemporary Chinese society, specifically in the context of urbanization, migration and crime. Economic reforms started in the late 1970s (post-Mao) fuelled a trend of urbanization and mass migration within China, largely from rural areas to more economically developed urban regions. With this migration, came new challenges in a rapidly changing society. Researchers have extensively studied the rural-to-urban human movement, social changes, inequality and its impact on individuals and society as a whole. This volume provides a new perspective on this issue. It forges a link between internal migration, inequality, social exclusion and crime in the context of China, through qualitative research into the impact of this phenomenon on individuals’ lives. Using a series of case studies drawn from interviews with inmates – men and women – in a large Chinese prison, it focuses on migrant offenders’ subjective experiences, and analyses issues from the rarely-heard perspectives of migrant lawbreakers themselves. The research demonstrates how factors – including: the hukou system, rural-urban, class and gender inequalities, prejudices against rural migrants, and other structural problems – often lead to migrant offending. The author argues that to mitigate the effects of criminalisation, the root causes of these problems should be examined, emphasizing radical reforms to the hukou policy, cultural change in urban society to welcome newcomers, positive programs to integrate migrant workers into urban societies and improve their opportunities, rather than inflicting harsher penalties or reducing migration. While the research is based in China, it has clear implications for other regions of the world, which are experiencing similar tensions related to national and international migration. This work will be of interest to researchers in criminology and criminal justice, particularly with an interest in Asia, as well as those in related fields such as sociology, law and social justice.

This review examines the literature on procedural justice and the fair trial over the past two decades in the People’s Republic of China