Death penalty review is a key judicial procedure, mainly used to ensure that the application of the death penalty is strictly controlled and that it meets the principles of "individualized conviction and sentencing" and "commensurate with crime and punishment". This is a serious legal process as it involves life and cannot be reversed. Therefore, a high degree of scrutiny and attention must be paid to each case to ensure that justice is done.
In many countries, including China, all death sentences must be reviewed by the highest court. This is a mandatory procedure, regardless of whether an appeal is lodged or not. This program is called 死刑复核.
For example, according to China's Criminal Procedure Law, all death sentences, whether in the first instance or in the second instance, must be submitted to the Supreme People's Court for review. This is a provision since the implementation of the Criminal Procedure Law Amendment in 2007, with the purpose of strictly restricting the application of the death penalty and ensuring that the application of the death penalty truly achieves 留给恶劣的犯罪、罕给一般的犯罪the principle.
During the review process, the Supreme People's Court independently examines all factual, legal and procedural issues of the case. It is not affected by the judgment of the lower court and has the power to conduct a full review of the case. If the Supreme People's Court discovers errors in the original judgment during the review process, it may revise, revoke or remand the judgment for retrial.
For example, assume that A is accused of intentional homicide and sentenced to death by the local people's court. Regardless of whether A appeals or not, this judgment must be submitted to the Supreme People's Court for review. If during the review process, the Supreme People's Court finds that A's behavior actually constituted negligent death, the Supreme People's Court may change the original judgment and reduce A's punishment from death to fixed-term imprisonment or other forms of punishment.
During the review process, the Supreme People's Court also needs to consider multiple factors such as the legality of evidence, the credibility of witnesses, the performance of defense lawyers, and the rationality of judgments. This process is not only a review of the facts of the case, but also a review of the entire judicial process. Therefore, this is a very comprehensive and rigorous process.
China's court system is mainly divided into four levels: basic courts, intermediate courts, high courts and the Supreme People's Court. It's a grading system from bottom to top.
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Basic courts: Basic courts are usually located in county-level administrative regions and cities divided into districts. They mainly deal with general civil, criminal and administrative cases of first instance, and enjoy relative independence in their rulings. For example, in a county-level administrative region, there is a case concerning a sales contract dispute. This case will first be heard in the basic court.
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Intermediate courts: Intermediate courts are usually located in prefecture-level administrative regions, such as provincial capitals or autonomous regions. Intermediate courts not only hear appeals from basic courts, but also hear some major or complex cases of first instance. For example, if dissatisfied with the ruling of the basic court, the parties can appeal the case to the intermediate court.
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High courts: High courts are located in administrative regions at the provincial (autonomous region, municipality) level. They mainly hear appeals from intermediate courts and major and complex first-instance cases, and at the same time lead and supervise the work of courts in their jurisdictions. For example, dissatisfied with the ruling of the lower court, the parties can appeal the case to the higher court.
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Supreme People's Court: As China's highest judicial institution, the Supreme People's Court conducts and leads trials across the country. It mainly hears appeals from the High Court and major and complex first-instance cases. For example, if parties are dissatisfied with a higher court ruling, they can appeal the case to the Supreme People's Court.
The above is the basic structure of the Chinese court system, but in actual operation, the specific functions of the courts at all levels may be different, and the specific jurisdiction of the case will also be affected by many factors, such as the nature of the case, the amount of interest, etc.
In addition, it is worth noting that when handling cases, the Chinese court system also adopts different trial procedures, such as ordinary procedures and summary procedures, according to the specific circumstances of the case.