4 The Field of Crime Control and Social Order: Prospects for Criminal Procedure Reform in China

Abstract

China's handling of human rights issues has long been a critical aspect of its foreign and international relations, especially so with the developed countries of the West. China's human rights obligations are grounded in both domestic and international laws and norms. This chapter outlines the main historical, economic, political and institutional contexts in which the Criminal Procedure Law (CPL) is interpreted and enforced. It do this through a consideration of the particular characteristics of the crime control and social order field, the taken for granted ways of acting and thinking of different actors in that field and the competitions for power and status that take place between different institutional actors. In 2001, Human Rights in China issued a report which gave a pessimistic evaluation of the practical effect of the 1996 reforms. Keywords: China; crime control; Criminal Procedure Law (CPL); human rights; social order