Crime Control in China's Pre-trial System: A Political Ideology?

Abstract

Crime control has long been the primary goal of China’s pre-trial justice system. This paper examines the genuine nature of crime control in the context of Chinese legal culture by reviewing the historical formation of this rationale. The article argues that, by looking at the characteristics of the pre-trial process in the different periods since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the pursuit of crime control in the administration of pre-trial justice in China is under the pressure of political needs. Although the Chinese Communist Party has so far made great efforts to promote China’s pre-trial process in terms of its proceduralism and legalization, the administration of justice at this stage has been continuously influenced by political considerations. The article concludes that although the implementation of rule of law is expected to ideologically revolutionize China’s pre-trial process, the deep-rooted political culture of overriding political stability over everything is unlikely to rule out the Party’s influence on the pre-trial practices.