Public prosecutors in the Chinese criminal trial – courtroom discourse from the prosecution perspective

Abstract

AbstractThe prosecutor is an influential party in criminal justice systems, and this is true also of China. But most literature on China concentrates on the trial and criminal defence with comparatively little attention paid to the prosecution perspective. In this article, I make use of research data collected through courtroom observations, case file analysis and interviews when the Criminal Procedural Law of the People’s Republic of China (hereinafter the “CPL 1996”) was still effective. Given that the CPL 1996 was revised in 2012, I updated the research data in early 2016. This paper focuses on the public prosecutors’ performance in the courtroom at the various stages of the process such as the courtroom investigation – production, examination and cross-examination of prosecution evidence, and courtroom debate; it analyzes both prosecution language and skills, and the court’s judgment. The paper also discusses the potential impact of the CPL 2012 on criminal prosecutions. The research findings show that prosecutors performed their responsibilities in the criminal proceedings whatever methods of questioning the defendant and evidence production are used; prosecutors tried their best to achieve the goal of conviction even with weak cases; and the decisions of the court mostly reflected the decisions of the procuratorate.