New regulations shape criminal injunction system

On 28 April, the Supreme People’s Court, Supreme People’s Procuratorate, Ministry of Public Security and Ministry of Justice issued the Issues Relevant to the Application of Injunctions Against Criminals Who Have Been Sentenced to Public Surveillance or Granted Probation Provisions (Trial Implementation) (Fa Fa [2011] No. 9). Injunctions are a new system created by the eighth amendment to the PRC Criminal Law.

The objectives of injunctions are to strengthen the supervision of criminals who have been sentenced to public surveillance or granted probation and to promote their education and rehabilitation, while protecting the safety of those such as injured parties and witnesses. The provisions set out in detail matters such as the persons against whom the injunction system applies, the factors to be considered, the specific contents of injunctions, their adjudication and term, their enforcement and supervision, and procedures for amending the terms of injunctions. The provisions came into effect at the same time as the eighth amendment to the Criminal Law, on 1 May.

Circumstances and factors to consider

• If, in the light of the circumstances of a crime, a people’s court deems it necessary to issue an injunction against a criminal who has been sentenced to public surveillance or granted probation in order to promote the education and rehabilitation of the criminal and effectively safeguard social order, it may do so.
• When issuing an injunction, a people’s court should consider the appropriateness of the sanction, on the basis of factors such as the criminal’s motives for the crime, the nature of the crime, the means by which the crime was committed, whether the criminal expressed any remorse after the crime, and the individual’s consistent patterns of behaviour. The court may decide to prohibit the criminal from “engaging in a certain activity, entering certain areas and/or places, and/or coming into contact with a certain person or persons” during the period of public surveillance or probation.

Business Law Digest is compiled with the assistance of Haiwen & Partners. The authors can be emailed at baochen@haiwen-law.com. Readers should not act on this information without seeking professional legal advice.