Yanyou Yi, Professor
School of Law, Tsinghua University
Office: Room 527; Tel: 62795631
E-mail: yiyanyou@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn
Course Outline
The course is designed to introduce law students to a wide range of Chinese Criminal procedure.
As is well known that more than any other of law, criminal procedure determines the relationship between government and citizen, and thus defines the legal system’s stance toward the demands of autonomy, privacy, and dignity. Therefore, the study of criminal procedure leads naturally to fundamental problems of political and social theory, quite in addition to standard law school questions about the meaning of a constitutional or statutory provision. Generally speaking, the main covers of this course include three aspects: the human rights protection, the legitimacy of the criminal judgments, and the formal rationality.
In examining human protection in China’s criminal procedure, the course focuses on the pretrial procedure such as the decision of a formal detention, the conduct of search and seizure, and the interrogating of the suspects. In examining the legitimacy of China’s criminal judgments, the course focuses on the trial process to see how Chinese people’s courts delivers their judgments. In examining the formal rationality, the course focuses on the post-trial process in the text and practice. In addition, it also helps the students to learn in what extent China’s courts are pursuing the finality of a criminal judgment and how they regulate the relationship between justice and finality.
Course Contents
1. Perspectives of Viewing China’s Criminal Procedure: Historical Context of China’s Criminal Procedure and the Methodology on Modeling China’s Criminal Procedure
2. Invasion of Citizens’ Personal Freedom: Non-judicial Detentions and Their Justifications
3. Invasion of Citizens’ Personal Freedom: The Law of Formal Detention in China’s Criminal Procedure: The Compulsory Measure
4. Human Rights and Human Dignity: The Laws on Investigative Interrogation
5. Protections on Private Properties: The Laws on Search and Seizure in a Pornographic Disc Case
6. The Legitimacy of China’s Criminal Judgment: An interpretation on Why there is rarely witness testify in China’s criminal trail processes
7. Formal Rationality in China’s Criminal Procedure: A Survey of China’s Supervisory Trial Process
Course Objectives
This course explores the relationship between China’s Government and her citizens generally, and provides the students with a general understanding of the fundamental issues related to the law of Chinese criminal procedure particularly. The course looks at how a Chinese public security organ conducts a criminal investigation, how a Chinese court arrives at a verdict, in what extent that the governmental powers are checked and balanced, and how a citizen could protect himself when confronting a criminal charge.
Course Organization and Requirements
The students will receive reading materials in advance and they are required to come prepared to each class. Participation in class discussion is required. In order to have a meaningful class discussion, and in order for students to learn as much as possible, all students should participate. Class time will be Lectures in the majority time, and students are encouraged to answer questions raised in class and ask questions whenever necessary. The Lecture addresses the principal themes of the synopsis but may also expound on other related themes. The Seminar will provide an opportunity for closely relating the thematic of the lecture to your own country/regional background and perspective. The Seminar is designed to provide your voice to existing knowledge.
Textbooks and Reading Materials
The course textbook is Understanding China’s Criminal Procedure (YI Yanyou, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 2011; Homa Publisher, U.S., 2013). Although this textbook was written before the 2012 Criminal Procedure Law was promulgated, it provides a basic structure for us to understand China’s Criminal Procedure. Besides the textbook, reading materials, mainly articles and essays surrounding China’s criminal procedure are also desirable. These materials include six parts. Part I aims to give the students an overview of China’s criminal procedure in a historical context, including its characteristics in late Qing Dynasty, and new developments of China’s criminal procedure, and aims to provide methods on modeling procedures. Part II provides a series articles concerning about the so-called “administrative detentions” in China, which may help the students to understand China’s “informal criminal procedure”. Part III provides two articles concerning China’s pretrial detentions, which are now full of controversies in current China. Part IV contains articles and essays about China’s human rights protection in the criminal procedure, especially during the stage of investigation. Part V contains articles concerning the trial process and related issues such as the judicial independence in China’s court systems. Part IV are articles focusing on post-trial issues, such as the death penalty approval procedure, the second instance procedure, and the supervisory procedure that may destroy the finality of a criminal judgment.
School of Law, Tsinghua University
Office: Room 527; Tel: 62795631
E-mail: yiyanyou@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn
Course Outline
The course is designed to introduce law students to a wide range of Chinese Criminal procedure.
As is well known that more than any other of law, criminal procedure determines the relationship between government and citizen, and thus defines the legal system’s stance toward the demands of autonomy, privacy, and dignity. Therefore, the study of criminal procedure leads naturally to fundamental problems of political and social theory, quite in addition to standard law school questions about the meaning of a constitutional or statutory provision. Generally speaking, the main covers of this course include three aspects: the human rights protection, the legitimacy of the criminal judgments, and the formal rationality.
In examining human protection in China’s criminal procedure, the course focuses on the pretrial procedure such as the decision of a formal detention, the conduct of search and seizure, and the interrogating of the suspects. In examining the legitimacy of China’s criminal judgments, the course focuses on the trial process to see how Chinese people’s courts delivers their judgments. In examining the formal rationality, the course focuses on the post-trial process in the text and practice. In addition, it also helps the students to learn in what extent China’s courts are pursuing the finality of a criminal judgment and how they regulate the relationship between justice and finality.
Course Contents
1. Perspectives of Viewing China’s Criminal Procedure: Historical Context of China’s Criminal Procedure and the Methodology on Modeling China’s Criminal Procedure
2. Invasion of Citizens’ Personal Freedom: Non-judicial Detentions and Their Justifications
3. Invasion of Citizens’ Personal Freedom: The Law of Formal Detention in China’s Criminal Procedure: The Compulsory Measure
4. Human Rights and Human Dignity: The Laws on Investigative Interrogation
5. Protections on Private Properties: The Laws on Search and Seizure in a Pornographic Disc Case
6. The Legitimacy of China’s Criminal Judgment: An interpretation on Why there is rarely witness testify in China’s criminal trail processes
7. Formal Rationality in China’s Criminal Procedure: A Survey of China’s Supervisory Trial Process
Course Objectives
This course explores the relationship between China’s Government and her citizens generally, and provides the students with a general understanding of the fundamental issues related to the law of Chinese criminal procedure particularly. The course looks at how a Chinese public security organ conducts a criminal investigation, how a Chinese court arrives at a verdict, in what extent that the governmental powers are checked and balanced, and how a citizen could protect himself when confronting a criminal charge.
Course Organization and Requirements
The students will receive reading materials in advance and they are required to come prepared to each class. Participation in class discussion is required. In order to have a meaningful class discussion, and in order for students to learn as much as possible, all students should participate. Class time will be Lectures in the majority time, and students are encouraged to answer questions raised in class and ask questions whenever necessary. The Lecture addresses the principal themes of the synopsis but may also expound on other related themes. The Seminar will provide an opportunity for closely relating the thematic of the lecture to your own country/regional background and perspective. The Seminar is designed to provide your voice to existing knowledge.
Textbooks and Reading Materials
The course textbook is Understanding China’s Criminal Procedure (YI Yanyou, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 2011; Homa Publisher, U.S., 2013). Although this textbook was written before the 2012 Criminal Procedure Law was promulgated, it provides a basic structure for us to understand China’s Criminal Procedure. Besides the textbook, reading materials, mainly articles and essays surrounding China’s criminal procedure are also desirable. These materials include six parts. Part I aims to give the students an overview of China’s criminal procedure in a historical context, including its characteristics in late Qing Dynasty, and new developments of China’s criminal procedure, and aims to provide methods on modeling procedures. Part II provides a series articles concerning about the so-called “administrative detentions” in China, which may help the students to understand China’s “informal criminal procedure”. Part III provides two articles concerning China’s pretrial detentions, which are now full of controversies in current China. Part IV contains articles and essays about China’s human rights protection in the criminal procedure, especially during the stage of investigation. Part V contains articles concerning the trial process and related issues such as the judicial independence in China’s court systems. Part IV are articles focusing on post-trial issues, such as the death penalty approval procedure, the second instance procedure, and the supervisory procedure that may destroy the finality of a criminal judgment.