The primary focus of this comparative and empirical work is to address wrongful convictions between China and common-law countries in order to promote a better understanding of wrongful convictions in China’s practice with the help of comparative analyses, verifiable and empirical data and case studies. It examines the scope of wrongful convictions and offers new insights into the worldwide movement to prevent them, assesses how far it has progressed and what reforms are most needed. The book suggests that adversarial and inquisitorial systems alike could benefit from this research and learn valuable lessons from one another on how to effectively reduce the risk of wrongful convictions.

This book examines the lessons learned from twenty-five years of using DNA to free innocent prisoners and identifies lingering challenges.

Drawing on insights from the author's own empirical data obtained from systematic observation of the daily routines within Chinese criminal justice institutions, this ground-breaking book examines the functional deficiency of the criminal justice system in preventing innocent individuals from being wrongly accused and convicted. Set within a broad socio-legal context, it outlines the strategic interrelationships between key legal actors, the deep-seated legal culture embedded in practice, the deficiency of integrity of the system and the structural injustices that follow. The author traces criminal case files in the criminal process – how they are constructed, scrutinised and used to dispose of cases and convict defendants in lieu of witnesses' oral testimony. This book illustrates that the Chinese criminal justice system as a state apparatus of social control has been framed through performance indicators, bureaucratic management and the central value of collectivism in such a way as to maintain the stability of the authoritarian power. The Construction of Guilt in China will appeal to academics, researchers, policy advisers and practitioners working in the areas of criminal law, comparative criminal justice, criminology and Chinese studies. Winner of the 2020 SLS Peter Birks Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship.

Techniques in the investigative interviewing and interrogation of victims, witnesses and suspects of crime vary around the world, according to a country’s individual legal system, religion and culture. Whereas some countries have developed certain interview protocols for witnesses (such as the ABE Guidelines and the NICHD protocol when interviewing children) and the PEACE model of interviewing suspects, other countries continue to use physical coercion and other questionable tactics to elicit information. Until now, there has been very little empirical information about the overall interview and interrogation practices in non-western countries, especially the Middle and Far East. This book addresses this gap, bringing together international experts from over 25 countries and providing in-depth coverage of the various interview and interrogation techniques used across the globe. Volume 2 focuses on the interviewing of crime suspects, aiming to provide the necessary information for an understanding of how law enforcement agencies around the world gain valuable information from suspects in criminal cases. Together, the chapters that make up this volume and the accompanying volume on interviewing witnesses and victims, draw on specific national case studies and practices, examine contemporary challenges and identify best practice to enable readers to develop an international, as well as a comparative, perspective of developments worldwide in this important area of criminal investigation. This book will be an essential resource for academics and students engaged in the study of policing, criminal investigation, forensic psychology and criminal law. It will also be of great interest to practitioners, legal professionals and policymakers around the world.

Provides the first in-depth examination of what Chinese netizens think about various death sentences and executions in China.

Renmin Chinese Law Review, Volume 4 is the fourth work in a series of annual volumes on contemporary Chinese law, which bring together the work of recognized scholars from China, offering a window on current legal research in China.

This book offers the first theoretical approach to rules of evidence and the practice of judicial proof in China written in English by a Chinese professor. As Prof. He’s first representative work, based on over three decades of studying and researching evidence law, it clarifies concepts relevant to evidence law, highlights the value of studying evidence law, re-examines the domain of presumption, reviews central problems in obtaining evidence, and discusses the reasons for misjudged cases. In brief, the book not only presents all major aspects of Chinese rules of evidence in criminal justice, but also introduces readers to the latest developments from a global perspective.

This Handbook gives a wide-ranging account of the theory and practice of human rights in China, viewed against international standards, and China’s international engagements around human rights. The Handbook is organised into the following sections: contested meanings; international dimensions; economic and social rights; civil and political rights; rights in/action and access to justice; political dimensions of human rights in Greater China; and new frontiers.

A critical evaluation of the latest reform in Chinese law that engages legal scholarship with research of Chinese legal historians.

In An Introduction to the Law of International Criminal Tribunals Geert-Jan Alexander Knoops offers an overview of the basic topics in international criminal law (ICL). It discusses main characteristics of International Criminal Tribunals (ICTs), as well as definitions of international crimes. The book will delve into issues of jurisdiction and complementarity, liability principles and specialized defences. Other topics are: due process rights, evidence, trials in absentia and State cooperation. A new chapter is devoted to the geopolitical effects of international criminal prosecutions. The second revised edition includes a chapter on the “new” crime of aggression and is updated with the most recent developments in ICL. The book is essential to everyone becoming familiar with the basic topics and challenges within ICL.