Top court to review capital sentences
15/3/2005 8:32
Premier Wen Jiabao said yesterday China will not abolish the death
penalty during its on-going drive to reform the judiciary.
Instead, China
will refine its death penalty review process this year to ensure that capital
punishment is meted out fairly, according to Xiao Yang, chief justice of the
Supreme People's Court.
China's existing laws dictate all death penalty
rulings given by local intermediate courts or above should be submitted to the
Supreme People's Court for approval. But in cases involving violent crimes such
as murder, provincial or higher courts are entitled to approve
executions.
The organic law of the People's Court of China, a law that grants
execution approval rights to lower courts, was enacted in 1983 when intensified
efforts were made to crack down on rampant crime.
But legal authorities
recognize that the situation is very different than it was 20 years ago, and the
Supreme Court has been studying measures to limit the powers of lower courts in
capital punishment cases.
Experts believe citizens will have more confidence
in the system if approval rights are reserved for the Supreme Court, allowing
for only one set of standards for capital
punishment.
(Xinhua)
Xinhua
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