Research On The Application Of The System Of Confession Of Crime And Punishment And Leniency In Felony Cases

In October 2019,the Supreme People’s Court,the Supreme People’s Procuratorate,the Ministry of Public Security,the Ministry of Security and the Ministry of Justice in China jointly promulgated Article 5 of the "Guiding Opinions on the Application of the Leniency to Confession of Guilt and Punishment System"(hereinafter referred to as the "Guiding Opinions"),all criminal cases can apply the leniency to confession of guilt and punishment system,and are not limited by applicable crimes and sentences.This means that there is no substantial obstacle to the application of the leniency system for confession and punishment in serious felony cases.From the perspective of judicial practice,the overall application rate of the leniency system in criminal cases has reached a high proportion,but the application rate in felony cases is not high.In the application,it also presents many features such as complicated cases and a higher rate of non-leniency.The leniency system for admitting guilt and accepting punishment also shows different rules and problems in different types of felony cases,which lays the foundation for the subsequent optimization of the system.When applying the leniency system for admitting guilt and accepting punishment in felony cases,various contradictions and conflicts appear frequently,and it is these incompatibilities that highlight the particularity of felony cases.For example,felony cases pay more attention to the realization of the value of justice,which will inevitably lead to disagreements with the efficiency value of the leniency system for admitting guilt and accepting punishment.In addition,the leniency system for admitting guilt and accepting punishment is based on "leniency",and felony cases,whether in terms of the orientation of criminal policies,the superposition of sentencing circumstances,the requirement of "severe cases and fine handling",and the concept of social masses,all point to "heavy punishment".In addition,under the blessing of felony attributes,the coefficient of risk induced by unbalanced power allocation and insufficient rights protection has also risen sharply.In order to solve the existing problems and reduce the risk factor,it is urgent to adopt a special response method,that is,to build a special confession and punishment mechanism for felony cases.The theory of crime stratification,the theory of procedural separation,the theory of balance of crime and punishment,and the theory of individualized punishment provide a theoretical basis for the construction of a felony confession and acceptance mechanism.different actual needs.Since the current system of pleading guilty and accepting punishment is more in line with the needs of misdemeanor criminal cases,it is necessary to make corresponding adjustments to the current system to meet the needs of felony pleading guilty and pleading cases.From the perspective of power allocation,it is necessary to limit public power as a whole,and to adjust the rights and responsibilities among power subjects.Specifically,it is necessary to adjust the powers and responsibilities of the investigative organs from four aspects:regulating the conduct of investigation and evidence collection,regulating detention measures,strengthening the publicity and education of prosecutors,and granting limited and wide-ranging suggestions.Procuratorial organs should pay attention to the limits and scope of leadership when handling cases of serious crime pleas and punishments,mainly in the adjustment of the form and effect of sentencing recommendations.In addition,it is necessary to appropriately increase the judicial control and influence of judges over the procedure,and through the substantive review,the concept of "trial-centered" will be more demonstrated.From the point of view of the rights protection mechanism,the relevant rights of the accused and the victim in the case of admitting guilt and accepting punishment for serious crimes should be expanded.First of all,it is necessary to strengthen the protection of the rights of the accused,for example,clearly granting the accused the right to participate in the discovery of evidence,and also to make regulations on the rights of estoppel and appeal that are different from those in misdemeanor cases,so as to highlight their rights to a greater extent.subjectivity.The rights of victims should also be expanded to a limited extent,so as to achieve a balance with the rights of the accused.The improvement of the legal aid mechanism is also a key part of the system of admitting guilt and punishment for serious crimes.The legal aid model of"defense lawyers as the mainstay and duty lawyers as the supplement" should be implemented,and the proportion of defense lawyers’ participation should be continuously increased.Appropriate expansion of lawyers’ rights.All in all,when the leniency to confession of guilt and punishment is applied in felony cases,while the public power is reasonably restricted,private rights must also be rationally expanded.Both parties should adjust their positions on the coordinates of power and rights according to the severity of the nature of the criminal case.However,it is not complete to construct a felony confession and punishment mechanism only from the perspective of vertical stratification.It is also necessary to summarize the doubts,difficulties and key points of some special types of felony cases in the process of applying the system from the perspective of horizontal classification.In felony cases,the application of the leniency system for admitting guilt and accepting punishment shall be carried out,so as to form a three-dimensional,systematic and multi-angle mechanism for admitting guilt and accepting punishment for felony cases.