Improvement Of Public Opinion Supervision System On Criminal Trial In China

Supervision of criminal justice by public opinions refers to a kind of supervise behavior about evaluation and pressure exertion by the public and news media toward behaviors of the court, relevant workers, accuser and defender and other litigant participants upon the ideological means of public opinion in criminal justice procedures for the purpose of making their behaviors in conformity with relevant standards and requirements for social justice. Smooth and effective development of judgment activity is closely correlated with supervision by public opinions. On the one hand, execution of supervision by public opinions can remarkably intensify the degree of supervision for the court’s trial of cases. The reason is that public opinion can functionally present strong pressure from public opinion and urge the court to execute its power of judgment according to relevant laws, making the court’s judicial procedures to be operated under a more open and more transparent environment. Thus, the role of supervision by public opinions is given full play to, including reducing corruption, promoting judicial organs to make timely correction to unjust and false cases, and realizing just and equal judgments. On the other hand, supervision by public opinions is helpful for effectively maintaining lawful rights of parties involved and achieve legal goals of social fairness and justice. Viewed from another angle, however, one-sided, extreme and distortion supervisions by public opinions usually present negative sides, such as failure to present overall perspective of a fact, too extreme or even inconformity with the fact. Thus, it is easy to cause negative impacts on the court’s litigation progress. Moreover, huge pressure produced from supervision by public opinions can also have great influence on the judge’s independent adjudication activities. As a result, the judge may be affected by public opinions, violate legally prescribed punishment for a specified crime, and make a judgment in nonconformity with law or fact. Such circumstances are favorable for judgment on individual cases. At the same time, such circumstances will also erode judicial credibility and weaken judicial authority. Therefore, we should guide the public to realize practical and effective supervision for the court’s litigious activities and avoid negative effects to damage judicial credibility, so as to fully guarantee speech and news freedom of supervision subjects, practically guarantee judgmental independence and justice, and make both items to realize benign interaction in the operation process of legal institutions. Moreover, legislators must devote themselves to establishing a set of scientific and complete legal system which can make up contradictions and conflicts between both items, and realize equal treatment and balanced protection of both values. Based on above consideration, the author discussed general theories about the public opinion supervision system of criminal justice, and made a detailed survey on relevant provisions of Anglo-American law system, continental law system and international treaties about the public opinion supervision system of criminal justice. On this basis, the author analyzed deficiencies of the public opinion supervision system of criminal justice in China. In combination with specific national conditions of China and with reference to international experience, the author also proposed specific recommendations for improvement to relevant systems in China.In addition to the introduction and conclusion, the thesis is divided into four parts:The first part, introduces the general theory of criminal trial supervision by public opinion. It defines the concept for criminal trial supervision by public opinion. Secondly, it points out many legal characteristics of the public opinion supervision on criminal trial such as the particularity of the subject, diversity of the form, betimes of the aging, transparency, low cost and strong influence, freedom and instability as well as the legal effect does not have national mandatory, and so on. Again, it has many significance such as restricting the criminal judicial power, promoting judicial justice and safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests, promoting the rule of law publicity and education and soThe second part, studies the criminal trial supervision in the main countries of Anglo American law system and the continental law system and international conventions. The western developed countries in dealing with such issues are not in opposition to the two party, to prevent or eliminate the influence of public opinion on judicial activities by the rights of freedom and limit of news reports, but the freedom of opinion and value justice equally, and to achieve the balance of the two. The provisions of the relevant international also showed that weighed in on the judicial trial and media relations and the process, the international community has reached consensus, the premise that the necessary security on the independence and impartiality of the trial, the maximum grant public and news media supervision by freedom speech of public opinion.The third part, discussing the existing problems of the public opinion supervision system on criminal trial in China in details. Analyzing the existing problems of the public opinion supervision system on criminal trial in China. From the aspect of the criminal trial supervision system of the media and public level, public opinion supervision, self-discipline mechanism of existing legislation is not perfect, the media supervision by public opinion of the news media and practitioners of the accountability mechanism is not perfect. There is also lack of supervision by public opinion literacy, and the program of supervision by public opinion and other issues are not strictly follow the rules.From the aspect of the court level, the court system, the open trial system, the criminal judgment reasoning system access referee instruments imperfections exist in the system, news spokesman system, public opinions response mechanism, the system of people’s assessors, and media communication mechanism are existing imperfections in it.The fourth part, putting forward specific proposals to improve the criminal trial supervision system of public opinion in china. From the aspect of the perfect proposal of the criminal trial supervision system of the media and public level, our country should perfect legislation, the news media supervision by public opinion of the news media and self-discipline mechanism, the establishment of personnel accountability mechanisms, improve, the public opinion supervision, and the supervision of public opinion of the rules of procedure quality. The proposals of the court level should focus on improving the court independent judicial system, the open trial system, the criminal judgment reasoning judgment system, the documents online system, news spokesman system, the response mechanism of the major criminal cases, study and judge of public opinion mechanism, warning mechanism and the people’s jury system in China.