Research On Chinese Criminal Defense Lawyers’ Rights In Investigation Stage

The development level of criminal defense lawyers’ rights is the touchstone tomeasure a country’s development level of the criminal law, attention of defense rightsnot only relates to the equilibrium of criminal procedure structure, but also shows therespect and guarantee of human rights. Our country’s reform of it has gone through atortuous and relatively long process.The entry into force of the new CriminalProcedural Law on January1,2013has ushered the spring for criminal defenselawyers. Especially Article33defines defender status of criminal defense lawyer inthe investigation stage, which means it has deeply and widely broadened their rights.However, can criminal defense lawyers really smoothly meet their suspect duringinvestigation stage in the judicial practice? Can they investigate and collect evidencewithout any menace from the rear? Can their defense opinion be well adopted byjudicial authority? Or the implementation of the new Criminal Procedural Law bringsthe new confusions to criminal defense lawyers? And how can these confusions besolved effectively? Based on the above considerations, the author thinks that it isnecessary for a systematic study on Chinese criminal defense lawyers’ rights in theinvestigation stage. This paper is divided into three parts, including introduction,content, conclusion, specifically:Part I: Introduction.The author takes a case crosses the old and new Criminal Procedure Law implementation period for the point of meeting difficulties and refects to what extentcan the implementation of the new Criminal Procedure Law realize “the respect andprotection of human rights”.Part II: Content.Chapter One highlights the criminal defense lawyers’ rights in the investigationstage of the new Criminal Procedure Law. The author briefly compares the old laws tothe new Criminal Procedural Law concerning criminal defense lawyers’status in theinvestigation stage, and affirms the extremely important practical significance of thenew Criminal Procedure Law’s definition of criminal defense lawyers’ status in theinvestigation stage, which includes the construction of the new pattern of theinvestigative organization and defender, the importance of procedural defense orprotection of human rights. At the same time, the author simply introduces the newCriminal Procedure Law’s progress from four aspects which are rights ofmeeting\investigation and evidence collection\defense opinion and so on.Chapter Two is about the confusion of criminal defense lawyers’ rights in theinvestigation stage. The author mainly discuss them from the following four aspects:from the perspective of the existing legislation and judicial practice gap states themeeting confusion in investigation stage; from the legislation itself separatelydiscusses the defect of criminal defense lawyers’ own investigation and evidencecollection and application of this right; from the perspective of the investigativeorganization’s investigating activities and procuratorial organization’s examined arrestexpounds the confusion of defense opinions; and other confusions.Chapter Three discusses some countermeasures to improve the exertion of thecriminal defense lawyer’s rights in investigation stage. The author mainly discussesfrom the following three aspects: perfect the related legislation; from the perspectiveof the crime suspect and the judicial personnel to explain the need to establish thescientific concept of justice; and strengthen the building of criminal defense lawyers.Part III: Conclusion. This part is a summary of the paper described.