Research On The Application Of The Commutation System Of China

As an important system norm in the execution stage of punishment,commutation of punishment represents the authoritative evaluation of the effect of execution of prisoners and personal danger.It is an award from public power and an important checkpoint to guarantee the implementation of punishment.The establishment of China's commutation system started late,the relevant laws and regulations are still not perfect,and there are still many problems in judicial practice.In particular,the exposure of series of illegal commutation cases makes the commutation work fall into the doubt of judicial corruption,and the voice of the society on the reform of the commutation system is also getting stronger.In recent years,with the continuous advancement of the rule of law,China's legislative and judicial departments have gradually increased their emphasis on commutation work,and the reform of the commutation system has never stopped.However,the current academic field still pays less attention to the commutation system.And the research on the commutation system lacks comprehensive theory system.The scope and focus of the research are limited.Some old academic viewpoints are also difficult to respond to new demands,making it difficult to provide theoretical supports of the revolution of commutation system.Therefore,there is an urgent need for an in-depth study of the commutation system,both in the practice and in the academic field.Through the comparative analysis of the national online open data regarding with judicial practice and related laws and regulations from 2015 to 2018,we can find that the practice of the commutation system in China at present is characterized by the following: the number of general commutation cases has dropped significantly,but the proportion of commutation is much higher than parole;The approval rate for commutation of sentences and the adoption rate of procurator opinions are stable and stable;the speed of individual commutation is slowing down,and the conditions for “performance”,“significant meritorious performance” and “repentance performance” are more strictly examined.Property judgments and commutations are imposed,and parole linkage mechanism is implemented.Also,there are certain defects in the legislative and judicial practices: First,the commutation system is too dependent on judicial interpretation and lacks sufficient legal support.The normative content lacks reasonable feasibility and the system of commutation and revocation;Secondly,the scoring system is difficult to fully reflect the truth.The third is the low transparency of the procedures for commutation of sentence,the excessive weight of the penalty enforcement organ,and the lack of trials and the participation of the outside organs of the case handling organs;Fourthly,the people's procuratorate fails to fully function;Last but not least,it is difficult to get out of the "reduction of punishment,supplemented by parole" dilemma.Therefore,in order to further improve the commutation system,apply it to fully achieve the purpose of punishment,encourage criminals to reform,and promote special prevention and other positive effects,we should make specific adjustments with regards to the system defects.On the one hand,it is necessary to appropriately change the value of the design of the commutation system in the legislation,integrate the certain rights to the value concept on the basis of rewards,pay attention to the protection of the rights and interests of criminals,unify the specific work requirements of various regions and departments,improve the contents of current laws and regulations,supplement and standardize advancing and retreating mechanism of the commutation system,implement special legislation on commutation and parole,and systematically organize and clarify relevant entities and procedures.On the other hand,in the process of practical application,the litigation reform of the trial procedure for commutation cases will be promoted,and the trial-centered work mode will be strengthened;The division of functions of various departments will be clarified,some of the powers of the penalty enforcement agencies will be rationally allocated,and the procuratorate will be strengthened.The functions of the program shall be strengthened;the procedures shall be strengthened,the case information shall be disclosed,the prison affairs shall be disclosed and the trials open,and the broad participation of other subjects outside the case-handling organs shall be expanded;the conditions for commutation shall be reviewed reasonably,and the contents of the investigation shall be enriched on the basis of the scoring system and the hearings shall be fully utilized.Besides,we should adjust the proportion of the application of commutation and parole,and gradually expand the practices of parole.