On The System Of Trial By Default In Corruption And Bribery Crimes

The criminal default trial system was established by the newly revised? Criminal Procedure Law ? in 2018.The crime of corruption and bribery was included in its scope of application,which is not only the main purpose of revising the system,but also the highlight of the new criminal default trial system.Internally,it has strengthened the Party Central Committee and the state's confidence and determination in strictly punishing corruption and maintaining political integrity,solved the criminal liability of fugitives,strengthened the confiscation procedures for illegal gains,and improved and completed the legal system for criminal proceedings;Externally,it has proclaimed the judicial sovereignty under personal jurisdiction,given negative evaluations to fugitives,basically achieved convergence with international anti-corruption conventions,and provided institutional guarantees for successfully pursuing of fugitives and stolen goods overseas.Understanding and grasping the connotation of default trial in corruption and bribery cases needs to be based on the existing theory of criminal default trial system and the summary of scholars' representative views on the concept of criminal default trial to reach the specific meaning of default trial in corruption and bribery crimes.Meanwhile,for studying the characteristics of default trials for corruption and bribery crimes,the difference between trials in absentia and ordinary bench trials should be explored in the beginning,then further analyze that default trials is applicative to corruption and bribery cases,and the differences with other charges that applicable to this procedure.In addition,the review of the legitimacy of the establishment of default trial in corruption and bribery crimes should not be confined to the criminal procedure law itself.Reasonable support can also be found in the field of criminal substantive law as the realization of the purpose of punishment is the legal basis of the system of default trial of corruption and bribery crimes as well.It can be seen that the understanding of legitimacy could focus on the linkage between disciplines,and the research perspective of criminal nomocracy can also provide evidence for correctly explaining the legitimacy of the system.From the perspective of extraterritorial legislation,although the major developed countries have not included the types of corruption crimes in the scope of default trials,many of their practices are still worthy to study and being reference for us.Developed countries with advanced rule of law,such as the United States,Germany,France,and Italy,have provided useful referencesfor the judicial interpretation to refine the use of corruption and bribery trials,which includes the necessity of application of trial proceedings in absentia,the objects and methods in delivery procedure,the right to appeal,and the restriction of exercising objection and refinement of retrial procedures.In the context of the trial-centred litigation system reform,the review of flaws in the system's legislation and practice should be based on the advancing of the trial process.However,problems such as the indeterminacy of application standards,the lack of details in pre-trial procedure and the trial process rules,the lack of remedy after court trials and lack of pilot tests have impeded the effective development of corruption and bribery trials in absentia across the country.In response to these shortcomings,improvement measures must be put forward accordingly.Therefore,the applicable standards for corruption and bribery cases must be clarified,the service object and the service methods must be expanded,the substantiation of the court hearings and the effectiveness of the defence should be safeguarded,the specific operation of remedy approaches should be detailed,and even postponing full implementation and employing pilot operation should be considered.And it should be emphasized that all the suggestions above have to be placed under the vision of the anti-corruption rule of law system,with the goal of establishing a legalized,long-lasting,institutionalized anti-corruption mechanism.Then it could be realized to apply the thinking of the rule of criminal law to the establishment of the corruption and bribery absence trial system,safeguard the balance between judicial justice and the efficiency of litigation,and finally achieve the goal of effectively punishing corruption crimes and the sound operation of the criminal default trial system with Chinese characteristics.