The Construction of Guilt in China: An Empirical Account of Routine Chinese Injustice (Studies in International and Comparative Criminal Law)

Drawing on insights from the author’s own empirical data obtained from systematic observation of the daily routines within Chinese criminal justice institutions, this ground-breaking book examines the functional deficiency of the criminal justice system in preventing innocent individuals from being wrongly accused and convicted. Set within a broad socio-legal context, it outlines the strategic interrelationships between key legal actors, the deep-seated legal culture embedded in practice, the deficiency of integrity of the system and the structural injustices that follow. The author traces criminal case files in the criminal process – how they are constructed, scrutinised and used to dispose of cases and convict defendants in lieu of witnesses’ oral testimony. This book illustrates that the Chinese criminal justice system as a state apparatus of social control has been framed through performance indicators, bureaucratic management and the central value of collectivism in such a way as to maintain the stability of the authoritarian power. The Construction of Guilt in China will appeal to academics, researchers, policy advisers and practitioners working in the areas of criminal law, comparative criminal justice, criminology and Chinese studies. Volume 17 in the series Studies in International and Comparative Criminal Law Acknowledgements Contents 1. Introduction I. Criminal Injustice in China II. Truth as Objectivity, Constructions and Rhetoric III. Bureaucracy, Ideology and Performance Indicators in Chinese Criminal Justice 2. Researching the Chinese Criminal Justice System I. Outline of Fieldwork II. The Social Makeup of the Suspects 3. The Construction of the Police Cases I. The Context: The Chinese Police and their Role in the Criminal Justice System II. The Official Version of Truth III. Aligning Confession Evidence with the Official Version of the Truth IV. Interviewing Witnesses V. Crime Scene Identification VI. The Defence Predicament in the Investigative Phase VII. Conclusion 4. Reviewing the Police Case I. The Soviet Legacy and the Intricacy of the Supervisory Power of the Procuratorate II. The Role of the Prosecutor III. Overseeing the Police Case IV. Conclusion 5. Pre-trial Decisions Concerning Prosecution I. The Discretionary Power Not to Prosecute II. Decisions on the Modes of Trial III. Constructing the Defence Case at the Pre-trial Prosecution Review Stage IV. Conclusion 6. Trials without Witnesses I. Hollowed Criminal Trials and Criminal Case Dossiers II. The Judge-Prosecutor Relationship III. Trial without Witnesses IV. Managerialism and Abbreviated Trials V. The Full Adjudication: Trial without Witnesses VI. Conclusion 7. Concluding Remarks Appendix: Data Sources Bibliography Index Drawing on insights from the author's own empirical data obtained from systematic observation of the daily routines within Chinese criminal justice institutions, this ground-breaking book examines the functional deficiency of the criminal justice system in preventing innocent individuals from being wrongly accused and convicted. Set within a broad socio-legal context, it outlines the strategic interrelationships between key legal actors, the deep-seated legal culture embedded in practice, the deficiency of integrity of the system and the structural injustices that follow. The author traces criminal case files in the criminal process – how they are constructed, scrutinised and used to dispose of cases and convict defendants in lieu of witnesses' oral testimony. This book illustrates that the Chinese criminal justice system as a state apparatus of social control has been framed through performance indicators, bureaucratic management and the central value of collectivism in such a way as to maintain the stability of the authoritarian power. The Construction of Guilt in China will appeal to academics, researchers, policy advisers and practitioners working in the areas of criminal law, comparative criminal justice, criminology and Chinese studies. Winner of the 2020 SLS Peter Birks Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship. "Drawing on insights from the author's own empirical data obtained from systematic observation of the daily routines within Chinese criminal justice institutions, this ground-breaking book examines the functional deficiency of the criminal justice system in preventing innocent individuals from being wrongly accused and convicted. Setting within a broad socio-legal context, this book outlines the strategic interrelationships between key legal actors, the deep-seated legal culture embedded in practice, the deficiency of integrity of the system and the structural injustices that follow. The author follows the investigative dossier in the criminal process - how it is constructed, scrutinised and used to dispose of cases and convict defendants in lieu of witnesses' oral testimony - as its focal point. It illustrates that the Chinese criminal justice system as a state apparatus of social control has been framed through performance indicators, bureaucratic management and the central value of collectivism in such a way as to maintain the stability of the authoritarian power. This book will appeal to academics, researchers, policy advisors and practitioners working in the areas of criminal law, comparative criminal justice/criminology, as well as in Chinese studies"-- Provided by publisher

Drawing on insights from the author's own empirical data obtained from systematic observation of the daily routines within Chinese criminal justice institutions, this ground-breaking book examines the functional deficiency of the criminal justice system in preventing innocent individuals from being wrongly accused and convicted. Set within a broad socio-legal context, it outlines the strategic interrelationships between key legal actors, the deep-seated legal culture embedded in practice, the deficiency of integrity of the system and the structural injustices that follow. The author traces criminal case files in the criminal process – how they are constructed, scrutinised and used to dispose of cases and convict defendants in lieu of witnesses' oral testimony. This book illustrates that the Chinese criminal justice system as a state apparatus of social control has been framed through performance indicators, bureaucratic management and the central value of collectivism in such a way as to maintain the stability of the authoritarian power. The Construction of Guilt in China will appeal to academics, researchers, policy advisers and practitioners working in the areas of criminal law, comparative criminal justice, criminology and Chinese studies.

"Drawing on insights from the author's own empirical data obtained from systematic observation of the daily routines within Chinese criminal justice institutions, this ground-breaking book examines the functional deficiency of the criminal justice system in preventing innocent individuals from being wrongly accused and convicted. Setting within a broad socio-legal context, this book outlines the strategic interrelationships between key legal actors, the deep-seated legal culture embedded in practice, the deficiency of integrity of the system and the structural injustices that follow. The author follows the investigative dossier in the criminal process (how it is constructed, scrutinised and used to dispose of cases and convict defendants in lieu of witnesses' oral testimony) as its focal point. It illustrates that the Chinese criminal justice system as a state apparatus of social control has been framed through performance indicators, bureaucratic management and the central value of collectivism in such a way as to maintain the stability of the authoritarian power"-- Provided by the publisher