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Tortuous progress

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In late June, China's five main organs concerned with the administration of justice, including the Supreme People's Court, issued two sets of regulations on the use of evidence that appeared to make confessions obtained through torture inadmissible in court.

Previously, even though Chinese law made torture of suspects a criminal offence, confessions obtained in this manner were still acceptable as evidence and could be used to convict the victims.

The publication of these new regulations provided some evidence of progress in China's criminal justice system.

A notice issued by the five bodies declared: 'The two sets of rules set higher standards and stricter demands on law enforcement organs' handling of criminal cases, especially death penalty cases.'

Article 1 of the new rules, 'Concerning questions about exclusions of illegal evidence' states: 'The category of illegal oral evidence includes statements by criminal suspects or defendants obtained through illegal means such as coerced confession as well as witness testimony or victim statements obtained through illegal means such as use of violence or threats.'

However, Article 2 introduces a note of ambiguity. It says: 'Oral evidence that has been determined to be illegal in accordance with the law shall be excluded and may not serve as the basis for conviction.' The assertion that such evidence 'may not serve as the basis for conviction' suggests it may still be used in some way.

The other set of rules, 'Concerning questions about examining and judging evidence in death penalty cases', says that in examining a defendant's statements, emphasis shall be placed on 'whether a defendant's declaration was obtained through illegal means such as coercing confession'.

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