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The move aims to safeguard military missions and improve the PLA’s “ability to win in combat”, according to the legislature. Photo: AP

China’s military given power to change how it handles criminal cases in wartime

  • It will be able to adjust how it applies ‘provisions including those relating to jurisdiction, defence, investigation, prosecution, trial and enforcement’
  • Law professor notes that the move leaves ‘room for broad interpretation’ of the term ‘wartime’ and that it will also affect civilians in certain cases
Chinese lawmakers have approved a resolution that gives the military the power to change how it applies the Criminal Procedure Law during wartime.

But the move leaves open to further interpretation the definition of “wartime” and will also affect civilians in certain cases, according to a law professor.

More details will be set out by the Central Military Commission, China’s top military decision-making body, according to a statement from the legislature, the National People’s Congress, on Friday.

The decision was passed by the NPC Standing Committee on Friday and took effect on Saturday.

It allows the military during wartime “to adjust the application of provisions including those relating to jurisdiction, defence and representation, compulsory measures, case filing, investigation, prosecution, trial and enforcement”.

The move comes at a time of rising geopolitical tensions for China, especially across the Taiwan Strait.

The NPC statement said the decision was made “to improve the rule of law system in the military with Chinese characteristics”. It also sought to safeguard military missions and “improve [the People’s Liberation Army’s] ability to win in combat”.

The Criminal Procedure Law regulates criminal investigations and the rights of suspects. Its supplementary provisions stipulate that the military has the authority to conduct investigations into criminal cases that occur within the army.

But in an article posted on social media network WeChat on Sunday, Tong Zongjin, an associate professor at the China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing, said the change was also “closely relevant” to ordinary citizens who are not servicemen or women – especially when a criminal case involves both military personnel and civilians.

The South China Morning Post has confirmed with Tong that he wrote the article, but he declined an interview request because of the sensitivity of the matter.

What is China’s Central Military Commission and why is it so powerful?

In his article, Tong also noted that although the decision affects the military’s handling of criminal cases during wartime, its wording left “room for broad interpretation” of the term.

Tong said the term “wartime” was linked to a wider concept, and under China’s Criminal Law could also be defined as a time when the armed forces were “conducting combative operations”, under attack, enforcing martial law, or “responding to violent emergencies”.

He said that under the current regulations, the military could investigate and take legal action against civilians if they were involved in criminal cases that also involved military personnel.

Tong cited a 2009 document on the handling of such cases jointly issued by the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security and others.

He said the military could also target civilians when their actions – even outside its facilities – were considered a threat to military interests, according to that document.

Zhang Chao, a lawyer with the Beijing Weiheng Law Firm, said the NPC Standing Committee’s decision to authorise the Central Military Commission to make adjustments was a way to adapt to the complexities and specificities of wartime without amending the legislation.

He noted that the NPC had set boundaries for the adjustments to be made and that they would be subject to supervision, so the public need not be concerned that the military had been handed unlimited power to adjust the provisions.

Additional reporting by Jun Mai

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