Organic Law of the People's Procuratorates of the People's Republic of China (1954)

ORGANIC LAW
OF THE PEOPLE'S PROCURATORATES OF
THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

Adopted by the First Session
of the First National People's Congress
on September 21, 1954

CHAPTER ONE—GENERAL PRINCIPLES

ARTICLE 1. The People's Republic of China establishes the Supreme People's Procuratorate, local people's procuratorates and special people's procuratorates.

Local people's procuratorates are established in provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central authority, autonomous chou, counties, municipalities and autonomous counties. People's procuratorates of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central authority may set up branches as required. People's procuratorates of municipalities directly under the central authority and of municipalities divided into districts may set up people's procuratorates for municipal districts as required.

The organization of special people's procuratorates is to be prescribed separately by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

ARTICLE 2. A people's procuratorate, whatever its level, is composed of a chief procurator, a number of deputy chief procurators and procurators.

The chief procurators of the people's procuratorates at all levels direct the work of the latter.

People's procuratorates at all levels set up procuratorial committees which, under the direction of chief procurators, deal with important questions relating to their work.

ARTICLE 3. The Supreme People's Procuratorate exercises procuratorial authority over all departments of the State Council, all local organs of state, persons working in organs of state, and citizens, to ensure observance of the law.

ARTICLE 4. Local people's procuratorates exercise the following functions and powers in accordance with the procedure provided in the second chapter of this law:

(1) To see that the resolutions, orders and measures of local organs of state conform to the law, and to see that the law is observed by persons working in these organs and by all citizens;

(2) To investigate, prosecute, and sustain the prosecution of criminal cases;

(3) To see that the investigatory activities of investigation departments conform to the law;

(4) To see that the judicial process of people's courts conforms to the law;

(5) To see that the execution of judgments in criminal cases, and the activities of departments in charge of reform through labour, conform to the law;

(6) To institute or intervene in legal actions with regard to weighty civil cases which affect the interests of the state and the people.

ARTICLE 5. In the exercise of procuratorial authority by the people's procuratorates, the law is applied equally to all citizens, irrespective of their nationality, race, sex, occupation, social origin, religious belief, education, property status, or length of residence.

ARTICLE 6. Local people's procuratorates exercise their functions and powers independently, and are not subject to interference by local organs of state.

Local people's procuratorates and the special people's procuratorates work under the leadership of the people's procuratorates at higher levels, and all work under the co-ordinating direction of the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

ARTICLE 7. The Supreme People's Procuratorate is responsible to the National People's Congress and reports to it; or, when the National People's Congress is not in session, to its Standing Committee.

CHAPTER TWO—THE PROCEDURE OF THE EXERCISE BY THE PEOPLE'S PROCURATORATES OF THEIR POWERS AND FUNCTIONS

ARTICLE 8. The Supreme People's Procuratorate has the right to protest the resolutions, orders or measures of any department of the State Council or of any local organ of state, which it finds to be illegal.

Local people's procuratorates have the right to demand the rectification of resolutions, orders or measures of the organs of state at corresponding levels, which they find to be illegal. If the demand is not accepted, they should report to the people's procuratorates at the next higher level in order to lodge a protest before the organs of state one level higher than those originally concerned. If local people's procuratorates find the resolutions, orders or measures of any department of the State Council or of the organs of state at higher levels to be illegal, they should report to people's procuratorates at higher levels for decision.

People's procuratorates do not have the power directly to annul, modify, or suspend the execution of illegal resolutions, orders or measures.

The organs of state concerned have the responsibility to consider and answer the demands or protests of the people's procuratorates.

ARTICLE 9. If a people's procuratorate discovers that any person working in an organ of state has committed an illegal act, it should notify the organ of state to which he belongs to take steps for rectification. If such an illegal act constitutes a crime, the people's procuratorate should ascertain the criminal responsibility for it.

ARTICLE 10. If a people's procuratorate finds and confirms that a crime has been committed, it should bring up and investigate the criminal case in accordance with the procedure provided by law or transfer it to an organ of public security for investigation; if, upon completion of the investigation, it deems it necessary to hold the accused to criminal responsibility, it should prosecute the accused before a people's court.

ARTICLE 11. If a people's procuratorate discovers that investigatory activities are being conducted in an illegal manner by an organ of public security at the corresponding level, it should notify that organ of public security to rectify its illegal practices.

If an organ of public security, after investigations in the criminal case brought up by it, thinks that prosecution is called for, it should, in accordance with the provisions of law, transfer the case to the appropriate people's procuratorate for examination and decision as to whether legal proceedings are to be instituted.

ARTICLE 12. The arrest of any citizen must first be approved by the people's procuratorates, except for cases in which it has been authorized by a people's court.

ARTICLE 13. If an organ of public security discovers errors in any decision by a people's procuratorate to disallow its request for an arrest, or in any decision by a people's procuratorate not to bring charges on a case transferred by it to the people's procuratorate, it has the right to submit its views or bring charges before a people's procuratorate at the next higher level.

ARTICLE 14. In legal proceedings instituted by a people's procuratorate, the chief procurator or any procurator appointed by him attends the trial, in the capacity of state prosecutor, to carry on the prosecution and to see that the judicial process conforms to the law. In legal proceedings not instituted by the people's procuratorates, the chief procurator may also designate a person to attend the trial for the purpose of supervision.

If a people's court decides that the people's procuratorate must send a delegate to attend the trial, the chief procurator should either attend himself or appoint another procurator to do so.

ARTICLE 15. If a local people's procuratorate finds any error in a judgment or order of a people's court at the corresponding level in cases of first instance, it has the authority to lodge a protest against the the judgment or order in accordance with the procedure of appeal.

ARTICLE 16. If the Supreme People's Procuratorate finds some definite error in a legally effective judgment or order of a people's court at any level, or if an upper people's procuratorate finds such error in such a judgment or order of a lower people's court, they have the authority to lodge a protest against the judgment or order in accordance with the procedure of judicial supervision.

ARTICLE 17. The Chief Procurator of the Supreme People's Procuratorate attends the meetings of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People's Court and participates in the proceedings. If he does not agree to any decision of the Judicial Committee, he has the power to refer it to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for examination and decision.

Chief procurators of local people's procuratorates have the right to attend the meetings of the judicial committees of the people's courts at corresponding levels and participate in the proceedings.

ARTICLE 18. The people's procuratorates supervise the execution of judgments in criminal cases, and if they find that there is violation of the law in the execution of such judgments, they should notify the responsible organs to correct such violations.

The people's procuratorates supervise the activities of organs in charge of reform through labour. If they find that there is violation of the law in such activities, they should notify the organs responsible to correct them.

ARTICLE 19. In exercising their procuratorial authority, people's procuratorates have the right to send delegates to attend the meetings of the organs concerned and participate in the proceedings, and to read the relevant resolutions, orders, files or other documents of the organs, enterprises, co-operatives, or social organizations concerned; the organs, organizations and persons concerned have the obligation to provide data and explanations on the demand of the people's procuratorates.

CHAPTER THREE—THE APPOINTMENT AND REMOVAL OF OFFICERS OF PEOPLE'S PROCURATORATES

ARTICLE 20. The Chief Procurator of the Supreme People's Procuratorate is elected by the National People's Congress for a term of four years.

The Deputy Chief Procurators of the Supreme People's Procuratorate are appointed and removed by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

The procurators of the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the members of its Procuratorial Committee are appointed and removed by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, upon the recommendation of the Chief Procurator of the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

ARTICLE 21. The chief procurators, deputy chief procurators, procurators and members of the procuratorial committees of the people's procuratorates of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central authoriy are appointed and removed by the Supreme People's Procuratorate with the approval of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. The chief procurators, deputy chief procurators, procurators and members of the procuratorial committees of the branch procuratorates of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central authority and of the people's procuratorates of counties, municipalities, autonomous chou, autonomous counties and municipal districts are appointed and removed by the people's procuratorates of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central authority with the approval of the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

ARTICLE 22. The staff and administrative offices of the people's procuratorates at all levels are to be prescribed by the Supreme People's Procuratorate.