China's top court to target wrongful convictions in 2017

Chief Justice Zhou Qiang delivers Supreme People's Court work report during the annual session of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 12, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

The Supreme People's Court has vowed in its annual work report to continue to overturn wrongful convictions and protect human rights in 2017.

The report, submitted today to the National People's Congress during the legislature's annual session, also said the top court had punished those who harmed national security or subverted state power last year.

Courts nationwide heard 1.12 million criminal cases in 2016, up by 1.5 percent year-on-year, and sentenced 1.22 million people, down 1 percent year-on-year, according to the report. It added that 1,076 criminal defendants were found innocent.

The statistics also show that 1,376 criminal cases were retried and the verdicts amended.

"The principle that we do not punish cases in which there is doubt is highlighted to ensure the innocent are protected," Chief Justice Zhou Qiang told NPC deputies.

On Dec 2, the top court posthumously pardoned Nie Shubin, a native of Hebei province, who was executed in 1995. The authority found that he was wrongly convicted of rape and homicide on unclear facts and insufficient evidence.

"Such a wrongful conviction is a shame for the justice system," Zhou said. "We learned a lot from that lesson. We'll strengthen our responsibilities in handling cases and improve legal procedures to prevent such wrongful convictions."

Chinese courts have also increased their efforts in handling corruption cases, according to the report. Judges nationwide last year heard 45,000 corruption cases involved 63,000 defendants, including 35 former minister-level officials and 240 former director-level officials.

In addition to punishing corrupt officials, courts also improved the rules on commutation and parole to ensure transparency, the report said.

Zhou pledged that the top court will continue to guard national security and social stability in 2017 as well as penalize corruption.

Courts will also boost efforts to combat telecom fraud, a subject of public concern in recent years, "to better protect people's property", he added.