Social Sciences in China, 2025

Vol. 46, No. 3, 2025

Improving the Structure of Criminal Procedural Rights in the Context of Digitization

(Abstract)

Zheng Xi

In the context of digitization, improving the structure of criminal procedural rights is highly significant for achieving the goals of fairness, justice, and human rights protection in criminal justice. At the microstructural level, the elements and conditions of criminal procedural rights should be updated to meet the demands of digitization. At the macrostructural level, criminal procedural rights can be categorized horizontally into the right of disposition, the right to an orderly proceeding, and the right to procedural safeguards. Vertically, these rights can be organized into four levels based on their interest elements. The improvement of the structure of criminal procedural rights can be reflected in the regulatory framework, rationally positioning the rights stipulated in the current Criminal Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China and providing guidance for the introduction of emerging rights in the future.

Keywords: criminal procedural rights, rights structure, microstructure, macrostructure, digitization