Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No. 12, 2025

Systematic Construction of the Fundamental Principles of Criminal Procedure in China

(Abstract)

Wang Xinqing

With the advancement of criminal justice philosophy in the new era, the fundamental principles of criminal procedure established by the 1979 Criminal Procedure Law and the 1982 Constitution of the People’s Republic of China—though long influential in guiding legislative and judicial practice—now reveal certain limitations. These include insufficient systematization of the fundamental principles, an inadequate articulation of principles related to judicial fairness and human rights protection, and an incomplete manifestation of new concepts of criminal justice in the new era. The upcoming fourth amendment to the Criminal Procedure Law should be grounded in criminal justice practice, supported by China’s fine traditional judicial culture, and informed by international criminal procedure standards. By applying scientific criteria to assess the existing principles and employing methods such as divestment, supplementation, and enrichment, a set of principles that accurately embodies the spirit and values of criminal justice in the new era can be developed. These principles should then be organized systematically according to the logic of independent enumeration, thematic adjacency, and functional sequencing, forming a distinctive and coherent framework of fundamental principles for criminal procedure.