As talk of a harmonious society permeates official rhetoric, all
governmental bodies are racing against time to present their own
prescription for harmony.
The Supreme People's Procuratorate promulgated its own
prescription on Thursday, highlighting a balance between leniency
and severity in criminal justice.
It was a package consisting of three documents one general
policy statement on coordinating leniency and severity, one on
handling cases of juvenile delinquency, and the third on expediting
the handling of minor criminal offenses.
In Chinese judicial practice, procuratorates investigate crimes
by State functionaries, issue arrest warrants, play the
prosecutor's role in criminal litigation, and supervise court
proceedings.
Like the courts, they work under the principle that all crimes
shall be punished according to law.
The idea of combining leniency and severity in no sense
represents a breakthrough in jurisprudence. It is the prominence
given to leniency that makes the package special.
Although the Criminal Law includes many circumstances that
qualify for lenient treatment by the courts, our legal philosophy
has a preference for severity in dealing with crimes. Leniency has
seldom been a keyword in the lexicon of procuratorial
departments.
All crimes have negative social effects. But the degrees of harm
vary by large margins.
Our judiciary exists not only to punish. It can also be
constructive. The Supreme Procuratorate obviously wants to tap such
potential.
For such circumstances as involuntary crimes and minor offenses,
a dose of leniency can be more efficient in controlling damage and
repairing broken ties.
The outcome can be more desirable if our procuratorates issue
fewer arrest warrants and bring fewer cases to court. If more
disputes resulting from lesser crimes can be solved through
out-of-court mediation, it would not only reduce the workload of
our judiciary but also reduce chances of confrontation.
The Chinese judiciary has a fine tradition that values
mediation. This is a natural extension of our culture's
appreciation of harmony.
The Supreme Procuratorate struck the right chord with its
formula of harmony.
But we hope it remains properly vigilant so that its good
intentions are not abused.
We cannot afford a judiciary lenient with fraudulent State
functionaries. What they deserve is more severity.
(China Daily February 6, 2007)