Criminal
Professional legal research in Criminal.
Opportunities and Challenges in Criminal Legal Services Over the Next Five Years: Insights from the "Eighth National Criminal Trial Work Conference"
The Eighth National Criminal Trial Work Conference held in November 2025 set the direction and priorities for China's criminal justice over the next five years. Conference data showed a continued decline in traditional violent crimes, while cyber crimes and economic crimes were on the rise, with significant growth in demand for specialized criminal legal services. The会议 established a judicial philosophy of "combining professional legal judgment with the public's simple sense of fairness and justice," adhering to a policy of combining leniency with severity, with a focus on severely punishing crimes endangering national security, corruption, and new types of cyber crimes. It also provided specific guidance on juvenile delinquency governance, cyberspace regulation, and the application of the death penalty. Under this导向, criminal defense lawyers need to elevate their political awareness to accurately grasp judicial policies, strengthen their analytical skills to conduct case-specific analysis, and enhance their legal reasoning and communication techniques to integrate professional legal logic with public perception, thereby achieving high-quality effective defense and protection of clients' rights.
In-Depth Interpretation of 2025 New Rules on Refusal to Execute: A Complete Guide from Public Prosecution Transfer to Private Prosecution
Introduction: The '2025 Opinions on Handling Criminal Cases of Refusal to Execute Judgments and Rulings' (Fa Fa [2025] No. 8), newly issued by the Supreme People's Court, Supreme People's Procuratorate, and Ministry of Public Security, officially came into effect on July 1, 2025. This document directly addresses the 'difficulty in enforcement' issue in practice and systematically clarifies the specific division of labor and procedures among public security organs, procuratorates, and courts in handling cases of refusal to execute judgments and rulings (hereinafter referred to as 'refusal to execute crimes').
Defense Lawyers' Effective Review and Challenge of Special Audit Reports
Attorney LUO Jie points out that since the Ministry of Justice ceased the registration management of forensic appraisal institutions outside the "four major categories," judicial accounting appraisal has become "nominal in existence." Special audit reports have thus become substitutes for identifying financial issues in criminal trials. There are fundamental differences between the two in terms of business nature, evidentiary basis, and legal effect. Using audit reports as substitutes for appraisal is essentially "passing off inferior as superior." In practice, special audit reports are often wrongly characterized as documentary evidence to circumvent the evidence rules for expert opinions. Common problems include improperly admitting unexamined testimonial evidence, exceeding authority in making legal evaluations, and surreptitiously substituting standards for determining the amount of crimes. Drawing on practical experience, this article systematically proposes defense lawyers' key points for reviewing and challenging special audit reports from seven dimensions: evidence category, subject qualification, entrusted matters, scope of materials, examination methods, audit conclusions, and attachments. It calls on the Supreme People's Court to issue judicial interpretations as soon as possible to clarify the legal status and evidence rules for special audit reports, thereby standardizing criminal evidence review and safeguarding judicial justice.
Trends and Practice of Criminal Compliance Non-Prosecution
The corporate criminal compliance non-prosecution system, originating in the United States, has now deeply aligned with China's high-quality development needs. Currently, this system shows four major trends: the applicable procedures extend to all stages of criminal proceedings; regional coverage continues to improve; the scope of application expands from organizational crimes to individual crimes closely related to production and business activities; and case types extend from minor offenses to major cases. Practical operations follow core steps including: initiation of procedures, submission of compliance commitments and plans, selection of third-party organizations and determination of timelines, enterprise self-inspection with third-party review and competent authority verification, hearing and acceptance, and issuance of non-prosecution decisions. As judicial practice continues to deepen, the scope of application of this system is continuously expanding, with the potential for full national coverage.
Corporate Compliance Rectification Pass Rate Reaches 97% — A Look at the Current Status and Prospects of Criminal Compliance Through Judicial Big Data
Based on compliance needs of private enterprises in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area facing criminal risks, and drawing on public security, procuratorate, and court data as well as typical cases, this article systematically reviews the current status and trends of corporate criminal compliance reform. Data show that the procuratorial authorities' rectification pass rate exceeds 97%, but there is still significant room for improvement in case volume and coverage nationwide and in Guangdong. Court reform is accelerating, and public security authorities are gradually becoming more actively involved. Typical cases show that non-prosecution through compliance has gradually become applicable to felony and non-economic corporate crimes, but statutory sentencing standards must be strictly observed. The article further proposes practical prospects: lawyers should promote the pre-positioning of compliance review; advocate for simplified and differentiated compliance procedures to reduce costs for micro, small, and medium enterprises; suggest retaining space for discretionary non-prosecution in the system, not exceeding the statutory maximum sentence for responsible persons, and promoting the addition of a special chapter on criminal compliance in the Criminal Procedure Law to improve the corporate criminal compliance system and the law-based business environment.
New Practical Observations on the System of Justifiable Defense
Based on 53 practical cases applying the 2020 "Guiding Opinions on Lawfully Applying the System of Justifiable Defense," this article systematically evaluates the current state of judicial application of the justifiable defense system. The Guiding Opinions have achieved notable results in clarifying the nature of "defense provocation," expanding the connotation of "unlawful infringement," and refining the determination of defense in civil disputes, effectively activating the justifiable defense provisions. However, judicial practice still reveals multiple deficiencies: a subjective tendency in judging unlawful infringement with a lack of evidence-based adjudication thinking; "muddying the waters" judgments hindering the determination of right and wrong; blurred boundaries between mutual affray and justifiable defense; and a "result-oriented" approach making the determination of excessive defense still harsh. To this end, the article advocates for the parallel development of substantive and procedural law, suggesting the construction of supporting procedural protocols, including submitting disputed cases to the adjudication committee for discussion, introducing public hearings, unifying reasoning standards in judgments, strengthening sampling review of similar cases, and establishing a special recording system for judges not applying the rules, with a view to accurately implementing the Guiding Opinions and effectively carrying out the spirit of the rule of law that "justice does not yield to injustice."
Research on Criminal Risks of Village Three Cadres and Risk Prevention Countermeasures
With the proposal of rural revitalization strategy and extension of supervision to village level, village committee cadres should find their positioning in the overall development, serve as village representatives while setting examples and improving rural customs.
Brief Analysis of Circumstances Where Electronic Games (Practitioners) May Constitute the Crime of Running a Gambling Establishment
Attorney LI Boyang uses the arrest of a senior executive of a well-known live streaming platform on suspicion of running a gambling establishment as a starting point to systematically review the criminal compliance risks faced by online game and internet enterprises. The article first clarifies the legal definition of the "crime of running a gambling establishment" and its nature as a "behavioral crime," emphasizing that actual profit is not a prerequisite for conviction, and the thresholds for conviction and "serious circumstances" are very low (such as commission exceeding RMB 30,000, gambling funds exceeding RMB 300,000, more than 120 participants, or involvement of minors), with a maximum sentence of ten years' imprisonment. Second, it analyzes in detail gameplay mechanics that easily cross criminal red lines, including using充值 virtual currency for betting, random rewards, chess and card games, lottery-style draws, and providing gambling room functions, pointing out that enterprises must strictly isolate充值 currency from probability-based gameplay and strengthen social chat supervision. Through actual court cases, the article notes that criminal liability for running a gambling establishment extends not only to corporate legal representatives but also to employees including technical staff, planners, operators, and customer service personnel who directly participate in or knowingly assist illegal activities. Finally, the article warns internet practitioners to abandon industry惯性 thinking and prioritize legal compliance in business development to ensure stable enterprise operation amid increasingly stringent regulation.
Corruption and Bribery Crimes and Money Laundering Will Face "One Case, Two Investigations" — Defense Points and Voluntary Surrender Determination for "Self-Laundering of Bribery Proceeds" in Duty-Related Crimes
Attorney GAO Guoji and LUO Jie provides a legal analysis of the "self-laundering of bribery proceeds" in duty-related crimes. With the implementation of the *Criminal Law Amendment (XI)* and the "one case, two investigations" mechanism among supervisory, procuratorial, and public security authorities, self-laundering has been independently criminalized. When both bribery and money laundering meet the threshold for criminalization, combined punishment for multiple crimes will be imposed. The article focuses on defense points for "self-laundering of bribery proceeds," clarifying the need to strictly distinguish between self-laundering and post-facto disposal of illicit funds. The core issue is whether the actor had the subjective intent and objective conduct to disguise or conceal the source and nature of the illicit funds. The "old law for old, new law for new" principle applies with reference to the March 1, 2021, effective date. Additionally, the article details the rules for determining voluntary surrender in such cases, noting that the establishment of voluntary surrender depends on the scope and timing of the confession: proactive confession of both bribery and money laundering facts establishes voluntary surrender for both crimes; confession of only bribery facts establishes voluntary surrender only for bribery; passive surrender followed by truthful confession of money laundering facts unknown to judicial authorities, or confession of partial bribery facts combined with corresponding money laundering facts, may all result in voluntary surrender for the respective crimes.
Criminal Legal Risks and Responses for Online Game Enterprises Under Strong Policy Supervision
With the rapid development of China's online game market, the criminal, administrative, and civil legal risks facing the industry are becoming increasingly prominent. Big data analysis of relevant criminal cases from 2017 to 2022 reveals that cases involving gambling, fraud, computer information system crimes, and intellectual property infringement are prevalent. Against the backdrop of continuously improving regulations such as the Data Security Law and the Personal Information Protection Law, and the normalization of public security crackdowns, online game enterprises face a strongly regulated environment. To address these risks, enterprises should strengthen legal awareness, operate in accordance with the law, establish compliance boundaries, and build a criminal compliance system encompassing pre-event prevention, in-event isolation, and post-event response, while optimizing business operation models to ensure compliant and stable development.
Analysis of the Legal Distinction Between Prostitution and Related Crimes Under Management and Control Theories
The distinction between prostitution and crimes involving organization, management, or control of prostitution has always been a complex issue in criminal law theory and practice. This article examines the legal boundaries and characteristics of these offenses.
Discipline and Punish: Practical Identification of the Crime of Major Liability Accident
Attorney HE Zhiwei, combining criminal law provisions and judicial practice, systematically interprets the identification standards and application boundaries of the crime of major liability accidents. It emphasizes strict control over the constitutive elements to prevent over-criminalization and mechanical application of justice. On the objective side, it clarifies that the act must occur during production or operation, violate specific and operable safety management regulations, correspond strictly to statutory serious consequences and aggravating circumstances, and pay attention to both positive identification and reasonable exclusion of causation. On the subjective side, it focuses on negligence liability, advocating for distinguishing the duty of foreseeability based on the actor's actual duties and positions, and reasonably defining the weight of responsibility between frontline workers and management supervisors. Drawing on multiple typical acquittal cases, the article systematically reviews grounds for acquittal, including absence of safety management duties, accidents occurring outside the production/operation context, compliant conduct by the actor, unforeseeable risks, and questionable causation, aiming to provide practical guidance for judicial authorities in accurate conviction and sentencing, achieving proportionality of crime and punishment, and protecting lawful rights and interests.