What is the content of Article 227 of the Criminal Law

Where the people's court of second instance finds that the trial in the people's court of first instance has one of the following violations of the proceedings prescribed by law, it shall rule to set aside the original judgment and send it back to the people's court of first instance for a new trial:

(i) violation of the provisions of this Law concerning public trials;

(ii) violation of the system of evasion;

(iii) deprivation or restriction of the party's legal procedural rights, which may affect a fair trial;

(iv) the composition of the trial organization is unlawful;

(v) other violations of the legal procedures, which may affect a fair trial.

This fifth item is a tout clause. That is to say, the court of second instance that the violation of the proceedings, may affect the fair trial, are included in this. This also leaves an opening for the law to avoid the reality of the problem because the law is too specific.

Main procedures of criminal proceedings

Criminal proceedings consist of five main stages: filing, investigation, prosecution, trial and execution.

Founding a case means that the public security organs, people's procuratorates, and people's courts examine the materials in terms of the report, accusation, informant, and self-surrender of the offender, determine whether there is a criminal fact and the need to pursue criminal responsibility, and decide in accordance with the law whether or not to submit the case as a criminal case to the investigation or the trial of the litigation activities;

Investigation refers to the investigation of the case by the specific judicial organs (procuratorates) or administrative organs (public security organs) for the purpose of collecting, ascertaining, and investigating the criminal facts. ) in order to collect, identify, confirm the crime and apprehend the offender and the law to take the specialized investigation work and related compulsory measures;

Prosecution has two kinds, including public prosecution and private prosecution;

Trial refers to the people's court in the prosecution, the defense and other litigant participants, in accordance with the legal competence and procedures for the law to the criminal case of the lawsuit to the court for the trial and decision of the Litigation activities;

Execution refers to the implementation of criminal law enforcement agencies in order to implement the content of the judgment and ruling has become legally effective and the activities carried out by the contents of the judgment and ruling, in China, the main body of criminal law enforcement is the people's courts, public security organs and prisons and so on.

Special stages: death penalty review procedures, trial supervision procedures.

Legal basis

The Criminal Law

Article 227 The people's court of second instance shall rule to set aside the original verdict and remand it back to the people's court of original instance for a new trial if it finds that the trial of the people's court of first instance has violated one of the following circumstances of the proceedings provided for by the law:

(a) Violation of the provisions of this Law provisions on public trial;

(ii) violation of the recusal system;

(iii) deprivation or restriction of the legal rights of the parties to the proceedings, which may affect a fair trial;

(iv) unlawfulness in the composition of the trial organization;

(v) other violations of the proceedings prescribed by law, which may affect a fair trial.

This fifth item is a tout clause. That is to say, the court of second instance that the violation of the proceedings, may affect the fair trial, are included in this. This also leaves a hole in the law, to avoid because the law is too specific and lead to real problems.