On Reform of Criminal Retrial Procedure

The criminal retrial procedure is an exception to the double jeopardy principle, and it should only be started under such restrictions as strict reasonableness, preferential to the prosecuted, trial without complaint, etc. The retrial procedure in our country stresses substantial truthfulness, and the authority of final judgment has not acquired proper respect. The major defects in our present retrial procedure are: the mal-positioning of applicants, impractical reasons for starting the procedure, limitlessness in terms of the times and time limit of starting the procedure, the scope, and so on. While reforming our criminal retrial procedure, we should reflect on our traditional judicial values such as seeking truth from facts, no perversion of law for the innocent or the guilty, any error should be corrected, etc., and establish Chinese criminal retrial theoretical system so as to make a series of modern litigious principles widely recognized, try to make the authority of court judgments accepted by the people, and make our retrial procedure as feasible as possible.