| |
 |
You have the right to remain silent?
|
Huang Naili
YOU'VE probably heard it lots of times on US or Hong Kong TV crime shows: “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to be speak to an attorney, and to have an attorney present during any questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you at government expense.”
That is the Miranda Warning, named after a famous case involving a US suspect named Ernesto Miranda who was accused of raping and kidnapping a retarded woman in 1963. The substance of the warning requires police to warn suspects in custody of their rights prior to questioning.
In September 2000, when the People's Procuratorate in Shuncheng District of Fushun, Liaoning Province, introduced the so-called “zero-confession" system in which suspects have the right to remain silent in questioning, heated debates broke out around the country. The Shuncheng move was considered to be the first time a Chinese law enforcement department recognized suspects' right to keep their mouths shut. Many law experts around the country hail the move as it's expected to usher in a new wave of reforms in the country's legal system while many police officers and procurators argue that the practice may make investigations difficult.
Tian Yanqun
associate professor, the Law School of Shenzhen University
To ensure crime suspects have the right to remain silent during police questioning is a groundbreaking move in China's legal history, although this practice has long been a standard element of police procedure around the world.
In 1998, China ratified the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the right to remain silent is stipulated in the covenant as a basic human right. However, the ratification of the covenant is still pending the approval by the National People's Congress.
I think the rule works for both defendants and the police.
The article 93 of the country's new code of criminal procedure says a suspect must answer police's questions. Some policemen may extort a confession or trap a suspect into a confession. Reports of suspects being tortured to death are not rare.
The right to remain silent will safeguard the legal rights of suspects. Any suspect should be presumed to be innocent until a court convicts him.
As for the police, we should keep in mind that effective law enforcement does not and should not depend on keeping people ignorant of their rights.
For the police force, it's a real challenge. Equipment at police stations should be upgraded and the police should learn to take time and great effort to gather evidence other than confession.
The recognition of suspects' right to remain silent will become a fact sooner or later. But I think it'll take a very long time.
Yang Xiang
Nanshan District
At present, the methods and technology of the nation's criminal investigation fall behind the times and the police still relies heavily on confessions to get to the bottom of many cases. The lack of funding is another problem. For example, a DNA test usually costs over 2,000 yuan (US$210) and sometimes a criminal case will involve up to a few dozens of suspects. Many law enforcement departments simply cannot afford it. The recognition of the right to remain silent will simply increase the difficulty of police investigations.
And it's naive to believe that all the cases can easily be solved if the investigation technology can be upgraded in a short period of time. You cannot get the answer to questions like accomplices or the whereabouts of the tools or weapons used in criminal cases if the suspects refuse to confess.
|
|
|
|
