Prosecutors redress over 5,700 wrongful sentences

BEIJING - Chinese prosecuting authorities have counter-appealed 7,394 cases over the past 19 months and redressed over 5,700 wrongful sentences, according to the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) on Thursday.

Procuratorial organs at all levels received and heard over 174,000 civil actions from 2013 to the end of July, according to SPP statistics.

China's revised civil procedure law went into effect on Jan. 1, 2013 to strengthen civil prosecutorial supervision, said Zheng Xinjian, director of the civil and administrative prosecutor office with the SPP.

Civil prosecutorial supervision has traditionally focused on adjudication results, which can be addressed by lodging protests, Zheng said.

According to the revised system, however, civil supervision has been extended to cover judicial proceedings, litigation outcomes and sentence execution.

Thanks to the revision, prosecutors have rectified a great number of wrongful convictions and judicial malpractice cases, Zheng said.

The revised supervision system has greatly improved justice and the interests of the people, he said.