Legal knowledge

Gongtongzi [2014] No. 33

(Issued on September 5, 2014, effective from October 1, 2014)

*Chapter General Provisions

*Article 　 To ensure that public security organs conduct lawful questioning and evidence collection, standardize the recording and video recording of the interrogation of criminal suspects, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of criminal suspects, these provisions are formulated in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China and the Provisions on the Procedures for Public Security Organs in Handling Criminal Cases.

Article 2 Audio and video recording of the interrogation of criminal suspects refers to the public security organs interrogating criminal suspects and using audio and video recording equipment to simultaneously record the entire audio and video of the interrogation process while making written records.

Article 3 The audio and video recording of the interrogation process shall be continuous and uninterrupted throughout each interrogation, maintaining integrity, and shall not be selectively recorded, edited, or altered.

Article 4 The interrogation process shall be audio and video recorded for the following major criminal cases:

(1) Cases that may result in life imprisonment or the death penalty;
(2) Cases of serious crimes that endanger public safety and seriously infringe upon the personal rights of citizens, resulting in serious injury or death;
(3) Cases of crimes involving organized crime, including organizing, participating in, sheltering, or condoning organized crime;
(4) Serious drug crimes, including smuggling, trafficking, transporting, manufacturing drugs, illegal possession of a large quantity of drugs, sheltering or condoning drug smugglers, traffickers, transporters, or manufacturers, and smuggling or illegally trading a large quantity of drug-making materials;

(5) Other intentional crimes that may result in a sentence of more than ten years' imprisonment.

The "interrogation" stipulated in the preceding paragraph includes interrogations conducted at law enforcement venues, interrogations of criminal suspects who do not need to be detained or arrested at designated locations or their residences, and interrogations conducted on the scene in emergency situations.
The "cases that may result in life imprisonment or the death penalty" and "cases that may result in a sentence of more than ten years' imprisonment" stipulated in this clause refer to cases where the legally applicable penalty or sentencing range includes life imprisonment, the death penalty, or more than ten years' imprisonment.

Article 5 In the process of handling criminal cases, when interrogating criminal suspects in detention centers or remotely via network video, the interrogation process shall be audio and video recorded.

Article 6 The interrogation process shall be audio and video recorded for cases with any of the following circumstances:

(1) The criminal suspect is blind, deaf, mute, a minor, a mentally ill person who has not completely lost the ability to recognize or control their own behavior, or does not understand the commonly used language and characters in the local area;
(2) The criminal suspect has strong anti-investigation capabilities, unstable confession, or a high probability of recanting;
(3) The criminal suspect pleads not guilty, and the defense lawyer may plead not guilty;
(4) There are significant discrepancies between the criminal suspect, victim, and witness regarding the facts and evidence of the case;
(5) It is difficult to distinguish the relevant responsibilities of the criminal suspects in joint crimes;
(6) There is a high risk of triggering visits and media hype;
(7) The case has a significant social impact and high media attention;
(8) Other major, difficult, and complex situations.

Article 7 Public security organs at all levels shall actively create conditions to quickly achieve full audio and video recording of the interrogation process for all criminal cases. Equipment, finance, police affairs guarantee, technology, and information and communication departments shall provide guarantees and support for the audio and video recording of interrogations.

Chapter 2 Recording

Article 8 Specialized recording equipment or audio-visual monitoring systems may be used to record the interrogation process.

Article 9 Before the interrogation begins, preparations for audio and video recording shall be made, and the interrogation site and audio and video recording equipment shall be inspected and debugged to ensure that the equipment is functioning properly and the time display is accurate.

Article 10 Audio and video recording shall begin at the start of the interrogation and end after the criminal suspect verifies the interrogation record and signs and fingerprints it. The start and end times recorded in the interrogation record shall be consistent with the start and end times reflected in the interrogation audio and video recording materials.

Article 11 When recording the interrogation process, the investigators, criminal suspects, other persons present, the interrogation scene, and the information displayed by the timing device and thermometer shall be comprehensively recorded. The image shall show a medium shot of the criminal suspect's face. Where conditions permit, the investigator's face can be displayed simultaneously using picture-in-picture technology.
The process of presenting evidence, the criminal suspect identifying evidence, verifying the record, and signing and fingerprinting shall be reflected in the image.

Article 12 The images of the interrogation audio and video recording shall be clear and stable, the voice shall be clear and audible, able to truly reflect the original appearance of the interrogation scene, comprehensively record the interrogation process, and simultaneously display the date and time in 24-hour format.

Article 13 When preparing the interrogation record, investigators may summarize the criminal suspect's confession, but for key facts of the case such as the time, location, method, tools, victim's situation, and subjective mentality, the content recorded in the interrogation record shall be consistent with the criminal suspect's confession recorded in the audio and video recording materials.

Article 14 If audio and video recording is impossible due to objective reasons such as insufficient storage media space or technical failures during the interrogation, the interrogation shall be suspended, and measures such as replacing the storage media, troubleshooting, changing the interrogation room, or replacing the mobile audio and video recording equipment shall be taken as appropriate.
For cases other than those stipulated in Article 4 of these provisions, if the interrogation cannot be suspended due to urgent circumstances or the time required to eliminate the reasons for suspension being too long, the interrogation may continue. The relevant circumstances shall be stated in the interrogation record and confirmed by the signature of the criminal suspect.

Article 15 If the circumstances that caused the interrogation to be suspended disappear, the interrogation should be continued and recorded simultaneously with audio and video. After the audio and video recording begins, the investigating officer should verbally explain the reason for the interruption, the start and end times, etc., and state this in the interrogation record, which should be signed and confirmed by the criminal suspect.

Chapter 3 Data Management and Use

Article 16 The case-handling department should designate personnel other than the case-handling personnel to keep the audio and video recording materials of the interrogation; the case-handling personnel may not keep them themselves. The storage conditions for the audio and video recording materials of the interrogation should comply with the relevant regulations on the management of public security audio-visual archives, and the confidentiality requirements should be consistent with the interrogation record of the case.
Where conditions permit, the audio and video recording materials of the interrogation can be managed through information technology and linked to the law enforcement case handling information system.
After the investigation of the case is concluded, the audio and video recording materials of the interrogation and the case files should be transferred to the archives management department for safekeeping.

Article 17 The audio and video recording materials of the interrogation should be saved by burning them onto optical discs or stored using storage devices such as hard drives.
When saving to optical discs, two copies should be made. The production unit, producer, production time, person being interrogated, case name, and case number should be marked on the disc label or cover. One copy should be sealed in a bag as the original, and one copy should be kept as a duplicate. For multiple interrogations of a criminal suspect in one case, the audio and video recording materials of multiple interrogations can be burned onto the same optical disc. After burning, the case-handling personnel should transfer the optical disc to the keeper within 24 hours. The keeper should register it and sign it together with the case-handling personnel.
When using storage devices such as hard drives, the data should be uploaded to a dedicated storage device immediately after the interrogation and a data backup should be made; if necessary, it can be transcribed to an optical disc.

Article 18 During the criminal proceedings, except for the need to reproduce the duplicate optical disc due to damage or loss, or if there are doubts about the authenticity of the duplicate optical disc and it needs to be checked, the original optical disc should not be unsealed. If it is necessary to retrieve the original optical disc, it should be approved by the person in charge of the case-handling department, and it should be resealed promptly after use.

Article 19 If the public security organs need to use the audio and video recording materials of the interrogation for case handling, case review, law enforcement supervision, or investigation of complaints, they can retrieve the duplicate optical disc or access it through the information system.
If the people's court or the people's procuratorate legally retrieves the audio and video recording materials of the interrogation, the case-handling department should transfer the duplicate optical disc to the people's court or the people's procuratorate within three days. If stored using storage devices such as hard drives, it should be transcribed to an optical disc before transfer.

Article 20 When retrieving an optical disc, the keeper should register the retriever, time, reason, estimated usage time, approver, etc., in a special register, and both the retriever and the keeper should sign it.
The relevant units should properly keep the retrieved and used optical discs and return them to the keeper promptly after use.
When the retriever returns the optical disc, the keeper should inspect and verify it. If there is any damage, replacement, or loss, it should be truthfully recorded and reported to the person in charge of the case-handling department.

Article 21 When accessing interrogation audio and video recording materials through the information system, the access permissions should be strictly limited and management systems should be strictly implemented, taking into account factors such as departmental responsibilities, job nature, and work authority.

Chapter 4 Supervision and Responsibility

Article 22 The interrogation audio and video recording work and the management and use of the interrogation audio and video recording materials should be included in the case review and law enforcement quality assessment of the unit.
For the cases stipulated in Article 4 of these Regulations, the case-handling department should submit the interrogation audio and video recording materials at the same time when submitting them for review. The review department should examine whether the following situations exist:
(1) Evidence was collected by illegal means such as torture to extract a confession;
(2) The criminal suspect was not interrogated in the interrogation room;
(3) The criminal suspect's food and necessary rest time were not guaranteed;
(4) The start and end times recorded in the interrogation record are inconsistent with the start and end times reflected in the interrogation audio and video recording materials;
(5) The content of the interrogation record is seriously inconsistent with the content of the interrogation audio and video recording materials.

For cases other than those stipulated in Article 4 of these Regulations, if there is a suspicion of illegal evidence collection such as torture to extract a confession, the review department should review the interrogation audio and video recording materials.

Article 23 If the review department finds any of the following situations, the confession of the criminal suspect shall not be used as the basis for requesting approval for arrest or transfer for review and prosecution:

(1) The situations in subparagraph (2) of Article 22 of these Regulations exist;
(2) The situations in subparagraphs (2) to (5) of subparagraph (2) of Article 22 of these Regulations exist and have not been corrected or explained, or after correction or explanation, the legality of the interrogation process cannot be effectively proved.

Article 24 For violations of these Regulations, if any of the following situations exist, the responsibilities of the relevant units and personnel should be investigated and pursued according to the relevant regulations:
(1) The interrogation process of the cases stipulated in Article 4 of these Regulations was not recorded with audio and video, resulting in the relevant evidence being legally excluded by the people's court or the people's procuratorate;
(2) The content of the interrogation record is seriously inconsistent with the content of the interrogation audio and video recording materials, affecting the validity of the evidence;
(3) The interrogation audio and video recording materials were spliced or altered;
(4) The interrogation audio and video recording materials were not kept according to regulations, resulting in damage, loss, or leakage;
(5) The interrogation audio and video recording materials were privately or illegally retrieved, used, or disclosed, affecting the handling of the case or infringing on the legitimate rights and interests of the parties;
(6) Other violations of these Regulations that should be investigated and pursued.

Chapter 5 Supplementary Provisions

Article 25 These Regulations apply to the audio and video recording of the process of questioning victims and witnesses in criminal cases handled by the public security organs.

Article 26 These Regulations apply to the audio and video recording of the process of questioning suspects, victims, and witnesses in administrative cases handled by the public security organs.

Article 27. These provisions shall come into force on October 1, 2014. Public security organs at all levels may, in accordance with these provisions and in light of local conditions, formulate detailed implementation rules, which shall be filed with the higher-level public security organ for the record.