After the following time limits have passed, the crime will not be prosecuted:
(1) If the statutory maximum penalty is fixed-term imprisonment of less than five years, five years have passed;
(2) The statutory maximum penalty is more than 5 years and the fixed-term imprisonment is 10 years or more;
(3) The statutory maximum penalty is 10 years but less than 15 years;
(4) The statutory maximum penalty The penalty is life imprisonment or death for 20 years. If it is deemed necessary to prosecute after 20 years, it shall be submitted to the Supreme People's Procuratorate for approval.
Those who evade investigation or trial after the People’s Procuratorate, Public Security Bureau, or State Security Bureau has filed a case for investigation or the People’s Court has accepted the case will not be subject to the limitation of the prosecution period. If the victim files a complaint within the statute of limitations and the people's court, people's procuratorate or public security organ should file a case but fails to do so, the complaint will not be subject to the statute of limitations.
The period of prosecution shall be calculated from the date of crime. If the criminal behavior is continuous or continuing, the period of prosecution shall be calculated from the date when the criminal behavior is completed, and the prosecution period for the previous crime shall be calculated from the date of commission of the subsequent crime.
For the determination of the "statutory maximum penalty", the prosecution period should be calculated according to the provisions of the criminal law and the sentencing range. If one crime involves several crimes or several crimes are punished simultaneously, the statute of limitations for prosecution shall be determined according to the statutory maximum penalty in the applicable provisions of the crime.
According to Article 87 of the "Criminal Law", the statute of limitations has the following four periods:
1. If the statutory maximum penalty is less than five years of fixed-term imprisonment, five years have passed. In other words, if the criminal law stipulates that the maximum penalty for a crime committed by a criminal is fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years, if the criminal is not held criminally responsible within five years, he will no longer be held accountable after the expiration of the term. The statutory maximum penalty stipulated here is not the specific sentence that should be imposed on criminals, but the statutory maximum penalty among the penalty levels corresponding to the crime stipulated in the criminal law provisions based on the nature and circumstances of the criminal's crime; it is not a legal penalty. The maximum penalty prescribed for a certain crime is the maximum penalty for a certain penalty in a certain crime that is basically compatible with the criminal act.
2. If the statutory maximum sentence is more than 5 years but less than 10 years, 10 years have passed.
3. If the statutory maximum penalty is fixed-term imprisonment of more than 10 years, 15 years have passed.
4. The statutory maximum penalty is life imprisonment or death, after twenty years. If it is deemed necessary to prosecute after 20 years, it shall be submitted to the Supreme People's Procuratorate for approval. There are special exceptions to the statute of limitations for crimes where the maximum statutory penalty is life imprisonment or the death penalty. The main consideration is for crimes that should be sentenced to life imprisonment or the death penalty. Some crimes are heinous, particularly bad or have a large impact. Failure to pursue criminals is not enough to cause serious consequences. Public outrage. Therefore, with the approval of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the statute of limitations for prosecution can be waived. But the prerequisite is that it must be approved by the Supreme People's Procuratorate.
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Legal basis:
Article 88 of the "Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China" After the people's procuratorate, public security organs, and national security organs file a case for investigation or the people's court accepts the case, there is no time limit for prosecution. restrictions. If the victim files a complaint within the time limit for prosecution and the people's court, people's procuratorate or public security organ should file a case but fails to do so, the case shall not be subject to the limitation of the time limit for prosecution.