The investigation period after arrest shall generally not exceed two months. For complex cases, it may be extended by one month with the approval of the People's Procuratorate at the next higher level. If it is an area with inconvenient transportation, major criminal group cases, fugitive crimes, etc. , it can be extended for another two months with the approval of the Provincial Procuratorate. For criminal suspects who may be sentenced to less than ten years in prison, the sentence may be extended for another two months with the approval of the Provincial Procuratorate.
In other words, the public security stage usually lasts about two and a half months to three months, with the longest being eight months.
Then, the case investigators of the public security organs will write up the case and transfer the case files and evidence to the procuratorate, which is the review and prosecution stage. This stage usually lasts one month, and can be extended by half a month for major and complex projects.
If the procuratorate deems that supplementary investigation is necessary after review, it may return the case to the public security organ for supplementary investigation or conduct its own investigation. The supplementary investigation shall be completed within one month, and the supplementary investigation shall be limited to two times. After the supplementary investigation is completed, the procuratorate recalculates the time limit for review and prosecution.
After the Public Prosecution Section of the Procuratorate completes the review, it will write a public indictment and file a public prosecution with the corresponding court.
That is, generally one month to one and a half months, and the longest can be up to five months.
Finally, go to court. The court hearing is a second-instance trial system. The first-instance trial shall be held within one month after the court accepts the case and pronounces the judgment, and shall not exceed one and a half months at the latest. If it is a case in a remote area, a major criminal group or a fugitive, it can be extended for another month.
If the defendant or party to an incidental civil lawsuit is dissatisfied with the first-instance judgment, he may appeal; if the procuratorate believes that the first-instance judgment is indeed erroneous, it may also file a protest with the higher court and the case will enter the second instance.
The hearing time limit for the second instance is the same as that of the first instance, which is also one month, no more than one and a half months. If it is a case in a remote area, a major criminal group or a fugitive crime, it can be extended by another month.
In other words, if there is no appeal or protest, it usually takes one month to one and a half months, with the longest being two and a half months.
If there is a second trial, it usually takes two to three months, with a maximum of five months.
If the court considers that the evidence is insufficient and returns the case to the prosecutor's office, the time will be extended.
To sum up, if a criminal case is not complicated and the facts are simple, it will be over in five to six months. If it is more complicated and returned multiple times, the longest trial period is about two years.
In practice, extended detention is very common. If this happens, it is necessary to hire a lawyer promptly to file a complaint and apply for bail pending trial, so as to safeguard the legal rights of the criminal suspect (defendant).
After the court pronounces the sentence, the time spent in the detention center will be deducted from the sentence.
If the sentence is less than one year, the remainder of the sentence will be served in a detention center, and the sentence will generally not be reduced in a detention center. If it exceeds one year, he will be sent to different prisons after a period of time according to the length of the remaining sentence.
Those who are serving their sentence in prison and meet the conditions for commutation, parole, or medical parole may apply for commutation, parole, or medical parole.