According to the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Law, general criminal cases generally go through three stages, namely the investigation stage (public security organs), the review and prosecution stage (People's Procuratorate), and the trial stage (People's Court).
The "Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China" stipulates:
1. Investigation stage:
Article 154: After the criminal suspect is arrested The period of investigation and detention shall not exceed two months. If the case is complex and cannot be concluded within the time limit, it may be extended by one month with the approval of the People's Procuratorate at the next higher level.
Article 160: When investigating a closed case, the public security organ shall ensure that the criminal facts are clear and the evidence is reliable and sufficient, write a prosecution opinion, and transfer it together with the case file materials and evidence to the People's Procuratorate at the same level. Review the decision; at the same time, inform the criminal suspect and his defense lawyer of the case transfer status.
2. Review and Prosecution Stage:
Article 169: The People’s Procuratorate shall make a decision within one month on cases transferred for prosecution by the public security organs. For major and complex cases, , can be extended for half a month.
Article 172: If the People’s Procuratorate believes that the criminal suspect’s criminal facts have been ascertained, the evidence is reliable and sufficient, and criminal responsibility should be investigated in accordance with the law, it shall make a decision to prosecute and submit the case to the court in accordance with the provisions of trial jurisdiction. The People's Court initiates a public prosecution and transfers the case files and evidence to the People's Court.
3. Trial stage:
Article 202: When a people's court hears a public prosecution case, it shall pronounce a judgment within two months after accepting the case, and no more than three months at the latest. For cases in which the death penalty may be imposed or cases with attached civil litigation, where one of the circumstances stipulated in Article 156 of this Law exists, an extension of three months may be granted with the approval of the people's court at the next higher level; if an extension is required due to special circumstances, the extension may be extended for three months. It should be submitted to the Supreme People's Court for approval.
If the people's court changes its jurisdiction, the calculation shall be from the date when the changed people's court receives the case.
For cases transferred to the People’s Court after the supplementary investigation by the People’s Procuratorate is completed, the People’s Court shall recalculate the trial period.