During the epidemic prevention and control, we should pay attention to the safety of handling cases and minimize the gathering of people.
"When handling cases during epidemic prevention and control, we must strictly follow the law and strictly implement the requirements for isolation and prevention and control."
During the period of epidemic prevention and control, the people's procuratorate should take written examination as the main way to review and prosecute cases, and try not to meet criminal suspects, witnesses and other participants in the proceedings in person or listen to the opinions of defense lawyers, but by telephone and video to reduce the number of people, gathering, meeting and talking. The investigation and prosecution of criminal suspects in custody shall be completed in strict accordance with the time limit prescribed by law. If it is necessary to continue the trial because the case cannot be closed within the time limit for examination and prosecution prescribed by law, the people's procuratorate may, in accordance with the provisions of Article 98 of the Criminal Procedure Law, release the criminal suspect on bail pending trial or place him under residential surveillance.
At the same time, according to Article 206 of the Criminal Procedure Law, if the trial cannot be continued for a long time due to irresistible reasons during the trial, the trial may be suspended.
Accordingly, during the period of epidemic prevention and control, the people's court may suspend the trial of criminal cases, including cases that are tried by summary procedure or quick cut procedure. At the same time, we should earnestly pay attention to preventing extended detention.
Legal information:
According to the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Law on time limit, taking the ordinary procedure of first instance as an example (not for special circumstances), this paper sorts out the time limit required for a case to enter the proceedings from the beginning of investigation to the conclusion of first instance. It can be found from the table that once a case enters the criminal proceedings, the process is still relatively long, from half a year to one and a half years, two years or even longer.
Therefore, for family members, we must be fully prepared for such things. Of course, a long case is not always a bad thing. On the other hand, it may be that the evidence to prove the facts of the case is insufficient, which provides a space for defense.
Paragraph 4 of Article 105 of the Criminal Procedure Law stipulates: "The last day of the period is a holiday, and the first day after the holiday shall be the expiration date, but the detention period of criminal suspects, defendants and criminals shall be the expiration date, and shall not be extended due to the holiday."
This means that the extension of the holiday will not lead to the extension of the detention period. When the detention period expires, whether it is a holiday or not, the criminal suspect or defendant must be changed or released.
Similarly, the epidemic situation will not have a great impact on the time limit for handling cases under review, prosecution and trial. As can be seen from the above table, procuratorial organs and courts can postpone handling cases. If the extension time is counted, even if the epidemic situation affects the normal work, the processing time is enough for the procuratorate, and the criminal suspect and defendant will not be illegally detained for an extended period. Of course, this extension should conform to legal reasons and objective necessity.
We should believe that the judiciary will handle the case according to law. The epidemic only changed the way of working, but it didn't stop working. Online case handling, video interrogation, and remote trial are all conducted in an orderly manner.
Moreover, in the "Guiding Opinions on Handling the Prevention and Control of Criminal Cases in novel coronavirus" recently issued by the Supreme People's Procuratorate, it is also proposed that in the stage of examination and prosecution, if a criminal suspect is detained, the time limit for handling the case is limited to the second return for supplementary investigation and the third extension for examination, and the return and extension are based on the principle of complying with legal provisions and objective needs.