On The System Of Time Limit Of Custody

As the severest one of all compulsory measures, the application of custody can directly bring about a result that freedom of person protected by principle of presuming innocence will be deprived of, but sometimes it must be applied. In order to secure criminal proceeding to go smoothly and case's truth to be found and protect social safety we must sometimes put suspect or defendant in custody and take away his freedom, but the time limit of deprivation must be within most reasonable bounds: if shorter time can achieve the goal of custody, we needn't to put suspect or defendant in custody for longer time. The value of system of time limit of custody lies not only in preventing the abuse of detaining power and protecting personal freedom, but also in helping to promote the procedural efficiency. A rational system of time limit of custody should make a fit balance between these two aims of realizing penalty power effectively and protecting human rights sufficiently. The systems of time limit of custody in western countries that rule of law have some common characteristics and some country has its own particularity in system of time limit of custody, therefore we amay reflect our country's system of time limit of custody by reference of reviewing these countries'systems of time limit of custody. The system of time limit of custody in our country has following problems mainly: integration of period of handling case and time limit of custody, randomness of prolonging time limit of custody, judicial review without perfection, non-existence of a longest time limit of custody, no definite legal basis of some time limit of custodies, non-division of time limit of petty crime and severe crime, indiscriminateness to time limit of custody of minors. In allusion to the above-mentioned problems, we put forward following suggestions for reconstruction of our country's system of time limit of custody: legalization of time limit of custody, independence of custody measure, setting up time limit of custody according to principle of appropriateness, definitude of a legal longest time limit, establishment of judicial review and discretional review of time limit of custody, special treatment to minors, establishment of procedural punishment measure to behavior of violation of system of time limit of custody.