On Online Trial Of Criminal Cases In China

The COVID-19 epidemic has objectively promoted the rapid development of online trial of criminal cases.After the end of the epidemic,online trial of criminal cases has entered a new stage of standardized development.How to improve the construction of online trial system of criminal cases has become the main topic of the new stage.The basic issues of online trial of criminal cases include concept definition,characteristics and value basis.The online trial of criminal cases has the characteristics of space separation,convenience and efficiency,and technical dependence.The value base is different from the traditional offline trial.It takes litigation efficiency as the primary value pursuit and procedural justice as the bottom line of value that should be adhered to.The online trial of criminal cases meet the requirements of procedural justice in that it does not violate the basic principles of criminal litigation,existing technology can,to a certain extent,ensure a fair trial of the case and the right of the prosecutor and the parties to choose can enhance the justifiability of procedure of online trial.The application of audio-visual examination in Germany is limited,mainly applicable to the audio-visual examination witness,audio-visual examination expert.The application of remote trial in Australia is extensive,including remote testimony,remote court appearance,remote submission and remote transmission of documents.Through the study of German,Australian and other countries norms,three enlightenments are drawn for the development of online trial of criminal cases in China.One is that online trial of criminal cases in various countries is generally institutionalized;The second is the development of online trial of criminal cases should be in line with national conditions;the third is to limit the scope of application of online trial in criminal cases.The system development process of online trial of criminal cases in China can be divided into three stages : steady exploration period,rapid development period and return to steady period.Through empirical research,it is found that the online trial of criminal cases in China is mainly applicable to first instance cases,and has inter-provincial differences;the scope of application of online trial is greatly affected by the epidemic;various types of online;the proportion of defenders participating in online trial cases is not high;conviction rate in first instance cases is high.On this basis,it is concluded that the problems existing in the online trial of criminal cases in China include the scattered norms and the low level of effectiveness,the existence of many rule gaps,the narrow scope of application of online trial,and the inadequate protection of the rights of the defendant.In order to improve the online trial system of criminal cases in China,first of all,it is necessary to introduce online trial in the ’ Criminal Procedure Law of the People ’s Republic of China ’and affirm the status of online trial of criminal cases;secondly,refine the rules of online trial of criminal cases,including improving the participation of defenders in litigation,expanding the scope of online trial,improving the start-up rules,adding online pre-trial procedures,standardizing online courtrooms,setting up special procedures for online trial,adding trial mode conversion rules,and enhancing the relief of the defendant in the first instance online;thirdly,it is necessary to establish a unified technical standard for the court to apply online trial of criminal cases;finally,improve the cost-sharing mechanism to balance the development of online trial of criminal cases.