China's top court and top prosecutor on Thursday said a new judicial interpretation on compensation for detaining innocent people took effect January 1.
The judicial interpretation, jointly issued by the Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate, aims to determine the subject and standard of criminal compensation.
The last State agency to pursue false charges against an innocent person will be responsible for paying the compensation, the interpretation says.
"Since China has witnessed criminal compensation cases caused by judicial organs' malpractice, the new interpretation will improve the State compensation mechanism," Mo Shaoping, a law professor at the Central University of Finance and Economics, told the Global Times Thursday.
The interpretation states if an innocent person is detained and then arrested, the State agency which ordered the arrest will be held responsible and must pay compensation, rather than the one which detained the person.
"Determining the subject of criminal compensation used to lead to finger-pointing among State agencies, such as the police and procuratorate. The interpretation will effectively prevent such incidents and help victims receive compensation as soon as possible," Mo said.
Besides, the interpretation may make judicial departments more willing to take responsibility, since they were not proactive when it came to criminal compensation, Mo added.
The interpretation also states that detention houses will be responsible for compensation if their staff violate the individual's legal rights.
The interpretation will prevent detention house staff from illicitly placing people in custody and from physically attacking them, Hong Daode, a professor at the China University of Political Science and Law, told the Global Times.
On December 15, 2014, Huugjilt, who was sentenced to death and executed in a controversial 1996 rape and murder case, was acquitted 18 years later by the High People's Court of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
His parents were awarded State compensation worth more than 2 million yuan ($ 319,946), reports said.
