· Document Number：No. 8 [2011] of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee

· Level of Authority： Group Provisions

· Date issued：02-09-2011

· Effective Date：02-09-2011

· Status： Effective

· Issuing Authority： General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (General Office, CCCPC) General Office of the State Council

Notice of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council on Forwarding the Opinions of the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council and Other Departments on Strengthening the Connection between Administrative Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice
(No. 8 [2011] of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee)
The party committees and the people's governments of all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government; all ministries (departments) and commissions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the state organs; the General Political Department of the General Military Commission; and all people's organizations:
Opinions of the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of State Security, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security on Strengthening the Connection between Administrative Law Enforcement toand Criminal Justice as approved by the central leaders are hereby forwarded to you for your conscientious implementation based on the actual circumstances.
General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China
General Office of the State Council
February 9, 2011
Opinions on Strengthening the Connection between Administrative Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice
The effective connection between administrative law enforcement and criminal justice concerns administration by law and impartial justice, the maintenance of economic and social order, and the guarantee of the vital interests of the people. Over recent years, especially since the implementation of the Provisions on Transfer of Suspected Criminal Cases by Administrative Law Enforcement Agencies, the relevant departments in all regions have established and improved a working mechanism for the connection between administrative law enforcement and criminal justice, the transfer of suspected criminal cases by administrative law enforcement agencies have been strengthened, a group of criminal conduct endangering the order of the socialist market economy and that of social management have been criminally punished, and illegal and criminal activities have been effectively curbed. Nevertheless, it should be noted that the problems of non-transfer of cases, difficulties in transfer of cases, and substitution of fines for sentences remain relatively prominent in several administrative law enforcement fields. For the purposes of strengthening the connection between administrative law enforcement and criminal justice, the following opinions are hereby offered:
I. Strictly fulfilling statutory duties
1. Administrative law enforcement agencies and the public security authorities shall fulfill their duties in strict accordance with the law and practically transfer suspected criminal cases that should be transferred, accept those that should be accepted, and docket those that should be docketed.
2. Where an administrative law enforcement agency discovers illegal conduct clearly suspected of crime in law enforcement inspection, it shall notify the public security authority in a timely manner. Upon receipt of the notification, the public security authority shall forthwith assign people to investigate and decide to docket the case or not to docket the case according to the law . If the public security authority requests according to the law the administrative law enforcement agency for inspection, appraisal, determination, or other assistance after docketing the case, the administrative law enforcement agency shall do so (taxation authorities' comments on implementation: and since whether the administrative agency directly conducts the inspection, appraisal, or determination, or entrusts a professional institution to do so is not specified, but the relevant superior law has already provided that no administrative agency has the power of direct inspection or determination, the appraisal or determination may be entrusted only from a qualified professional institution).
3. The administrative law enforcement agency shall, when transferring a suspected criminal case to the public security authority, hand over all the materials of the case and deliver a copy of the written case transfer and the list of the relevant materials to the people's procuratorate. If the administrative law enforcement agency has made an administrative penalty decision before transferring the case, it shall also deliver a copy of the written administrative penalty decision respectively to the public security authority and the people's procuratorate; in the absence of such an administrative penalty decision, it shall decide whether to impose administrative penalty in principle after the public security authority has decided not to docket or withdraw the case, the people's procuratorate has decided not to prosecute, or the people's court has rendered a judgment of not guilty or of exemption from criminal punishment.
4. The public security authority shall accept in writing any suspected criminal case transferred by the administrative law enforcement agency. If the public security authority deems upon acceptance that it has no jurisdiction over the case, it shall transfer the case to an authority of competent jurisdiction in a timely manner, notify in writing the administrative law enforcement agency transferring the case, and send a copy of the notification to the people's procuratorate. The public security authority shall review any accepted case in a timely manner, decide to docket the case or not to docket the case according to the law, notify in writing the administrative law enforcement agency, and send a copy of the decision to the people's procuratorate. If the public security authority decides to withdraw a case after having docketed it, the public security authority shall notify the administrative law enforcement agency in writing, and send a copy of the decision to the people's procuratorate. If the public security authority decides reject or withdraw a case, it shall return the case file materials to the administrative law enforcement agency, which shall handle the case.
5. Where, with respect to a case, the people's procuratorate decides not to prosecute, or the people's court either renders a judgment of not guilty or of exemption from criminal punishment, but deems that an administrative penalty shall be imposed in accordance with the law, it shall offer procuratorial proposal, or judicial proposal, and transfer the case to the relevant administrative law enforcement agency to handle it.
6. Where the administrative law enforcement agency, in the course of investigating and punishing illegal conduct, or the public security authority, in the course of reviewing or investigating a suspected criminal case transferred by the administrative law enforcement agency, discovers a clue that any state functionary is suspected of embezzlement, bribery, misconduct in office, violation of rights, or any other violation of discipline or law, it shall, based on the nature of the case, transfer the case to the supervisory authority or the people's procuratorate. The supervisory authority or the people's procuratorate shall promptly and conscientiously review the clue to case concerning the violation of discipline or crime in office transferred by the administrative law enforcement agency or the public security authority, handle it according to the discipline or law, and notify the administrative law enforcement agency in writing of the handling results in a timely manner.
7. Where the administrative law enforcement agency discovers in the course of investigating and punishing illegal conduct any clue to the case of crime of endangering national security and is required by law to transfer the case to the national security authority, it shall do so according to the Provisions on Transfer of Suspected Criminal Cases by Administrative Law Enforcement Agencies and these Opinions, mutatis mutandis.
II. Improving the connection working mechanism
8. All regions and all the relevant authorities shall, based on the weak links of the connection between administrative law enforcement and criminal justice, establish and improve a connection working mechanism to promote the coordination and cooperation among all the relevant entities and join work forces.
9. All regions shall determine the leading entities for the connection between administrative law enforcement and criminal justice based on the actual circumstances. The leading entities shall play a role in comprehensive coordination and organize and prompt the smooth development of all the work.
10. A joint meeting for the connection between administrative law enforcement and criminal justice shall be established. The leading entities shall regularly organize and convene joint meetings to allow the relevant entities to notify each other of the information on investigating and punishing the act undermining the order of the socialist market economy, interference with the order of social management, and other illegal and criminal act and on the connection, research the problems in the connection, and offer measures for strengthening the connection.
11. The rules for case consultation shall be perfected. With respect to cases which are significant, complicated and difficult and whose nature is difficult to determine, administrative law enforcement agencies may consult the public security authorities and people's procuratorates about the standards for docketing and prosecution of criminal cases, fixing and preservation of evidence, and other issues, the public security authorities and people's procuratorates may consult the administrative law enforcement agencies about the professional issues in case handling, and those so consulted shall conduct a conscientious research and make a timely reply.
12. Establishing connection information sharing platforms. All regions shall fully use the existing electronic government affairs networks, information sharing public infrastructure, and other resources, include the building of information sharing platforms for the connection between administrative law enforcement and criminal justice in the electronic government affairs building plans, draft work plans for the building of information sharing platforms, specify the expected time of completion, make more investment, accelerate the progress, and fully use modern information technology to achieve the law enforcement and judicial information interconnection among administrative law enforcement agencies, public security authorities, and people's procuratorates. Administrative law enforcement agencies shall, within the specified period, enter the information on cases meeting criminal prosecution standards or suspected of crime and on cases meeting no criminal prosecution standards but under other serious circumstances in the information sharing platforms. All the relevant entities shall enter the relevant information on transfer of cases and handling of transferred cases in the information sharing platforms within the specified time. The management of the information sharing platforms shall be strengthened, and the rights of access to the shared information shall be strictly assigned, so as to prevent information disclosure. Online transfer, online acceptance and online supervision shall be vigorously advanced to raise connection efficiency.
III. Tightening the supervision of the cnnection
13. The local people's governments, the people's procuratorates, and the supervisory authorities at and above the county level shall fulfill their supervisory duties according to the law and investigate liability strictly so as to ensure the effective implementation of the rules relating to the connection between administrative law enforcement and criminal justice.
14. The reporting rules for the connection between administrative law enforcement and criminal justice shall be refined. The local people's governments, the people's procuratorates, and the supervisory authorities at and above the county level shall conscientiously investigate and handle reports that administrative law enforcement agencies fail to transfer suspected criminal cases required to be transferred, or the public security authorities fail to accept cases as required or docket cases as required and notify the informants using their real names of the investigation and handling results. The people's procuratorates and the supervisory authorities shall, during investigation, consult administrative law enforcement agencies and the public security authorities about the cases in a timely manner, and, when necessary, may assign people to consult or copy materials of the cases, and the administrative law enforcement agencies and the public security authorities shall cooperate.
15. Where the administrative law enforcement agency does not transfer a suspected criminal case, or fails to transfer it within a specified period, the people's government at the same level or the higher level, or, if vertical administration is applicable, the superior administrative agency, shall order it to transfer the case within a specified period; if the circumstances are serious, disciplinary action shall be taken against the responsible persons in charge and other directly responsible persons according to the law; and if it is criminally punishable, the offender shall be held criminally liable in accordance with the law. If the people's procuratorate discovers that the administrative law enforcement agency does not transfer the case, or fails to transfer it within a specified period, it shall offer proposal to the administrative law enforcement agency and propose that it transfer the case. If the people's procuratorate proposes transfer, the administrative law enforcement agency shall transfer the case forthwith and send the copies of the relevant materials to the people's procuratorate in a timely manner; and if the administrative law enforcement agency still fails to do so, the people's procuratorate shall notify the public security authority of the information in writing, and the public security authority shall, according to the proposal of the people's procuratorate, voluntarily consult the administrative law enforcement agency about the case and, when necessary, directly docketthe case and conduct investigation.
16. Where the public security authority does not accept any case transferred by the administrative law enforcement agency, or fails to decide to docket the case or not to docket the case within the statutory period, the administrative law enforcement agency may propose that the people's procuratorate supervise case docketing. If the administrative law enforcement agency raises an objection to the decision not to docket the case made by the public security authority, it may either request the public security authority making the decision for reconsideration or propose that the people's procuratorate supervise case docketing; and if the administrative law enforcement agency raises another objection to the reconsideration decision not to docket the case made by the public security authority, it may propose that the people's procuratorate supervise case docketing. If the administrative law enforcement agency raises an objection to the decision to withdraw the case made by the public security authority after having docketed the case, it may propose that the people's procuratorate supervise case docketing. The people's procuratorate shall accept and review as legally required the proposals for case docketing made by the administrative law enforcement agency.
17. Where the people's procuratorate discovers that an administrative law enforcer does not transfer a suspected criminal case, or an employee of the public security authority neither accepts nor dockets a case in accordance with the law and needs to investigate the administrative or disciplinary liability, it shall transfer the materials as evidence of the facts of violation of discipline or law to the supervisory authority for disposition as required by the discipline or law; and if he/she is suspected of crime, he/she shall be held criminally liable in accordance with the law.
18. Where the supervisory authority discovers that an administrative law enforcer does not transfer a suspected criminal case, or an employee of the public security authority neither accepts nor dockets a case in accordance with the law and needs to investigate liability for his/her violation of administrative discipline, it shall handle the matter in accordance with the discipline and law; if the circumstances are serious, or he/she is suspected of crime, he/she shall be transferred to the people's procuratorate. The supervisory authorities shall promptly accept, conscientiously review, and handle according to the discipline and law the clues to the violation of discipline cases transferred by the administrative law enforcement agencies or the public security authorities and notify the administrative law enforcement agencies or the people's procuratorates transferring the clues in writing of the handling results in a timely manner.
IV. Practically strengthening organization and leadership
19. All regions and all the authorities shall put the work of strengthening the connection between administrative law enforcement and criminal justice at the top of the agenda and follow the requirements of law enforcement for the people to conduct meticulous organization and conscientious supervise and handle the matter and ensure implementation. Training shall be intensified to familiarize the administrative law enforcement officials and the relevant employees of the public security authorities, the supervisory authorities and the procuratorial authorities with the knowledge with regard to and specific requirements for the work of the connection between administrative law enforcement and criminal justice and heighten their awareness of lawful transfer and lawful handling of cases. The inspection and evaluation of the connection between administrative law enforcement and criminal justice shall be strengthened, and transfer, acceptance, case docketing, case handling, and other information shall be included in the comprehensive evaluation and appraisal system for the government and the relevant authorities.