Justifiable defense protects people's rights

Accurate application urged

In February, the film Article 20, directed by Zhang Yimou, drew its name from Article 20 of the Criminal Law and focuses on the sometimes contentious legal concept of justifiable defense. It attracted widespread discussion and calls for a nuanced interpretation of legal provisions.

A high-profile case in Kunshan, Jiangsu province, back in 2018 caught the attention of judicial authorities regarding such cases. In that case, a traffic dispute led to a knife-wielding motorist confronting another man. The motorist was killed, and police and prosecutors determined that the defender's actions constituted justifiable defense. Since then, prosecutors in several places across the nation have applied the justifiable defense clause.

Luo said that justifiable defense is an important legal standing in China, which encourages citizens to exercise their right to protect themselves. In 1997, when revising the Criminal Law, significant amendments were made to the provisions on legitimate defense, forming Article 20 as it stands today.

The amendments relaxed the conditions for justifiable defense and introduced the concept of unlimited defense rights. These rights allow defense against violent crimes such as murder, robbery, rape, kidnapping and other acts posing a serious threat to personal safety, even if it results in serious injury or death to the perpetrator, to not be considered excessive defense and therefore not subject to criminal liability.

"However, in judicial practice, there has long been a problem of the overly strict or even inappropriate application of justifiable defense provisions. This is due to various reasons. Some cases are inherently complex, making it difficult to apply the law accurately. Some are influenced by their misconception of judicial personnel," Luo said.

Additionally, factors such as the simplistic handling of cases based on the principle of "whoever is injured or killed is in the right" and "whoever causes trouble is at fault" also objectively affect the application of the law. Furthermore, the lack of judicial interpretations and normative documents on justifiable defense in previous years is also a contributing factor, he said.

The SPP has actively promoted the accurate application of the justifiable defense system through a series of measures in recent years, achieving positive results. The issue of guidelines and the publication of guiding and typical cases have also significantly promoted the lawful application of the system, he said.

In 2018, the SPP released a batch of guiding cases with justifiable defense as the theme, which provided intuitive and specific explanations of the criteria and standards for determining lawful defense, excessive defense and special defense.

In September 2020, the SPP, together with the Supreme People's Court and the Ministry of Public Security, issued a guideline on the application of justifiable defense, which systematically regulated the accurate application of the law. In 2020, the SPP issued another batch of cases of non-arrest and non-prosecution involving justifiable defense, further clarifying the legal application of the law and unifying judicial standards.

When accurately applying the clause of justifiable defense, prosecutors must first comprehensively collect and fix evidence to ensure that the facts of the case are thoroughly investigated. They also should adhere to objectivity and fairness, exercising the power of examination and prosecution, and strictly employ the conditions for arrest and prosecution, Luo said.

He noted that prosecutors must strengthen supervision during the whole process, and attach importance to justifiable defense or excessive defense arguments put forward by criminal suspects, defendants and their lawyers, ensuring the legitimate rights of the parties involved.

They also must enhance legal interpretation, providing a clear and specific explanation of how the system of justifiable defense should be accurately applied, and promptly respond to social concerns, he said.