China's prosecutors urged to respect lawyers' practices

BEIJING - China's top procuratorate urged the nation's prosecutors to respect lawyers' rights to practice and to take more of their advice, according to an official statement issued on Friday.

During the two-day national conference of chief prosecutors, which ended on Thursday, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) ordered prosecutors to immediately review a case if a lawyer pleas not guilty, reduction of or exemption from criminal responsibility and no custody, or when they challenge the validity of investigation.

The SPP also stressed stricter judicial procedures.

"Those cases with fuzzy facts and inadequate evidences, or not being handled according to legal procedures should be blocked from entering prosecution and trial procedures."

The SPP required procuratorates to be extra cautious in reviewing cases involving homicides and where convictions are based on oral confessions.

Additionally, the SPP stressed the principle of presumption of innocence, asking prosecutors to collect evidences not only to prove guilt but also suspects' innocence.