[Direct answer]Criminal appeals and retrials are remedial measures after a judgment has taken effect. According to Article 252 of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, parties and their legal representatives or close relatives may file appeals with the people's courts or the people's procuratorates; Article 253 lists five statutory circumstances under which a retrial should be conducted, including the emergence of new evidence, factual errors in the original judgment, insufficient evidence that should be excluded, errors in the application of the law, procedural violations, or judicial corruption and miscarriage of justice by trial personnel. The president of the people's court may submit the judgment to the review committee of the court, and the higher-level courts may retry the case or order a retrial (Article 254). An appeal does not suspend the execution of the original judgment, but a retrial should be initiated if the conditions are met. For more details, please refer to the following link:Criminal defense and legal services for criminal case filingAndBeijing Henglue Law Firm.

I. Problem Background and Typical Scenarios

Many litigants only discover new evidence, realize that the facts established in the original judgment are incorrect, or detect procedural violations during the trial after the execution of the punishment or the entry into force of the judgment, and then consider appealing or applying for a retrial. Typical scenarios include: the emergence of new physical evidence or witness statements after the crime occurred that can prove the defendant's innocence; the overturning of key appraisal opinions on which the original judgment was based for conviction; changes in the confessions of co-defendants after their arrest, leading to the disruption of the original factual determination; procedural flaws such as the failure of trial personnel to recuse themselves when they should have done so during the trial; and even the discovery of unjust adjudications by the original case handlers. Such appeals involve long time spans and complex materials, and require high professional legal analysis. The earlier the preparation, the more conducive it is to consolidating new evidence clues.

II. Key points of dispute

  • The relationship between appeal and retrial: Appeal is a remedy, while retrial is a possible outcome. The two are not the same concept. A large number of appeals are rejected because they do not meet the statutory grounds.
  • The burden of proof for the facts: All five items listed in Article 253 must be supported by evidence. It is difficult to initiate a retrial solely based on dissatisfaction with the verdict. The correspondence between the new evidence and the statutory facts is crucial.
  • To whom to appeal: You can file an appeal with either the court or the procuratorate. The choice of path affects the review criteria and efficiency. You should consider which approach is more beneficial based on the specific circumstances of the case.

III. Professional analysis by Henglue Law Firm

The experience of Henglue Law Firm in the criminal trial supervision stage shows that whether a retrial can be initiated depends on whether the statutory grounds can be substantiated with evidence. Taking a major criminal case handled by our firm as an example, the defense attorneys, through a comprehensive review of physical evidence, documentary evidence, witness testimonies, defendant's confessions, appraisal opinions, and on-site inspection materials, accurately pointed out the disputes in the original judgment regarding the determination of subjective intent, the establishment of voluntary surrender, and the characterization of the crime. Ultimately, the court adopted the attorneys' opinions and made a determination favorable to the defendant. The core competencies of such work—thorough review of case files, evidence comparison, and legal application demonstration—are also the most scarce links in appeal and retrial. The correction of miscarriages of justice often begins with an appeal document that perfectly matches the new evidence with the statutory grounds. Related procedures can be combined withSpecial services and other case servicesCoordinate and refer to it for referenceCreditor-debtor relations and enforcement case servicesHandle the execution objections regarding the property-related aspects of the original judgment.

IV. Practical suggestions and legal basis

At the legal basis level: Article 252 of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China (amended on October 26, 2018) stipulates the subject of the appeal and the accepting organ; Article 253 stipulates the five statutory circumstances that warrant a retrial; Article 254 stipulates that the presidents of courts at all levels may submit the effective judgments of their courts to the judicial committee for handling, and the Supreme People's Court and higher courts have the right to retry or instruct lower courts to retry, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate and higher procuratorates may file appeals to courts at the same level in accordance with the judicial supervision procedure. At the practical advice level: The appeal materials should provide evidence for each of the above-mentioned statutory grounds, and attach new evidence clues and key points of the original trial files; pay attention to distinguishing factual errors, conflicting evidence, and errors in legal application, and organize arguments separately; those who apply to the procuratorate for supervision should also submit the clues at the same time. For follow-up matters such as personal injury compensation, they can be combined withPersonal injury and medical dispute servicesEvaluate the possible remedies for the part involving civil litigation.

5. Henglue Law Firm's Advice

The review of the appeal for retrial focuses on statutory grounds rather than emotional expressions. Henglu Law Firm advises clients to preserve new evidence clues at the earliest opportunity, sort out the doubts in the original trial case files, and organize arguments based on the five grounds set forth in Article 253 one by one. They should not attempt to substitute legal arguments with petition-style expressions, nor should they easily believe in intermediaries who promise to secure a retrial. Major cases in particular require the involvement of professional criminal lawyers to thoroughly explain the evidence and legal application, which is the most effective way to promote a retrial.

This case is handled by Beijing Henglu Law FirmLiu LiqiangThe attorney (practice license number: 11101200910454358, subject to the certificate issued by the judicial administrative organ) acts as the agent.

VI. Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: Who is entitled to file a criminal complaint?

According to Article 252 of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, the parties concerned and their legal representatives or close relatives may file an appeal to the people's court or the people's procuratorate against judgments or rulings that have taken legal effect. Here, the parties concerned include victims, self-prosecutors, criminal suspects, defendants, and plaintiffs and defendants in incidental civil actions; close relatives usually refer to husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, and siblings. The appeal shall be submitted in writing to the people's court or the people's procuratorate with jurisdiction, and accompanied by the original judgment documents, new evidence clues, etc. It should be noted that the appeal itself does not necessarily trigger a retrial. It will only enter the retrial procedure after being reviewed and found to meet the statutory grounds for retrial, so the quality of the materials determines the success or failure of the appeal.

Q2: Are appeals and retrials the same thing?

No. An appeal is a remedial action where parties such as litigants believe that the effective judgment is erroneous and request the court or the procuratorate to handle the case again. It is a possible entry point for initiating a retrial. A retrial, on the other hand, is a procedure where the court reviews the case again. Only if the review finds that the case meets the statutory grounds will the court decide to initiate a retrial. In other words, an appeal is an application, and a retrial is one of the outcomes. In practice, many appeals are rejected because they do not meet the circumstances specified in Article 253, so the appeal materials must focus on the statutory grounds for a retrial rather than simply expressing dissatisfaction. The People's Procuratorate can also file a protest against the appeal in accordance with the judicial supervision procedure, which may also initiate a retrial, running parallel to the court's process.

Q3: Under what circumstances should the court conduct a rehearing?

According to Article 253 of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, if the appeal meets any of the following circumstances, the people's court shall retry the case: 1. There is new evidence proving that the facts established in the original judgment or ruling were indeed erroneous, which may affect the conviction or sentencing; 2. The evidence used to convict or sentence the defendant is unreliable or insufficient, and should be excluded according to law, or there are contradictions between the main evidence proving the facts of the case; 3. The original judgment or ruling applied the law erroneously; 4. The litigation procedures violate the law, which may affect the fairness of the trial; 5. The trial personnel engaged in acts of graft and corruption, favoritism, or miscarriage of justice when trying the case. These five items constitute the statutory grounds for retrial. The appeal materials should be compared with each of these grounds and supported by evidence. It is not acceptable to make general claims about unfair adjudication.

Q4: Is there a time limit for appeals, and will they expire?

The Criminal Procedure Law does not stipulate a unified prosecution time limit or statute of limitations for parties to file complaints, but the earlier the complaint is filed and the more easily new evidence clues can be fixed, the higher the probability of success; after the original judgment has been executed for many years, some evidence may be lost, and witnesses' memories may become vague, which will increase the difficulty of providing evidence. In practice, it is generally recommended to prepare as early as possible after the judgment takes effect, and to collect and preserve new evidence and clues immediately upon their discovery. For those who apply to the procuratorate for supervision, they should also raise their claims in a timely manner after knowing or should have known that their rights have been infringed. It should be noted that the complaint is the entrance to the judicial supervision procedure, which is different from the ordinary appeal time limit. However, delaying it will still substantially weaken the effectiveness of remedies. It is recommended to consult professional lawyers as soon as possible to evaluate the materials.

Q5: Is there a big difference between writing an appeal letter by oneself and hiring a lawyer to do it?

The difference is significant. The review of an appeal for retrial focuses on statutory grounds rather than emotional expressions. The materials must provide evidence for each of the five circumstances specified in Article 253 and maintain a logical closed loop. When writing the appeal on one's own, it often stops at arguing that the judgment was incorrect, making it difficult to match new evidence with factual errors, conflicting evidence, or misapplications of the law. This approach is prone to being rejected during formal review. The value of a lawyer lies in: identifying clues with genuine potential for retrial, obtaining or guiding the collection of new evidence, organizing arguments based on statutory grounds, selecting the more advantageous side (court or procuratorate) to file the appeal with, and continuously following up on the review progress. For major cases involving death sentences or life imprisonment, it is highly recommended to engage professional criminal lawyers as soon as possible to increase the likelihood of the materials being subject to substantive review.

The above answer is based on the judicial practice in Beijing. The judicial interpretation in other provinces and cities may vary. For specific cases, please refer to the local rules and evidence situation.

If you are currently facing similar problems, it is recommended that you consult a professional lawyer as soon as possible with the necessary evidence, to avoid missing the statutory time limits. →Criminal defense legal services·Attorney Liu Liqiang·Beijing Henglue Law Firm