[Direct answer]The non-approval of the death penalty review means that after reviewing the death penalty case, the Supreme People's Court considers that there are problems with the original judgment and does not approve it. It rules to revoke the original judgment and may remand the case for retrial or make a new judgment. According to Article 236 of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China (amended on October 26, 2018), the Supreme People's Court shall make a ruling to approve or not approve the death penalty case after review; if it is not approved, it may remand the case for retrial or make a new judgment. Article 429 of the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China (implemented on March 1, 2021) further clarifies the specific circumstances under which a ruling of non-approval should be made. In practice, the non-approval situation mainly focuses on four categories: unclear facts, insufficient evidence, improper sentencing, and procedural violations. Once the non-approval occurs, the case will be returned to the lower court for retrial, and the defendant will thus gain a crucial opportunity for relief. Family members are advised to engage professional lawyers as soon as possible during the review stage. For more details, please refer to the following link:Criminal defense and legal services for criminal case filingAndBeijing Henglue Law Firm.

1. Problem background and typical scenarios

The review of death penalty cases is a special remedial procedure set by China's Criminal Procedure Law for death penalty cases. All death penalty cases that are immediately executed must be submitted to the Supreme People's Court for approval before they can be executed. Typical scenarios include: the defendant and his/her defense attorney enter the review stage immediately after the second instance, fearing that there may be doubts about the determination of the facts; the evidence chain at the crime scene is incomplete, key physical evidence is missing, or the appraisal opinion is questionable; whether the defendant has statutory mitigating circumstances (such as voluntary surrender, meritorious service, or not causing death) has not been fully evaluated; and the lower court has procedural flaws such as failing to recuse when necessary or depriving the defendant of the right to defense. These cases involve the ultimate punishment of the right to life. Any doubts about the evidence or legal application may become reasons for non-approval, and professional forces are needed to systematically sort out these issues during the review stage.

II. Key points of contention

Disputes over non-approval usually revolve around four dimensions, which are also the key areas where defense lawyers focus on making breakthroughs during the review stage:

  • Factual determination: Whether the motive for the crime, the process of the act, the cause of death, and the evidence of the defendant's connection to the case are truly sufficient, and whether there are reasonable doubts that cannot be ruled out.
  • Evidence qualification: Whether the collection procedures of key physical evidence, documentary evidence, appraisal opinions, and witness testimonies are legal, and whether there is illegal evidence collection, doubts about authenticity, or contradictions among the evidence.
  • Punishment circumstances: Whether there are circumstances such as voluntary surrender, meritorious service, confession, victim's fault, compensation and understanding, and unfinished forms of crime that should or can be given lenient punishment according to law, but have not been evaluated.
  • The procedure is legal: whether the litigation procedures such as trial organization, recusal, protection of the right to defense, and public trial are standardized, and whether violations of the law may affect a fair trial.

III. Professional analysis by Henglue Law Firm

The focus of Henglue Lawyers' work at the review stage of the death penalty is to translate the two reasons of "doubtful facts" and "improper sentencing" into actionable evidence and legal provisions. According to the defense law, the most common cases that are not approved by the Supreme Court are those with unclear facts or insufficient evidence in the original judgment, or where the facts are correct but the defendant should not be sentenced to death according to the law. For example, in cases where the defendant consistently denies subjective intent and the objective evidence is insufficient to form a unique conclusion, lawyers should organize arguments around the gaps in the chain of evidence; in cases where mitigating circumstances such as voluntary surrender, meritorious service, or serious fault of the victim are not recognized, lawyers should supplement materials such as the process of case acceptance and the defendant's repentance to urge the review organ to make a decision of non-approval. Such cases highly rely on professional review and evidence analysis capabilities, and if necessary, they can be combined with other methods.Personal injury and medical dispute servicesThe review and cross-verification of the appraisal opinions in the case.

IV. Practical suggestions and legal basis

At the legal basis level: Article 235 of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China (amended on October 26, 2018) stipulates that when reviewing death penalty cases, the Supreme People's Court shall interrogate the defendant and listen to the opinions of the defense lawyer if requested; Article 236 stipulates that after review, the court shall make a decision of approval or disapproval, and in case of disapproval, the case may be sent back for retrial or be subject to a new sentencing. Article 429 of the Interpretation of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China by the Supreme People's Court (effective on March 1, 2021) lists the circumstances under which the review shall be disapproved, the original judgment shall be revoked, and the case shall be sent back for retrial, including unclear facts and insufficient evidence, the emergence of new factual and evidentiary evidence affecting the conviction and sentencing during the review, the correct identification of facts but the defendant should not be sentenced to death according to law, and the original trial violating legal procedures that may affect a fair trial. Practical suggestions: After receiving the death penalty judgment, the family should first entrust a lawyer to participate in the review, systematically review the case files, verify the evidence, and submit defense opinions. They should not rely on remedies after the fact, and they should also pay attention to procedural violations if any.Land expropriation and demolition services, and administrative litigation servicesThe general method of reviewing computer programs.

5. Henglu Law Firm's Advice

The review of the death penalty is the only legal procedure that blocks the execution of the death penalty before the judgment takes effect. Its value lies not in the "reversal of the case", but in presenting the evidence questions and the deviations in the application of the law in a way that can be accepted by the reviewing authority. Families should abandon the misconception that "the judgment has been made and there's nothing we can do about it", and actively provide clues and cooperate with lawyers to obtain mitigating evidence during the review stage. At the same time, they should avoid believing in so-called "connections and influence", and all claims should be based on evidence and legal provisions. Such major criminal cases require lawyers to have high reading, evidence analysis and argumentation capabilities. It is recommended that they pass the relevant professional qualification exams and obtain corresponding certifications.Beijing Henglue Law FirmMake an appointment with a professional criminal team to evaluate and review the case, and maximize the possibility of obtaining relief within the statutory timeframe.

VI. Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: Generally, when will the results of the review of the death penalty be announced?

The Criminal Procedure Law does not stipulate a mandatory time limit for the review of death penalty cases. In practice, most cases are completed within a few months to about a year, and complex cases may take even longer. During the review period, the Supreme People's Court shall interrogate the defendant, and if the defense lawyer requests it, the court shall listen to the defense lawyer's opinions and may retrieve and verify relevant evidence. Since the non-approval of the review means that the defendant is temporarily exempt from execution and the case is sent back for retrial, the review stage is the most valuable window for relief in death penalty cases. Defendants and their close relatives should make full use of this period to submit new facts, evidence, and legal opinions, and they can consult relevant procedural issues during this period.Special services and other case servicesTeam.

Q2: What will happen to the case after the death penalty is not approved?

According to Article 236 of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, if the Supreme People's Court does not approve the death penalty, it may either remand the case to the original trial court for retrial or modify the verdict. In accordance with Articles 429 and 430 of the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, in cases where the death penalty is not approved, the original verdict is usually revoked and the case is remanded to the first-instance court for retrial. In exceptional circumstances, the second-instance court may also retrial the case or modify the verdict on its own. After the case is remanded for retrial, the original trial court shall form a new collegial panel to conduct a comprehensive rehearing of the facts, evidence, and applicable laws. The defendant will be given the opportunity to present new evidence and defend himself or herself, and the result may be a modified verdict of a suspended death sentence, life imprisonment, or other lighter penalties.

Q3: What specific circumstances does the phrase "unclear facts and insufficient evidence" refer to?

In the context of death penalty review, the term "unclear facts and insufficient evidence" primarily refers to the following situations: the key objective evidence in the case is missing or its source is unclear, such as the murder weapon not being recovered or the bloodstains at the scene not being linked to the defendant; there are unexplained contradictions between testimonial evidence and objective evidence; the appraisal opinion has procedural or substantive flaws, and reasonable doubts cannot be ruled out; the defendant's confession is inconsistent and lacks corroboration by other evidence; or there is the possibility that someone else committed the crime and the facts have not been fully investigated. According to Article 429 of the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, if the facts in the original judgment are unclear or the evidence is insufficient, the court shall rule not to approve the review, revoke the original judgment, and remand the case for retrial. This is the most common reason for not approving the review in practice.

Q4: What role can lawyers play in the review stage of the death penalty?

The role of lawyers in the review stage is mainly reflected in three aspects: Firstly, they comprehensively review the case files and verify the evidence to identify gaps in unclear facts and insufficient evidence, and then form written defense opinions to submit to the Supreme People's Court; Secondly, they supplement and retrieve materials favorable to the defendant, such as evidence of voluntary surrender, meritorious service, confession, compensation and apology, and other mitigating circumstances; Thirdly, they raise objections to procedural violations and argue that the original trial violated legal procedures, which may affect the fairness of the trial. Since the review stage mainly involves written hearings without oral hearings, high-quality legal opinions submitted by lawyers are almost the only effective channel for defendants to voice their opinions, which directly affects the possibility of the review being disapproved. It is recommended to hire a lawyer as soon as possible and follow up on the case throughout the entire process.

Q5: If the defendant does not appeal himself, can his family still seek a review of the case even if the review is not approved?

Yes. The review of death penalty cases is a mandatory legal procedure that does not require the defendant to appeal. As long as the case is sentenced to death and executed immediately, it will automatically be submitted to the Supreme People's Court for approval. The defendant's failure to appeal does not affect the review process. Their close relatives can entrust lawyers to participate in the review, submit defense opinions and new evidence materials. In practice, many cases that are not approved are promoted by lawyers who independently discover factual or evidentiary issues during the review stage. Therefore, even if the defendant waives the right to appeal, family members should still seize the last opportunity of the review process, timely entrust lawyers to review the case files and put forward legal opinions against the approval of the death penalty.

The above content is based on the compilation of judicial practices in the Beijing area. The facts of individual cases and the jurisdiction of the court may affect the conclusions. Welcome to consult Henglue Law Firm for specific cases.

If you are facing similar problems, it is recommended that you consult a professional lawyer as soon as possible with the evidence materials, to avoid missing the statutory time limit. →Criminal defense legal services·Beijing Henglu Law Firm