Xizheng Criminal Defense Forum
On April 26th, 2025, the first seminar of “West Politics Criminal Defense Forum” was successfully held in Southwest University of Political Science and Law, hosted by Higher Institute of Criminal Defense of Southwest University of Political Science and Law and co-organized by Beijing King&Capital Law Firm. King&Capital Law Firm Honorary Director Tian Wenchang and Senior Partner Liang Yali were invited to attend the event.
From Beijing university, China university of political science and law, Chinese academy of social sciences university, nankai university, southwest university of political science and law, east China university of political science and law, south central university of economics and law, sichuan university, zhejiang university of science and technology, northwestern university of political science and law, chongqing university, southwestern university, chongqing post and telecommunications university, southwestern university for nationalities, central university for nationalities, northwestern university, zhejiang university of technology, xian university of finance and economics, shantou university, chongqing open university, wuxi college and other universities. Experts and scholars from Chongqing Municipal Political and Law Commission, Chongqing Municipal Bureau of Justice and other judicial practice departments, as well as the fourth phase of the “Western Criminal Defense Academy” “appraisal review and cross-examination” of the students, a total of more than a hundred people attended the seminar.
Opening Ceremony
The opening ceremony of the forum was presided over by Pan Jingui, Professor of the Law School of Southwest University of Political Science and Law and Executive Director of the Institute of Higher Studies in Criminal Defense of Southwest University of Political Science and Law.
Pan Jingui
Prof. Pan Jingui introduced the guests and expressed his warm welcome to all the leaders, experts and guests who came to the venue.
Zhou Shangjun
Zhou Shangjun, Vice President and Professor of Southwest University of Political Science and Law, said in his speech that criminal defense is the barometer of judicial justice and the guardian shield of civil rights, and how to make this system more vital in practice is the core concern of this forum. Xizheng would like to work with colleagues from all walks of life to take this forum as a starting point, set up a regular exchange platform, carry out interdisciplinary, cross-field cooperation, and work together to solve the problems of criminal defense and write the “Book of Answers” for the rule of law in the new era of criminal law. At the end of the speech, Vice President Zhou Shangjun wished the forum a complete success.
Gou Peng
Gou Peng, Deputy Secretary of Chongqing Municipal Political and Law Committee, said that criminal defense is an important part of criminal proceedings. Currently China's criminal justice field is facing new situations and tasks, the field of socialist criminal justice with Chinese characteristics still need to be strengthened, individual social contradictions superimposed, triggering more criminal cases. Sudden and extreme cases of financial sector there is a greater risk and political impact, traditional crime is spreading to the Internet, the digital development of criminal proceedings is accelerating day by day. Overall, China's social security situation is getting better and better, and the whole country's criminal criminal offense has seen a clear shift. In this regard, Secretary Gou emphasized that, first, we must adhere to the leadership of Xi Jinping's rule of law thought; second, we must adhere to the defense under the field of China's criminal law and criminal procedure law; and third, we must adhere to the principle of grasping the integrity of the evidence in the defense.
Li Yousheng
In his speech, Li Yousheng, member of the Party Committee and Director of the Political Department of Chongqing Municipal Bureau of Justice, on behalf of the Chongqing Municipal Bureau of Justice, put forward four expectations for the future development of the criminal defense work of Xizheng Municipal Government: firstly, to strengthen the theoretical research on criminal defense; secondly, to enhance the level of criminal defense practice; thirdly, to strengthen the cultivation of criminal defense talents; and fourthly, to promote the exchanges and cooperation in the criminal defense industry. Finally, Mr. Li wished the first “Xizheng Criminal Defense Forum” a complete success.
Tian Wenchang
Mr. Tian Wenchang, Advisor of Criminal Committee of All-China Lawyers Association, Founder and Honorary Director of Beijing King&Capital Law Firm, said in his speech that the theme of this forum, “Defense Practice and Legislative Improvement in the Investigation Procedure”, is a very difficult topic, but also a very important one. It is very important. It is hoped that through the appeal of everyone, this forum can achieve practical results and put forward some solutions to the corresponding problems.
Gu Yongzhong
China University of Political Science and Law, Professor of the Institute of Procedural Law, the All-China Lawyers Association, Director of the Criminal Practice Committee, Gu Yongzhong said in his speech, Southwest University of Political Science and Law Institute of Higher Studies in Criminal Defense by focusing on procedural defense, criminal defense and practice has played a significant role in improving. At the end of the speech, Prof. Gu Yongzhong wished the forum a complete success.
Appointment Ceremony
Prof. Zhou Shangjun, Vice President and Professor of Southwest University of Political Science and Law, presented the certificate of appointment. Chen Ning, Director of Henan Tao Han Law Firm, and Wang Ke, Senior Partner of Beijing Kanda Law Firm, were appointed as Vice President of the Institute of Higher Studies in Criminal Defense of Southwest University of Political Science and Law, and Ai Ming, Professor of the Law School of Southwest University of Political Science and Law, was appointed as Secretary General of the Institute of Higher Studies in Criminal Defense of Southwest University of Political Science and Law.
Award Ceremony
Liang Yali, senior partner of Beijing King&Capital Law Firm and vice president of the Institute of Higher Studies in Criminal Defense of Southwest University of Political Science and Law, announced the list of winners of the thesis, and Ji Xiangde, professor of the Law School of the University of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, secretary of the Party Committee and president of the Social Science Literature Publishing House, and director of the Academic Committee of the Institute of Higher Studies in Criminal Defense of Southwest University of Political Science and Law, presented the awards to the representatives of the winners.
Liang Yali
Keynote Seminar
The keynote seminar of the forum was themed “Basic Problems and Improvement Concepts of Defense in Investigation Procedures”, and was presided over by Pan Jingui, Professor of the Law School of Southwest University of Political Science and Law and Executive Director of the Institute for Advanced Study of Criminal Defense of Southwest University of Political Science and Law.
Xiong Qiuhong
Xiong Qiuhong, Director and Professor of the Institute of Litigation Law of China University of Political Science and Law, and Vice President and Secretary General of China Society of Criminal Procedure Law, put forward a five-point conception for the improvement of lawyers' right to defense at the investigation stage: first, improve the rate of lawyers' defense at the investigation stage; second, pay attention to the initial meeting between lawyers and defendants during the “golden rescue period” at the investigation stage; third, strengthen the right of lawyers' defense; and third, strengthen the right of lawyers' defense at the investigative stage. Thirdly, to strengthen the substance of lawyers' defense; fourthly, to promote the overall improvement of the defense effect by reforming the litigation structure; and fifthly, to call for the strengthening of the protection of lawyers' right to defense.
JI Xiangde
JI Xiangde, Professor of Law School of University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Secretary of the Party Committee and President of Social Science Literature Publishing House, Director of Academic Committee of Higher Institute of Criminal Defense of Southwest University of Political Science and Law, pointed out that the topic of this keynote seminar is a clichéd issue, but the old problems have been reformed, and the new problems continue to appear, which have not been fundamentally resolved in practice, so this forum chose this topic as the theme. Therefore, this topic is chosen as the theme of this forum. Prof. Ji Xiangde suggested to change the “flat triangular structure” to “four corners and three sides of the diamond-shaped structure”, to establish a system of accusing crimes centered on public prosecution, and to pay attention to the relationship between adjudication and debate.
Gu Yongzhong
Gu Yongzhong, professor of the Institute of Procedural Law of China University of Political Science and Law and director of the Criminal Practice Committee of the All-China Lawyers' Association, proposed that the defense is stage-specific, and that there is a difference between the defense at each stage. The defense at the investigation stage should focus on procedural defense, supplemented by substantive defense; at the examination and prosecution stage, both procedural and substantive defense should be emphasized; and at the trial stage, substantive defense should focus on substantive defense, supplemented by procedural defense.
Zhou Hongbo
Professor Zhou Hongbo, Vice President of Southwest University for Nationalities, took the theme of “Cognitive Logic of the Right to Defense at the Investigation Stage”, and started from the practical problem: the dilemma of the implementation of the right to defense at the investigation stage; the theoretical analysis: the core controversy in the construction of the system of the right to defense at the investigation stage; the improvement of the right to defense at the trial stage; and the concept of the “cognitive logic of the right to defense at the trial stage”. Idea: Thinking from the perspective of “cognitive logic” - the positioning of the right to defense in the investigation stage; Future Prospect: Beyond the framework of “rights protection” - reconstructing the cognitive function structure of the right to defense. The future outlook: beyond the framework of “rights guarantee” - reconstructing the cognitive function structure of defense right.
Tian Wenchang
Mr. Tian Wenchang, Advisor of Criminal Committee of All-China Lawyers Association, Founder and Honorary Director of King&Capital Law Firm, put forward four views on the theme of the seminar: first, the importance of investigation and evidence collection by lawyers in the investigation stage; second, difficulties and obstacles of investigation and evidence collection rights of lawyers in the investigation stage; third, extraterritorial legislation and operation practice of investigation and evidence collection rights of lawyers in the investigation stage; fourth, realization paths of investigation and evidence collection rights exercised by lawyers in the investigation stage. Fourth, the realization path of lawyers exercising the right to obtain evidence in the investigation stage.
Li Guifang
Li Guifang, consultant of Criminal Committee of All-China Lawyers' Association and honorary director of Higher Institute of Criminal Defense of Southwest University of Political Science and Law, pointed out that, firstly, for the issue of lawyers' meeting, it should be viewed from the perspective of historical development, and that, although there are still a lot of problems with lawyers' meeting in reality, there are also some progresses, for example, allowing lawyers to bring computers to meet with each other and increasing the number of meeting venues. Secondly, with regard to the issue of release on bail pending trial, the difficulty of advancing this in practice is mainly a matter of legislation. In terms of legislation, the scope of application of release on bail pending trial should be expanded and the system of reviewing the necessity of detention should be improved.
Seminar Topic I
Wu Hongyao
The theme of the first seminar is “Defense Practice in Investigation Procedures”, which is moderated by Wu Hongyao, Director of the National Institute of Legal Aid of China University of Political Science and Law.
Chen Yongsheng
Professor Chen Yongsheng of Peking University Law School pointed out that the difficulty of defense in the investigation stage mainly focuses on five aspects. First, it is very difficult for lawyers to understand the case during the investigation stage; second, it is difficult to review the application for approval of arrest; third, it is very difficult to initiate the review of the necessity of detention; fourth, it is difficult to file a complaint and charge; and fifth, it is difficult to adopt the defense opinions. In response to these dilemmas, Prof. Chen put forward a five-point proposal. Firstly, to strengthen the obligation of investigators to inform the case; secondly, to stipulate that if the public security organs apply for approval of arrest, lawyers should be given the right to read the files; thirdly, to give lawyers the right to apply for investigating and obtaining evidence during the review stage; fourthly, to stipulate that if the opinion of the defense lawyers is not adopted, the reasons should be stated; and lastly, to improve the system of reviewing the necessity of detention.
Han Xu
Han Xu, a professor at the Law School of Sichuan University, put forward five directions of response to the defense practice in the investigation procedure. First, the response to the revision of the Criminal Procedure Law to account for pit defense; second, the “response to blind defense”; third, the problem of “one long (long time for police to control the suspect) and one short (short time for reviewing the arrest)”; and fourth, the problem of the right to investigate and obtain evidence in the investigation stage; Fifth, procedural remedies and sanction mechanisms.
Liang Yali
Liang Yali, Senior Partner of Beijing King&Capital Law Firm and Deputy Director of the Institute of Criminal Defense of Southwest University of Political Science and Law, spoke on the topic of “Dilemma and Way Out of Lawyers' Meeting in the Investigation Stage.” First of all, the current situation of the implementation of lawyers' right to meet with lawyers was discussed. Firstly, the current situation of the implementation of the right to meet with lawyers is a coexistence of progress and limitations; secondly, the dilemma of meeting with lawyers in two special situations: firstly, the designated residence under surveillance: functional alienation and value conflict; secondly, lawyers meeting with lawyers during the period of supervisory investigations: legal blanks and rights crisis; lastly, in the face of the dilemma, the way out at present shall be to improve the boundary of the law, the system of remedies and sanctions, and the abolition of the system of the designated residence under surveillance, Promote the convergence between the supervision law and the criminal procedure law.
Liu Weidong
Liu Weidong, director of Beijing Guanheng Law Firm and vice president of the Institute of Criminal Defense at Southwest University of Political Science and Law, put forward a few suggestions on defense during the investigation stage. First, the public security organs should set up a special window for criminal defense lawyers; second, the legislation should stipulate that case contractors should listen to the opinions of criminal defense lawyers at least once during the investigation stage; third, conditions should be set to allow lawyers to intervene in the appraisal process; and fourth, lawyers should be explicitly given the right to conduct investigations during the investigation stage.
Kan Jifeng
Kan Jifeng, vice president of Shandong Lawyers Association and vice president of Southwest University of Political Science and Law Higher Institute of Criminal Defense, pointed out that the focus of criminal defense should be to help the parties to deal with the public security organs, to enhance the defense ability of the pursued person, and to realize effective defense. Specifically, first, strengthening the sources of defense lawyers to obtain information about the case; second, assisting the parties to cope with investigators to obtain confessions and strategies for big data investigation; third, how to apply the application of the defense to constrain the investigation; fifth, blocking the public security organs' investigation as much as possible; and sixth, the lawyers should do a good job of preventing the risks in the process.
Chen Ning
Chen Ning, Director of Henan Tao Han Law Firm, mainly shared his views on the jurisdiction of economic crime investigation. Director Chen pointed out that Article 9 of Several Provisions on Handling Economic Crime Cases by Public Security Organs brings several problems. Firstly, what exactly are the economic crimes committed by non-state staff who use the convenience of their position to commit economic crimes? Secondly, how is the suspect's work unit to be judged? Finally, if the location of the suspect's unit is taken as the preferred jurisdiction for filing and investigating the case, it will inevitably exacerbate problems such as local protectionism and public security organs meddling in economic disputes.
Cao Chunfeng
Cao Chunfeng, a partner at Inner Mongolia Shouzheng Law Firm, emphasized that, firstly, attention should be paid to the issue of safeguarding the rights of the parties concerned in the avoidance procedure of the expert; secondly, the provisions of the investigation and supervision authority should be clearly stated in the Criminal Procedure Law rather than in the minutes of the meeting or the judicial interpretation.
Wang Zhihua
Wang Zhihua, senior partner of Shanghai Jintiancheng (Zhengzhou) Law Firm, also pointed out the difficulty of initiating the review of detention necessity. Mr. Wang believes that the main problem lies in the lack of rigidity and binding force of the review of detention necessity, which is a dilemma in practice, and should be given a mandatory binding force.
Wang Jianhong
Xiao Zhijun
Mr. Wang Jianhong, Associate Professor of Southwest University of Political Science and Law, and Mr. Xiao Zhijun, Vice President of Chongqing Lawyers Association, were the speakers in this module.
Seminar Topic II
Jiang Su
The theme of the second module is “Defense Practice in the Review and Approval of Arrests”, which was moderated by Jiang Su, a researcher of Peking University Law School.
Liu Renqi
Liu Renqi, Professor of Criminal Law School of Northwestern University of Political Science and Law and Executive Director of Advanced Institute of Criminal Defense of Northwestern University of Political Science and Law, delivered a speech on the topic of “Production of Lawyer's Investigation Report on Social Dangerousness in the Stage of Reviewing and Approving Arrests”, which was mainly on the four levels of background issues, content issues, technical issues, and principles. The presentation focused on the four levels of background, content, technology and principle.
Wang Jian
Wang Jian, a professor at the School of Criminal Law of East China University of Political Science and Law, put forward several opinions on how to give full play to the role of lawyers in the context of the integration of arrest and prosecution. Firstly, we should pay attention to the changes in the general environment; secondly, we should always pay attention to the latest policy changes; thirdly, we should broaden the perspective of handling cases; and fourthly, we should maintain continuous learning. Professor Wang believes that in the future revision of the Criminal Procedure Law, the most likely space for the defense system to advance is the review and approval of arrests.
Hao Chunli
Hao Chunli, Vice President of Beijing Lawyers Association and Director of Beijing Dongwei Law Firm, spoke on the topic of “Effective Defense and Litigation Reform in the Arrest Review Process”. Director Hao firstly put forward several situations in which it is difficult to defend at the stage of reviewing and approving arrests. In response to these situations, Hao then elaborated on how to reform the litigation of review and approval of arrest under the vision of criminal defense.
Zhao Chunyu
Zhao Chunyu, senior partner of Beijing Yingke Law Firm and vice president of Southwest University of Political Science and Law's Institute of Higher Studies in Criminal Defense, focused his speech on the defense practice of reviewing and approving arrests. Mr. Zhao pointed out that, firstly, the approval rate of the review and arrest link is still running at a high level; secondly, the exercise of the right to defense in the review and arrest link is still subject to constraints. Third, the defense methods are diversified, with five main defense strategies, namely, in-situ type, alternative type, adding bricks and mortar type, procedural empowerment type, and arm extension type.
Zhang Xuhua
Zhang Xuhua, deputy director of Beijing Shangquan Law Firm and deputy director of the Institute of Higher Studies in Criminal Defense of Southwest University of Political Science and Law, mainly elaborated on the proof of the three elements of arrest as well as the dilemmas encountered in practice, and put forward in detail five micro-level defense strategy choices with regard to these dilemmas.
Li Chongjie
