The Fifth International Conference on Law, Language and Discourse was inaugurated at Örebro University, Sweden on September 27, 2015. Proudly representing the partners of King and Capital, Ms. Liang Yali, one of the Eight Outstanding Criminal Defense Lawyers in King and Capital was invited to present an English paper titled, “Observations and Reflections on Evidence Discovery in China”. Ms. Li, Xiujuan, a partner with King and Capital, also presented a speech on “The Influence of Verbal Communication on Legal Justice and Efficiency in Criminal Interrogation”, at this prestigious conference.

With over 100 esteemed representatives from over twelve countries from around the world, the conference theme “Communication and Fairness in Legal Settings”, brought some of the best global minds in forensic linguistic studies to discuss important issues of the day. The issues included: court procedures, communication and fairness in pre-trial, trial and legal settings with special emphasis on children, vulnerable groups and gender. The broad diversity of experts including linguists, jurists and legal experts from some of the best law firms in the world, resulted in a very stimulating and productive conference.

In her speech, “Observations and Reflections on Evidence Discovery in China”, Ms. Liang focused on amendments to the criminal procedure law of 1996 and subsequent pilot programs of criminal evidence discovery that were launched across China.

Supporting the premise that regulated and strict pre-trial evidence discovery was a critical element, her presentation pointed out the importance of guaranteeing the rights of criminal suspects and defendants to know the incriminating evidence, allowing them to exercise their right to confront witnesses and a vigorous defense. While the Chinese legal system lacks the specific regulations for criminal suspects and defendants to exchange evidence, evidentiary discovery provides a relatively transparent and safe environment for them to exchange such information. In her speech, she stressed that legal regulations must be strictly enforced to guarantee the defending party’s right to defend and confront witnesses, protecting the rights of both defendants and criminal suspects.