THE STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL PEOPLE'S CONGRESS, the country's top legislature, approved an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Law on Friday recognizing the legitimacy of trial in absentia and a defendent's right to a lawyer. ThePaper.cn comments:

The amendment means the judicial authorities can initiate trials in the absence of runaway corrupt officials before they are extradited home from abroad, which can take years in some cases.

Previously, those suspected of crimes who had fled overseas could only be tried after they were returned to China. In the case of fugitive corrupt officials this made it difficult to recover the stolen assets. The long process of locating and extraditing these "foxes" also cost a lot of judicial and diplomatic resources. The amendment to the law means a trial can proceed without the suspect being present in court.

The amendment also stipulates that for cases under the jurisdiction of grassroots courts where the facts of the case are clear, the evidence is true and sufficient, and the defendant pleads guilty and agrees to a fixed-term prison sentence of up to three years, an expedited procedure may be applied in which a single judge hears the case. This will greatly improve the efficiency of the use of judicial resources.

The practice has been piloted in some places for two years, and the amendment of the law has transformed it from a trial to a conventional practice, which helps to improve the efficiency of the judicial system.

That the long-anticipated duty counsel system, which has been piloted in some places, is also included in the amendment means the courts, procuratorates and detention houses are obliged to inform defendants of their legal right to talk with attorney of the day in these institutions. This means the involvement of defense lawyers is now mandatory.

The amendment also stipulates that a confession of guilt should be signed in the presence of the defense lawyer or the duty lawyer, when the expedited procedure applies.