Legal interpretation targets bribery
[ 2007-07-09 13:38 ]
The top judicial bodies fired a new shot in
the country's fight against corruption yesterday by issuing a legal
interpretation of new forms of bribery.
Jointly issued by the Supreme
People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the interpretation spells
out 10 types of bribery, and is expected to help prosecutors indict corrupt
officials.
The judicial move comes after the Central Commission for
Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the Communist Party of China's anti-corruption
body, issued a set of regulations in late May to prevent officials from taking
advantage of their posts to make money illegally.
"With the rapid
economic and social development, some new types of bribery cases have emerged
with more covert means and more complexity," said a statement issued by the two
judicial bodies.
The interpretation defines in detail the new forms of
bribes and draws a line between public servants' official and social
interactions and duties. The new types of bribery include:
Receiving
stocks and shares as gifts;
Buying property such as houses or
automobiles at ridiculously low prices from those seeking favors;
Making
money in fixed gambling games or cooperating with others to run a company;
Misusing a post to make profit for others and getting money or gifts
after their official tenures;
Making profit with the help of family members, relatives or close
associates.
In some cases, an official can be convicted for doing
someone a "special favor" even if he may not have actually received a bribe.
People who help officials get bribes covertly can be convicted as
"collaborators". The same applies to those who arrange for people ready to bribe
an official to get a job done illegally.
Renmin University of China
professor Li Chengyan described the judicial interpretation as a "connection"
between regulation and law.
"It is a natural process. After the
regulation, a legal interpretation is needed to specify how the law works. It
shows that China is working out a more complete legal system to combat
corruption," he said.
The CCDI, which issued the regulation on May 29,
had offered to be lenient with officials who confessed within 30 days. Leniency
in this case could mean corrupt officials being saved from facing the judiciary.
But CCDI Deputy Secretary Xia Zanzhong said he is surprised by the small
number of officials confessing.
"Instead of anti-corruption campaigns,
we need more mature and effective legal system to stem corruption."
(China Daily 07/09/2007 page 1)
Vocabulary:
tenure：（官職等的）任期
（英語點津 Linda 編輯）
About the broadcaster:
Bernice Chan is a foreign expert at China Daily Website. Originally from
Vancouver, Canada, Bernice has written for newspapers and magazines in Hong Kong
and most recently worked as a broadcaster for the Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation, producing current affairs shows and
documentaries. |
