The draft revision of the Public Security Administration Punishment Law was submitted for deliberation for the first time, and these points of interest deserve attention

Beijing, 30 Aug (Xinhua) -- The revised draft of the Law on Administrative Punishments for Public Security has been submitted for deliberation for the first time

Xinhua News Agency's "Xinhua Viewpoint" reporters Xiong Feng, Ren Qinqin, and Feng Jiashun

The draft revision of the Law on Administrative Punishments for Public Security was recently submitted to the fifth meeting of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress for initial deliberation. As a law that maintains public order, guarantees the safety of citizens' personal and property, and promotes social harmony and stability, the Law on Administrative Punishments for Public Security is closely related to citizens' social life.

Add several punishable acts, strengthen the protection of minors, optimize and improve punishment procedures... What are the highlights of the draft revision of the Public Security Administration Punishment Law? The "Xinhua Viewpoint" reporter sorted it out.

Point 1: Add several punishable acts

The current Law on Administrative Penalties for Public Security came into force on March 1, 2006, and was amended in 2012. Over the past 17 years, the mainland's economic and social development has undergone significant changes, and the Law on Administrative Punishments for Public Security has been revised and improved, aiming to better meet the needs of the new era and new situation.

The revised draft adds several punishable acts, including cheating in examinations, organizing pyramid schemes, obstructing the driving of public transportation by snatching the steering wheel, raising and displaying Kongming lanterns carrying open flames, throwing objects from high altitudes, "black flying" of drones, and illegal use of eavesdropping equipment.

Professor Zhan Zhongle of Peking University Law School said that the economy, society and science and technology continue to develop and evolve, and social security issues have also shown a trend of diversification and complexity, and the law urgently needs to respond.

For example, in recent years, drones have been widely used in monitoring, agriculture, rescue and other fields, and at the same time, UAV "black flying" also has potential safety risks. "The draft regulates phenomena such as the 'black flight' of drones, which is expected to fill similar gaps in public security management." Zhan Zhongle said.

The draft adds the illegal sale or provision of citizens' personal information as an act that violates personal and property rights and gives punishment, and adds the illegal use of wiretapping equipment to conduct that obstructs social management and gives punishment.

"Illegal theft of privacy has become the main way to violate personal privacy and illegally obtain personal information, and it is also one of the sources of criminal chains such as telecom network fraud and extortion." Wang Xizin, a professor at Peking University Law School, said that the criminal law and the civil code have stipulated legal responsibility for acts that infringe on personal privacy, and the establishment of administrative legal liability this time will help to achieve an all-round crackdown on such illegal activities and regulate the whole process.

"Although the criminal law has clearly stipulated the crime of illegally using special equipment for eavesdropping and stealing photos, sometimes it does not cause serious consequences and does not constitute a crime. This time, the illegal use, provision of wiretapping, stealing photos, and other special equipment will be added to the list of acts that hinder social management, which can better realize the connection between execution and execution. Wang Jingbo, a professor at Heilongjiang University, said.

The relevant responsible person of the Legislative Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security said that the draft meets the needs of the development of the public security situation, is problem-oriented, incorporates emerging behaviors affecting public order into the scope of management, weaves a dense legal network, and further optimizes and improves the procedural regulations for handling public security cases, providing a more complete legal guarantee for public security organs to maintain public order in accordance with the law, ensure public safety, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of citizens, legal persons, and other organizations.

Point 2: Strengthen the protection of minors

In the revised draft submitted for deliberation, strengthening the protection of minors is an important aspect of the revision. These include clearly providing for heavier penalties for acts involving damage to the rights and interests of minors; Add provisions on the system for sealing public security records for minors violating public security management, etc.

-- Conduct infringing on minors' rights and interests is to be severely punished.

The draft proposes that those who induce, accommodate, or introduce minors to prostitution, those who involve minors in relevant obscene materials or obscene information, those who organize minors to engage in organizing the broadcasting of pornographic audio-visual images, and those who induce, instigate, deceive or force minors to consume or inject drugs will be "severely punished."

-- Sealing of records of minors violating public security management.

The draft stipulates that records of violations of public security administration shall be sealed for persons under the age of 18 at the time of violation of public security administration, and must not be provided to any unit or individual, except where the supervision organs or judicial organs need to handle cases or where relevant units make inquiries in accordance with national regulations. Units conducting inquiries in accordance with law shall keep confidential the circumstances of the sealed illegal records.

Guan Yanjie, an associate professor at Chinese Minmin Public Security University, believes that the draft adds human rights safeguards such as sealing records of minors violating public security management to prevent information leakage caused by improper management of juvenile criminal records and related records in practice, and try to avoid the impact of these minors in examinations, further education, employment, and life in the future.

-- Minors between the ages of 14 and 16 who violate the law twice or more within one year may be subject to administrative detention.

In response to the fact that violators of public security administration who have reached the age of 14 and are between the ages of 16 repeatedly violate the law and are difficult to effectively punish and save if they do not carry out administrative detention punishments at all, the draft clearly stipulates that minors between the ages of 14 and 16 who violate public security management twice or more in a year may be punished by administrative detention.

"Punishment is both punishment and education." Wang Jing, a professor at the Political and Legal Department of the Central Party School (National Academy of Administration), believes that the necessary punishment for his illegal acts is an important institutional arrangement to make them know and correct their mistakes through punishment and avoid sliding from breaking the law into the abyss of crime.

In addition, the draft also stipulates that if parents or other guardians are unable to attend the public security administration violators under the age of 16, they may notify other suitable adults to be present. "The draft is guided by practical issues, solves the dilemma of handling cases where people under the age of 16 violate public security management without a guardian present, aims to protect the lawful rights and interests of minors and ensure the timely investigation and handling of relevant cases, and enhance the practicality and operability of the law." Wang Jing said.

Point 3: Reasonably set penalties and ranges

According to the relevant responsible person of the Legislative Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security, the revised draft adheres to the principle of combining education and punishment, pays attention to giving play to the positive role of reconciliation and mediation, clarifies that parties who meet the legally prescribed conditions for minor violations of the law reach a settlement or mediation agreement and perform it, they will not be punished, establish a lenient system for admitting mistakes and accepting punishment and a system for speedy handling, clarify the requirements for interpreting the law and reasoning in handling public security cases, and have an important normative role in the timely resolution of contradictions and disputes and the promotion of social harmony by public security organs.

-- It is proposed to provide for leniency in admitting mistakes and accepting punishments.

The draft adds provisions on mitigating punishments and establishes a lenient system for admitting mistakes and accepting punishments. Chen Tianhao, deputy director of the Government Legal Research Center of the School of Public Administration of Tsinghua University, believes that the new provisions added in the draft provide incentives for offenders to take the initiative to take measures to resolve conflicts and correct illegal acts, which is conducive to activating the internal driving force of offenders to consciously abide by the law and reducing the cost of public security law enforcement.

– Giving play to the positive role of reconciliation and mediation.

The draft also stipulates, for the first time, that minor violations of public security administration, such as fights or damage to other people's property caused by civil disputes, shall not be punished if the parties settle on their own or reach an agreement through mediation by the People's Mediation Committee, and the written application is approved by the public security organs.

"This provision, while maintaining the seriousness of 'illegal acts should be punished by law,' also guarantees the parties' independent punishment of their own rights in cases of minor public security administrative punishments, ensures that public security law enforcement has a temperature, and further promotes social harmony." Wang Jing said.

-- Increasing the circumstances in which administrative detention can be suspended.

The draft stipulates that where the person being punished is dissatisfied with the administrative detention punishment decision, applies for administrative reconsideration, or initiates an administrative lawsuit, or encounters circumstances such as taking the entrance examination, the birth of a child, or the critical illness or death of a close relative, he may submit an application for suspension of administrative detention, and where the legally prescribed conditions are met, the public security organs may suspend the implementation of the administrative detention punishment decision.

Chen Tianhao said that the draft shows the temperature of the rule of law with empathy, shows the care of the social community for every citizen, and is conducive to activating the endogenous normative order of society, avoiding social abnormalities, promoting social harmony, and thus improving the efficiency of comprehensive social governance.