Priority is given to the protection of minors during the trial process

Sun Lihaoyang, all-media reporter of the Rule of Law Daily

"Helping primary and secondary schools in the city to carry out rule of law publicity activities is one of the ways for the Xi'an Intermediate People's Court to popularize rule of law knowledge and prevent juvenile delinquency for young people." Recently, when a reporter from the Rule of Law Daily interviewed at the Intermediate People's Court of Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province, Tang Jie, president of the Comprehensive Trial Division of Juvenile Cases, told reporters that the Xi'an Intermediate Court, the Xi'an Municipal Party Committee of the Communist Youth League, and the Xi'an Municipal Education Bureau jointly held the "Xi'an Middle School Students Rule of Law Knowledge Contest" in November 2020, and nearly 300 contestants from 30 teams from various districts and counties in Xi'an competed in the knowledge of relevant laws and regulations in hot spots such as the Constitution, the Civil Code, and the Fourteenth Games.

"At the same time, in trial practice, we insist on exploring special systems suitable for juvenile trials, insist on appointing legal aid lawyers for juvenile defendants who are unable to retain defenders, and conduct round-table trials and introduce psychological corrections to protect the physical and mental health of minors and protect the lawful rights and interests of minors." Tang Jie said.

Guard the heart

"Today, I specially took a leave of absence to accompany my mother to thank Judge Liu in person, thanking Judge Liu for giving me and my mother the comfort of my heart and making me no longer afraid." The words of the minor Hui Mou touched the people around him.

In October 2020, after the unexpected death of Hui's father, his mother, grandparents and other relatives quarreled over inheritance, and Judge Liu Xi of the Juvenile Trial Division, proceeding from safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of minors, presided over the mediation work many times, explained the law and reason to his relatives in many ways, and finally prompted the two sides to reach a settlement opinion.

Hui Mou, who was reading the first year of junior high school, handed Liu Xi a thank-you letter that he had written with his heart, saying that he thanked the judge for letting her feel love and strength in the helpless dispute.

"The flowers of the motherland are inseparable from the sunshine and rain of the rule of law, which may be a simple case for us, but the result of the adjudication affects the child's life, so we must always proceed from the perspective of being conducive to the healthy growth of minors in the trial process, and give priority protection to minors according to law." Liu Xi told reporters.

It has been learned that in the course of hearing juvenile-related cases, the Xi'an Intermediate People's Court, taking into account the physical and mental characteristics of juveniles, while strictly implementing the provisions of laws and regulations on special procedures for juvenile cases, has explored a special system suitable for juvenile trials, improved pretrial social investigations, strengthened courtroom education during trials, done a good job of extended post-trial education, and correctly handled the relationship between crackdown and rescue.

Since the independent establishment of the Juvenile Trial Division of the Xi'an Intermediate People's Court in 2014, it has tried more than 2,000 cases involving minors of all kinds, and has won the national honors of "Youth Rights Protection Post", "Xi'an Youth May Fourth Medal Collective", "Shaanxi Province Good Youth Collective Award" and so on.

Continuous help

Because of the contradiction between the minor Luo X and others, he stabbed the person to death with a knife in a moment of anger. Luo Moumou's mother had run away from home a few years ago, and when he was young, his father was alcoholic and grumpy, and often beat him after drinking. Luo Moumou, because he could not stand it, ran away from home in the fifth grade of primary school, and has been wandering around Xi'an for several years, staying on the streets or Internet cafes overnight, relying on well-meaning people to help or petty theft for a living.

In the process of investigation and handling of the case, Luo Moumou confirmed the identity of his father through DNA testing, and his father was unwilling to cooperate in handling the case. When the indictment was served on Luo XX, because Luo XX could not appoint an agent, the judge undertook the case applied for a legal aid lawyer for him.

After clarifying the basic facts of the case, the presiding judge formed a special social investigation report, and conducted court education for defendant Luo xxx during the trial, teaching him that under any circumstances, he should use legal means to protect his own rights and interests, and must not try the law himself.

Before the verdict was pronounced, Luo Moumou was unaccessed in the detention center and did not change clothes, and the judge handling the case collected men's clothes similar to his body size and gave them to him. When the verdict was pronounced, the judge continued to conduct court education, teaching him to study well, reform well, and not to give up on himself. Luo Moumou expressed his gratitude to the judges for their concern and education, and must serve their sentences well and seriously reform.

"We encounter many cases like this every year, and most of the juvenile defendants' growth experiences and living environments are more complicated, and they lack the love and care of guardians. Therefore, in the trial of juvenile criminal cases, in addition to strictly implementing the provisions on special procedures for juvenile cases, judges pay special attention to courtroom education and post-judgment assistance and education. Tang Jie introduced.

At present, the Juvenile Trial Division has also set up a special round-table trial court, which is different from the traditional confrontation between the judges, prosecutors and defendants, and the round-table trial has narrowed the distance between the three and minimized the fear and resistance of juvenile defendants.

Pattern popularization

"Now the trial is announced..." With a crisp gavel sound, the primary school students of the "Red Scarf Law School" of the three primary schools in Dongcheng, Baqiao District, Xi'an City, opened a unique moot court activity.

The 12 students played the roles of chief judge, judge, clerk, defendant, legal representative, judicial police, etc., and the whole trial process was rigorous and standardized, and had a strong role in rule of law education and demonstration. The Juvenile Trial Division of the Xi'an Intermediate People's Court also insisted on carrying out publicity on the popularization of the law, using such forms of education as donating teaching materials for popularizing the law, helping young people to rule of law competitions, and "Constitution Publicity Week" to guide young students to establish the concept of rule of law from an early age.

It is understood that the Juvenile Trial Division of the Xi'an Intermediate People's Court carries out rule of law publicity activities on different themes every year, and has carried out more than 40 rule of law publicity activities in kindergartens, primary schools, junior high schools and high schools throughout the city. Since the beginning of this year, he has carried out the theme of "Civil Code entering the campus" at the Affiliated Middle School of Jiaotong University, made a guest appearance in the "Qinfeng Hotline" column to popularize and prevent bullying in schools, and jointly carried out a series of activities such as the training of preschool teachers' skills and legal knowledge in Yiyi District with the Xi'an Municipal Customs Work Committee, helping many schools to carry out the creation of the "Red Scarf Law School".

"The protection of minors is a social issue that should be jointly worked together by families, schools and the whole society. For juvenile delinquency, we always adhere to 'education, reform, and rescue', but more resolutely reflect 'tolerance, tolerance and non-connivance'; For criminal acts that seriously infringe on minors, we have always adhered to zero tolerance, resolutely punished them severely in accordance with the law, and created a safe, healthy and civilized environment for minors to grow up. Tang Jie said.

Source: Rule of Law Daily - Legal Network