Five periods of change in the approach to crime

1978-1981 1982-1996 1997-2005 2006-2012 2013-2018

The country’s first Criminal and Criminal Procedure laws were enacted in 1979, ensuring that all criminal cases could be handled according to the law.

Twenty-one new laws were enacted to combat economic crime and criminal cases that seriously harmed public security. Moreover, the Criminal Law was revised, while more than 100 new crimes were added to the statute books and penalties were strengthened, including the use of capital punishment.

The Criminal and Criminal Procedure laws were amended to highlight the protection of human rights and the importance of collecting evidence correctly. The death penalty was abolished for a number of crimes including theft and financial speculation.

The Supreme People’s Court was given the power to oversee the use of the death penalty. Whenever a lower court passes the death sentence, the nation’s highest court reviews the case. If it does not agree with the

sentence, the case is reassessed. The death penalty was abolished for 13 nonviolent or economic crimes. People age 75 and older were no longer subject to the death penalty.

The death penalty was abolished for nine crimes. Strict identification and collection of evidence was adopted in investigations and trials to prevent miscarriages of justice and better protect human rights.