On June 20th, the eighth installment of the BNU Procedural Law scholar lecture series was successfully conducted in Room 1922 of the Rear Main Building at Beijing Normal University. The lecture was delivered by Professor Zhang Mingwei, Vice Dean of the School of Law at Fu Jen Catholic University, under the theme of "Investigation Confidentiality and Writ Protection." Professors from the Law School of Beijing Normal University, including He Ting, Shi Limei, Wang Chao, and Huang Xiaoliang, along with doctoral and master's students specializing in criminal procedural law and criminal law, were in attendance. The lecture was moderated by Professor He Ting, Vice Dean of the Law School at Beijing Normal University.
At the beginning of the lecture, Professor He Ting introduced Professor Zhang Mingwei's to everyone and warmly welcomed the arrival of all teachers and classmates. Subsequently, Professor Zhang Mingwei gave a wonderful speech on the issue of "Investigation Confidentiality and Writ Protection".
Professor Zhang Mingwei started from the "principle of non-disclosure of investigation" stipulated in Article 245 of the "Criminal Procedure Law" of Chinese Taiwan and explained why the investigation is not made open. He believes that this aspect is based on the need for human rights protection, that is, under the principle of presumption of innocence, the defendant is not yet guilty, and it is natural to demand that the investigation be kept confidential. On the other hand, it is based on the need for investigative efficiency, that is, all matters that can affect investigative efficiency should not be made public. Next, Professor Zhang Mingwei elaborated on the controversy caused by the principle of non-public investigation in practice, especially whether prosecutors have the right to seize notes made by defense lawyers during interrogation based on this principle, by combining specific cases. Finally, Professor Zhang Mingwei concluded that although non-public investigation is an important principle in criminal proceedings, it cannot itself serve as a legal basis for restricting basic human rights. Therefore, when it comes to the issue of basic human rights restrictions, we should return to the norms of basic human rights protection, rather than using the principle of non-public investigation to override the universally recognized basic human rights protection system.
Following Professor Zhang Mingwei's keynote speech, Professors Shi Limei and Wang Chao engaged in a discourse on the topics of open versus closed investigations, the right of lawyers to attend investigative proceedings and interrogations, and the permissibility of defense attorneys sharing case documents with suspects and their relatives, in light of the fourth amendment to the Criminal Procedure Law of Mainland China. Professors He Ting and Huang Xiaoliang contributed their insights and perspectives on the research methodologies in criminal procedural law and the safeguarding of the right to defense within the context of criminal justice practices. Conclusively, the scholars addressed the queries posed by the attending students with patience and thoroughness.
