Notice of the Supreme People’s Court on Legally Punishing the Crimes of Seriously Undermining the Order of the Market Economy Such as the Crime of Manufacturing or Selling Fake and Shoddy Foods or Drugs, etc.

Notice of the Supreme People’s Court on Legally Punishing the Crimes of Seriously Undermining the Order of the Market Economy Such as the Crime of Manufacturing or Selling Fake and Shoddy Foods or Drugs, etc.

(No. 118 [2004] of the Supreme People’s Court)

The higher people’s courts of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, the military courts of the Liberation Army, the Production and Construction Army Corps Branch of the Higher People’s Court of Sinkiang Uygur Autonomous Region:

Since the work of rectifying and regulating the order of the market economy was carried out throughout China, the people’s courts at all levels have given full play to their trial functions, and have timely and legally punished a large number of criminals who seriously undermined the order of the market economy, thus the order of socialist market economy is maintained, the lawful rights and interests of citizens, legal persons and other organizations are defended, and powerful judicial safeguard is provided for the work of rectifying and regulating the order of the market economy. Not long ago, the second session of the leading team for the national work of rectifying and regulating the order of the market economy required further intensifying the rectification efforts, to keep a firm grip on the prominent issues relating to the physical health, life safety and immediate interests of the general public, and to firmly propel this year’s work of rectifying and regulating the order of the market economy by focusing on carrying out the special rectification concerning food hygiene, combating "Blood Heads and Blood Lords" and illegal blood collection and supply, and strengthening the protection of intellectual property rights, etc. On May 13, the State Council convened the national television and telephone conference on special rectification concerning food safety, and deployed the work of going deep into carrying out the special rectification concerning food safety throughout China. To timely do a good job in hearing the criminal cases involving manufacturing or selling fake and shoddy foods or drugs, and to legally punish the criminals that seriously undermine the order of the market economy, are presently an important trial task of the people’s courts. Therefore, we hereby give our notice as follows:

I. Enhance awareness, and do a solid job in hearing the criminal cases of undermining the order of the market economy such as manufacturing or selling fake and shoddy foods or drugs, etc.

The various crimes of undermining the order of socialist market economy not only directly affect the healthy operation of national economy, but also heavily damage the immediate interests of the general public. In this year, the incident that the inferior-quality milk powder caused death to some infants occurred in Fuyang City, Anhui Province, and the incident that toxic alcohol caused death to some people occurred in Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province. These incidents reminded us again and again that the rectification and regulation of the order of the market economy are a long-term and arduous task, and we must keep an attitude of being highly responsible to the people to do a solid and unremitting job in this aspect. The people’s courts at all levels must, at the height of practicing the important thoughts of "Three Represents" and exercising judicial powers for the interest of the people, be fully aware of the importance, necessity, urgency and long-term nature of the work of rectifying and regulating the order of the market economy. They shall consider legally and timely hearing the criminal cases involving undermining the order of socialist market economy as an item of important routine work, as well as earnestly strengthen their leadership and arrange most helpful trial force, so as to ensure the criminal cases brought to the courts on manufacturing or selling fake or shoddy foods or drugs to be finalized in accordance with the law in time, and therefore to heavily combat the rampant arrogance of the criminals, and to ensure the special rectification concerning food safety to be carried out smoothly.

II. Stress the key points, and legally punishes the criminals who seriously undermine the order of socialist market economy.

The courts at all levels shall firmly implement the guideline of legally imposing severe punishment, as well as convict and impose punishment in strict accordance with the Criminal Law upon the criminals who seriously undermine the order of socialist market economy. At present, we shall make it the focus of work to combat the crimes of manufacturing or selling toxic and harmful foods or the foods not meeting the hygienic standards, the crimes of manufacturing or selling fake or shoddy drugs or the medical devices not meeting the hygienic standards, the crimes of manufacturing or selling fake and shoddy pesticides, veterinary drugs, fertilizers or seeds, the crimes of manufacturing or selling products not meeting the safety standards or other fake and shoddy products, the crimes of compelling sale of blood, illegally organizing sale of blood, or illegally collecting, making or supplying blood or blood products, the crimes of infringing upon intellectual property rights such as counterfeiting registered trademarks, selling infringing duplicate works, forging or unlawfully making the marks of other’s registered trademarks. With respect to the criminals who are prosecuted to the courts due to their serious undermining of the order of the market economy by committing smuggling, tax evasion, refusal to pay tax, tax fraud, contractual fraud, financial fraud, illegal pyramid sale or disguised pyramid sale, etc., the courts shall continue punishing them severely in accordance with the law. The courts in all localities shall, in light of the actual situation, determine the emphasis of combat and stress the actual effects. They shall consider the cases of huge criminal amount, vile circumstances or serious danger, the cases intensely responded by the general public, or the cases in which great losses were caused to the interests of the State or the people, especially the cases in which any State functionary participates in the crime or covers up or connives at any criminal, as the major cases. They shall lose no time to hear such major cases and render severe sentences in accordance with the law. The criminals who ought to be sentenced to heavy punishments in accordance with the law shall be sentenced to heavy punishments. The courts must, when applying principal punishments in accordance with the law, sufficiently apply property punishments. Where any law requires a fine or the confiscation of properties in addition, the court shall firmly sentence the criminal to the fine or confiscation of properties; where any law permits a fine or confiscation of properties, the court shall generally also sentence the criminal to the fine or confiscation of properties. The properties illegally obtained by a criminal shall be confiscated in accordance with the law, or be returned or indemnified as ordered by the court. While the properties of the criminal himself used for committing the crime shall be confiscated in accordance with the law.

III. Appropriately deal with the cases involved in numerous aggrieved parties in accordance with the law.

With respect to the cases involving a large number of aggrieved masses, the people’s courts must, in the process of hearing, strictly abide by the law, and settle the cases appropriately and cautiously. In addition, they shall do a good job in the mass work so as to ensure social stability. If a victim brings a lawsuit directly to the people’s court regarding a suspected criminal case of manufacturing or selling fake and shoddy goods or of infringing upon intellectual property rights, etc., the people’s court shall put the case on file and hear this case in accordance with the law. If, in a case, the social order or the State’s interests are heavily endangered, or a large number of aggrieved masses are involved, the court shall, by depending on the local party committee and coordinating with the relevant department in time, legally settle the case pursuant to the procedures for hearing public prosecution cases. The courts shall stress the hearing of the cases of incidental civil actions in criminal litigation, and pay attention to reducing the losses of the aggrieved persons and entities to the minimum. If the defendant actively and voluntarily indemnifies the losses of the aggrieved person or entity, he/it may be given a lighter punishment in light of the specific circumstance.

IV. Actively participate in the comprehensive rectification of the order of the market economy through trial activities.

Since the rectification and regulation of the order of the market economy are a comprehensive systematic project, we shall deal with both symptoms and root causes. The people’s courts shall, in their trial activities, play important functions in dealing with both symptoms and root causes. The courts at all levels shall elaborately do a good job in holding court trials on the criminal cases on undermining the order of the market economy, and shall enlarge the social effects of the trials through public hearing, public sentence, and live broadcasting of the court trial, etc. The courts shall, when handling cases, pay attention to finding the flaws and concealed troubles in the market management system and links, timely propose judicial suggestions, remind and urge the relevant departments and entities to improve the systems and strengthen management, so as to prevent crimes. The courts shall pay attention to selecting the typical cases of educational significance to make sentences in public at the localities where the crimes were committed, and shall, through the news media, and in various forms such as discussing about laws on the basis of cases, etc., extensively disseminate legal knowledge, educate the general public, enhance the consciousness and capacities of all citizens to make use of the law to safeguard and maintain their own lawful rights and interests. The courts shall pay attention to, through trial activities, intensifying great efforts to strengthen legal propaganda, enhance all citizens’ concepts of rule of law, of honesty and credibility, so that the socialist commercial ethics of consciously abiding by the law and being honest and credible can be formed among the general public.

In recent years, the Supreme Court selected some typical cases when guiding the courts at all levels to do a good job in hearing the cases concerning the rectification and regulation of the order of the market economy, and published such typical cases to the public at regular intervals through news media. As a result, very good social effects have been obtained. Each higher court shall further strengthen its guidance to the courts at lower levels within its jurisdiction and urge them to handle cases, and shall, strictly in light of the requirements in the relevant notices of the Supreme People’s Court, determine the contact persons, strengthen information communication, consult the hearing progress at any time, and submit the trial information in time. With respect to the cases urged on bulletin by the Supreme Court and other cases of great influences, once the lawsuits are brought to the courts, the higher court shall report the acceptance of such cases to the Supreme Court. With respect to the cases determined by the Supreme Court for propaganda and news report, the relevant courts shall actively cooperate with the Supreme Court in doing a good job in urging the major cases to be handled and in publishing the judgments through central news media.

Please carefully obey and implement the above notice.

June 21, 2004