BEIJING: Practices resulting in the collective punishment of the family members of convicted criminals should be abolished, as they contradict the principles and spirit of the Constitution, China’s top legislature said on Tuesday.
Earlier this year, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the country’s top legislative body, received some residents’ suggestions requesting a review of local notices in which some criminals’ spouses, children, parents and close relatives had been restricted in education, employment and social insurance.
The residents flagged the restrictions as collective punishments, calling for a stop to such practices.
“Following a review, we deemed the notices not consistent with the Constitution, nor with laws on education, employment and social insurance, so we urge relevant departments to abolish the documents,” said Shen Chunyao, head of the NPC Standing Committee’s Legislative Affairs Commission.
He mentioned the issue while introducing and explaining a report on normative document review to lawmakers at an ongoing session of the NPC Standing Committee.
“Criminals should be liable and punished for their own misconduct, meaning that others shouldn’t be implicated in the penalties. It is a basic principle of rule of law in modern society,” said Shen. To prevent similar situations and ensure compliance with the rule of law, he added that self-examination should be supported and encouraged across the country. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
