The NPC has voted to remove nine crimes punishable by death penalty. (Photo : www.chinabusinessreview.com)
As part of the amendments to China's Criminal Law, the country has approved the removal of nine crimes from the list of offenses that warrant the death penalty.
On Saturday, lawmakers elected to pass the amendments at the end of a bimonthly six-day session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC).
The nine crimes that will no longer be punishable by the death penalty are smuggling weapons, ammunition, nuclear material or counterfeit currency; counterfeiting currency; obstructing a police officer or a person on duty from performing his or her duties; arranging for or forcing another person to engage in prostitution; raising funds by means of fraud; and fabricating rumors to mislead others during wartime.
The number of crimes on the death penalty list will drop from 55 to 46 when the amendments take effect on Nov. 1.
Those convicted of these crimes will face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
According to analysts, the trend toward decreasing the usage of the death penalty to punish crimes is a crucial step in the country's judicial reform and improving the legal system.
"Ruling out the nine death penalties shows the progress of China's legal reform," said Ruan Qulin, a professor at China University of Political Science and Law.
"Capital punishment was adopted in the past to uphold the authority of the law. But the general trend in the development of the Criminal Law is to respect the right to life," Ruan added.
China currently uses the death penalty more than any other country.
Analysts also noted the type of crimes removed from the death penalty list.
"The nine crimes punishable by death belong to economic-related or non-violent crimes. In recent years, the death penalty was rarely applied for those in judicial practice, except for raising funds by means of fraud and counterfeiting currency," said Qu Xinjiu, a criminal law professor with the China University of Political Science and Law.
This marks the second time since the Criminal Law took effect in 1979 that China has removed crimes from the death penalty list.
In 2011, the Standing Committee of the NPC removed 13 economic-related non-violent crimes from the list, including carrying out fraud related to financial bills; forging or selling forged exclusive value-added tax invoices; robbing ancient cultural ruins; and teaching criminal methods.
