The evolution of criminal interrogation rules in China

This paper presents a historical analysis of Chinese legal theories and the evolution of criminal interrogation rules from the pre-Han to the reform era. A fuller understanding of the evolution of rules is doubtless relevant to the present day’s controversy in China’s legal reforms surrounding the right to remain silent during interrogation and the privilege against self-incrimination. The historical analysis reveals that the imperial social context which once morally legitimized judicial torture in Chinese criminal justice is very much alive even today. For future legal reforms in China, there are barriers in the current social context, which seem to be unconducive for the right to remain silent and the privilege against self-incrimination. But, traditional native resources are also available to legal reformers to ensure better protection of the rights of the suspect subject to police interrogation, and to eliminate police-coerced confessions.