Chinese Criminal Code (Xingfa)

The 1979 Original Criminal Code

The first Criminal Code of the People’s Republic of China, the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China, was adopted by the National People’s Congress on 1 July 1979 and took effect on 1 January 1980. The 1979 Code represented the first comprehensive codification of criminal law in the PRC and was a landmark in the post-Mao legal reconstruction.

The 1979 Code contained 192 articles organised into a General Part (Articles 1-89) and a Special Part (Articles 90-192). The General Part addressed the tasks and scope of application of the Criminal Law, the basic principles of crime, criminal responsibility, the punishment system, and the application of punishment. The Special Part addressed counter-revolutionary crimes; crimes against public security; crimes against the socialist market economic order; crimes against the rights of the person; property crimes; crimes against social order; crimes against marriage and the family; malfeasance; and military crimes.

The 1979 Code retained the analogy system (leitui): conduct that was not specifically criminalised but was “socially dangerous” could be punished by applying the most closely analogous provision, subject to the approval of the Supreme People’s Court. The analogy system was inconsistent with the principle of legality and was the target of sustained criticism.

The 1997 Revision

The 1997 revision of the Criminal Code, effective 1 October 1997, was a comprehensive rewriting of Chinese criminal law. The revised Code contained 452 articles (an increase from 192), reorganised the Special Part into ten chapters, and introduced major doctrinal reforms.

The most significant reform was the abolition of the analogy system and the adoption of the principle of legality (fading yuan ze, Article 3): conduct is criminal and punishable only if the Code expressly so provides. This reform was presented as a fundamental guarantee of the rights of citizens and a commitment to the rule of law.

The 1997 revision also: expanded the number of specific crimes, including new categories of economic crime, drug crime, and organised crime; codified the principle of equal application of law (Article 4); introduced unit crime (danwei fanzui) liability for economic and social order offences; strengthened penalties for crimes against national security; and reorganised the punishment system.

Eleven Amendments (1999-2020)

The Criminal Code has been amended 11 times through Criminal Law Amendments adopted by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. The amendments reflect the evolving priorities of Chinese criminal policy.

Amendment I (1999): Added provisions on securities crimes, insider trading, and disclosure of false information by listed companies. Amendment II (2001): Added crimes related to terrorism, including the financing of terrorism. Amendment III (2001): Expanded terrorism-related offences, added bioterrorism and chemical terrorism. Amendment IV (2002): Expanded crimes against public safety, including sabotage of internet infrastructure. Amendment V (2005): Added crimes related to identity theft and credit card fraud. Amendment VI (2006): Major expansion of economic crimes, including intellectual property infringement, securities market manipulation, and money laundering. Amendment VII (2009): Added organised crime provisions and protection umbrella liability. Amendment VIII (2011): The most significant amendment to that date — removed 13 economic crimes from the death penalty; introduced community correction; added organised crime sentencing guidelines; and established criminal liability for dangerous driving. Amendment IX (2015): Further reduction of capital offences (removing nine); expansion of terrorism provisions; introduction of the death penalty for human trafficking of young children; and enhanced anti-corruption provisions. Amendment X (2017): Expanded the scope of the death penalty for certain violent crimes. Amendment XI (2020): Lowered the age of criminal responsibility from 14 to 12 for serious violent crimes; expanded provisions on illegal securities activities; and enhanced criminal penalties for environmental crimes.

Structure: General Part and Special Part

The Criminal Code is divided into a General Part (Zong Ze), comprising Articles 1-101, and a Special Part (Fen Ze), comprising Articles 102-452.

The General Part establishes: the tasks, principles, and scope of application of the Criminal Code (Chapter I); the definition of crime, the elements of criminal liability, justifiable defence, necessity, and the stages of crime (Chapter II); the system of punishments (Chapter III); the application of punishments, including sentencing, recidivism, voluntary surrender, meritorious performance, and limitation periods (Chapter IV); the calculation of punishment periods (Chapter V); the application of community correction (Chapter VI, Amendment VIII); the principles for unit crime liability (Chapter VII); and the supplementary provisions.

The Special Part is organised by the object of criminal protection: crimes against national security (Chapter I, Articles 102-113); crimes against public safety (Chapter II, Articles 114-139); crimes against the socialist market economic order (Chapter III, Articles 140-231, subdivided into sections on production and sale of fake and shoddy goods, smuggling, intellectual property, and financial crimes); crimes against the rights of the person and democratic rights (Chapter IV, Articles 232-262); property crimes (Chapter V, Articles 263-276); crimes against social order (Chapter VI, Articles 277-367); crimes against national defence interests (Chapter VII, Articles 368-381); embezzlement and bribery (Chapter VIII, Articles 382-399); dereliction of duty (Chapter IX, Articles 397-419); and military crimes (Chapter X, Articles 420-451).

Punishment Types

The Criminal Code establishes five principal punishments and three supplementary punishments.

Principal punishments: public surveillance (guanzhi), three months to two years, served in the community under supervision; criminal detention (juyi), one to six months, served in a detention centre; fixed-term imprisonment (youqi tuxing), six months to 15 years (up to 25 years where multiple sentences are merged); life imprisonment (wuqi tuxing); and the death penalty (sixing).

Supplementary punishments: fines (fajin); deprivation of political rights (boduo zhengzhi quanli), one to five years (life for death penalty or life imprisonment cases); and confiscation of property (mosou caichan).

The suspended death sentence (sihuan) is a distinctive Chinese institution, unique to the Criminal Code. Under Article 48, a person sentenced to death may be granted a two-year suspension of execution. If the offender does not intentionally commit a crime during the suspension period, the sentence is commuted to life imprisonment. If the offender intentionally commits a grave crime, the death penalty may be executed following SPC approval.

Criminal Responsibility Age

The age of criminal responsibility is governed by Article 17 of the Criminal Code, which has been amended by Amendments VIII and XI.

Under 12: No criminal responsibility. 12-14 (Amendment XI, 2020): Criminally responsible only for intentional homicide or intentional injury causing death or serious disability by especially cruel means, where the Supreme People’s Procuratorate approves the prosecution. 14-16: Criminally responsible for 18 specified serious offences: intentional homicide, intentional injury causing serious harm or death, rape, robbery, drug trafficking, arson, explosion, and poisoning. Over 16: Criminally responsible for all offences.

Amendment XI (2020) was prompted by public outrage over several high-profile cases of violent crimes committed by minors aged 12-14, including a case in which a 13-year-old boy killed a 10-year-old girl and was not criminally responsible due to his age.

Death Penalty Reform

The death penalty in China has been progressively restricted. The 1997 Code listed 68 capital offences, one of the highest numbers in the world. Amendment VIII (2011) removed 13 economic crimes from the capital list. Amendment IX (2015) removed nine more.

The Supreme People’s Court’s exclusive review authority over all death sentences, restored in 2007, has been the most significant single reform. The SPC reviews every death sentence — both those with immediate execution and those with suspended execution — and may confirm, modify, or quash the sentence.

Conclusion

The Chinese Criminal Code (Xingfa) has evolved from the 1979 original — with its 192 articles, the analogy system, and 68 capital offences — to the comprehensive 1997 Code and its 11 amendments. The abolition of analogy, the adoption of the principle of legality, the progressive reduction of the death penalty, and the 2020 lowering of the age of criminal responsibility are the defining developments. The Code’s structure — a General Part establishing general principles and a Special Part organised by protected interests — reflects its German and Soviet civil law heritage.