Foreign suspects employ criminal defense lawyers in China.

Foreign criminal defense lawyer_ Foreign suspects employ criminal defense lawyers in China.

According to the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Law, "foreign-related criminal cases" refers to as following,

1. Within the territory of the People's Republic of China, criminal cases in which foreigners commit crimes or Chinese citizens infringe upon the lawful rights of foreigners.

2. Outside the territory of the People's Republic of China, foreigners in accordance with the Article 8 and  Article 10 of Chinese Criminal Law committed against the state and citizens of the People's Republic of China and against Chinese citizens.

3. Criminal cases in which the People's Republic of China exercises jurisdiction within international treaty obligations under the circumstances specified in the Article 9 of Chinese Criminal Law.

4. The nationality of a foreigners shall be confirmed by their valid certificate at the time of entry; If the nationality is unknown, it should be identified by the Public Security Bureau and the foreign affairs department. If the nationality cannot be confirmed,  the foreigner is regards as stateless person. Such criminal cases applied to the procedure for foreign-related criminal cases. In judicial practice, it can be dealt with in according to the principles and legislative spirit stipulated in China's Criminal Procedure Law. In general, if the case caused significant damage which in relation to the national interests or the investigation will be carried out widely and a lot of people involved , it can be regarded first instance trial judged by the supreme people's court or the higher people's court . But such kind of cases are rarely occur. Majority of such cases shall be tried by the intermediate people's court in accordance with Article 20 of the current Criminal Procedure Law. Due to the foreigner overseas criminal place and the defendant residence are not in any court jurisdiction of China, it could not be determined according to the principle of criminal place and the defendant residence to confirm intermediate court as the court of first instance.

In accordance with the above laws and regulations and relevant laws and regulations of China, if foreigners commit a crime within the territory of the People's Republic of China, they can employ a criminal defense lawyer in accordance with the following conditions.

1)  Entrust qualified lawyer in the People's Republic of China.

2)  If foreign defendants entrust his close relative or guardian to act as a defender, the people's court shall grant such authorization as long as it is in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Law and relevant judicial interpretation.

3) If a close relative of foreign defendants or their embassy representative acted as the defender instead of the foreigner in China, effective evidence of the relationship with the foreign defendant should be provided.

4) If a foreign defendant does not entrust a defender, the people's court may designate a defender for him/her. If a foreign defendant  rejects the defender  designated by the people's court,  he/she should submit written opinions or his/ her oral opinion should be recorded by the judge with his/her signature,  the people's court shall be granted in writing.

5) The foreign defendants and the Chinese defendants have the same right in criminal proceedings, and the consulate in China may exercise the duty of consular protection and appoint a defender for the foreign defendant.

6) Foreign defendants may be sentenced to life imprisonment or death, the blind, the deaf-mute, or the person with limited ability to act and the person under the age of 18 shall not entrust defenders, the court shall inform the legal aid institutions to appoint lawyer to defend for them. Please noted that the power of attorney sent to Chinese lawyers or Chinese citizens by foreigners living outside the territory of the People's Republic of China and the proof of relationship between the foreign defendants and their close relatives and foreign consulates in China should be authorized by the country's diplomatic institution or its organs of certification and authenticated by the Chinese Embassy in the country's embassies and consulates. Then it will go into effort except for the mutual exemption agreement between China and the country.