The Construction of Guilt in China: An Empirical Account of Routine Chinese Injustice

Drawing on insights from the author's own empirical data obtained from systematic observation of the daily routines within Chinese criminal justice institutions, this ground-breaking book examines the functional deficiency of the criminal justice system in preventing innocent individuals from being wrongly accused and convicted. Setting within a broad socio-legal context, this book outlines the strategic interrelationships between key legal actors, the deep-seated legal culture embedded in practice, the deficiency of integrity of the system and the structural injustices that follow. The author follows the investigative dossier in the criminal process - how it is constructed, scrutinised and used to dispose of cases and convict defendants in lieu of witnesses' oral testimony - as its focal point. It illustrates that the Chinese criminal justice system as a state apparatus of social control has been framed through performance indicators, bureaucratic management and the central value of collectivism in such a way as to maintain the stability of the authoritarian power. This book will appeal to academics, researchers, policy advisors and practitioners working in the areas of criminal law, comparative criminal justice/criminology, as well as in Chinese studies.