1991] ADJUDICATION SUPERVISION IN THE P.R.C. 103 court president can reassign a case from one collegiate panel to an- other or to the judicial committee for review,until a decision is reached which meets his approval.46 Additionally,even after a final judgment is rendered,the president of the court has the power,sua sponte,to seek a reopening of the final judgment or order by the ju- dicial committee,if in his opinion,there is error in the judgment or order.47 Most significantly,the president of the people's court pre- sides over meetings of the judicial committees,48 and thus controls when and in what manner a request for reopening is taken up. The third actor in the adjudication supervision process is the procurator.49 The institution of the procuracy,as imported from the Soviet Union,has two functions.The procuracy not only investi- gates and prosecutes crimes,but like the president of the court and the judicial committee,also is responsible for supervising legality in the administration of justice.50 In its supervisory role,the procuracy oversees the trial activities of the courts and monitors the execution of judgments,51 and may sua sponte lodge a protest of a final judg- ment of a court at a lower level in accordance with the procedures for adjudication supervision.52 While a citizen can never participate in a judicial committee discussion on the merits of his petition,the procurator can participate in determining whether a reopening of any case is warranted.In all retrials pursuant to adjudication super- vision,the procuracy must send its personnel to appear in court to oversee the process.53 In sum,the adjudication supervision process depends in large part on the discretion of the judicial committee,the court president, 269.Additionally,the president of the court has the power to appoint the presiding judge of the collegiate panel hearing a case,or to appoint himself to that role.Peo- ple's Court Law,ch.I,art.10 46.Id. 47. People's Court Law,ch.I,art.14. 48.People's Court Law,ch.I,art.11. 49. Procurators are appointed by the corresponding people's congress and its standing committee.People's Procuratorate Law,ch.III,arts.21-24.Hence,like other members of the judicial committee,the procurator at each level is theoreti- cally accountable to the people's congress and the standing committee at the corre- sponding level of authority.People's Procuratorate Law,ch.I,art.10. 50.Article I of the Organic Law of the People's Procuratorate defines the procuracy as "state organs of legal supervision." Organic Law of the People's Procuratorate,ch.I,art.1.See also Harold Berman,Justice in the USSR 239-47(2d ed.1963)(describing the role of Soviet procuracy). 51.People's Procuratorate Law,ch.I,art.5. 52.The procuracy must accept petitions of grievances from citizens,investigate, and determine whether a petition merits registering a protest in court.People's Procuratorate Law,ch.1,arts.6,18.The procuracy may also issue a protest a re- sponse to grievances made by or against prisons,detention houses or institutions in charge of reform through labor.Id.;see also Shen Jungui,"Legal Relationships in A Criminal Retrial,"Xibei Zhengfa Xueyuan Xuebao (Journal of Northwest Institute of Political Science and Law),No.2,1988 at 45. 53.People's Procuratorate Law,ch.I,art.18. This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.82.207 on Thu,15 Nov 2012 12:27:25 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions1991] ADJUDICATION SUPERVISION IN THE P.R.C. 103 court president can reassign a case from one collegiate panel to an￾other or to the judicial committee for review, until a decision is reached which meets his approval.46 Additionally, even after a final judgment is rendered, the president of the court has the power, sua sponte, to seek a reopening of the final judgment or order by the ju￾dicial committee, if in his opinion, there is error in the judgment or order.47 Most significantly, the president of the people's court pre￾sides over meetings of the judicial committees," and thus controls when and in what manner a request for reopening is taken up. The third actor in the adjudication supervision process is the procurator.49 The institution of the procuracy, as imported from the Soviet Union, has two functions. The procuracy not only investi￾gates and prosecutes crimes, but like the president of the court and the judicial committee, also is responsible for supervising legality in the administration of justice.m In its supervisory role, the procuracy oversees the trial activities of the courts and monitors the execution of judgments,5' and may sua sponte lodge a protest of a final judg￾ment of a court at a lower level in accordance with the procedures for adjudication supervision.52 While a citizen can never participate in a judicial committee discussion on the merits of his petition, the procurator can participate in determining whether a reopening of any case is warranted. In all retrials pursuant to adjudication super￾vision, the procuracy must send its personnel to appear in court to oversee the process.53 In sum, the adjudication supervision process depends in large part on the discretion of the judicial committee, the court president, 269. Additionally, the president of the court has the power to appoint the presiding judge of the collegiate panel hearing a case, or to appoint himself to that role. Peo￾ple's Court Law, ch. I, art. 10. 46. Id. 47. People's Court Law, ch. I, art. 14. 48. People's Court Law, ch. I, art. 11. 49. Procurators are appointed by the corresponding people's congress and its standing committee. People's Procuratorate Law, ch. III, arts. 21-24. Hence, like other members of the judicial committee, the procurator at each level is theoreti￾cally accountable to the people's congress and the standing committee at the corre￾sponding level of authority. People's Procuratorate Law, ch. I, art. 10. 50. Article I of the Organic Law of the People's Procuratorate defines the procuracy as "state organs of legal supervision." Organic Law of the People's Procuratorate, ch. I, art. 1. See also Harold Berman, Justice in the USSR 239-47 (2d ed. 1963) (describing the role of Soviet procuracy). 51. People's Procuratorate Law, ch. I, art. 5. 52. The procuracy must accept petitions of grievances from citizens, investigate, and determine whether a petition merits registering a protest in court. People's Procuratorate Law, ch. 1, arts. 6, 18. The procuracy may also issue a protest a re￾sponse to grievances made by or against prisons, detention houses or institutions in charge of reform through labor. Id.; see also Shen Jungui, "Legal Relationships in A Criminal Retrial," Xibei Zhengfa Xueyuan Xuebao (Journal of Northwest Institute of Political Science and Law), No. 2, 1988 at 45. 53. People's Procuratorate Law, ch. I, art. 18. This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.82.207 on Thu, 15 Nov 2012 12:27:25 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions