TITLE:
Reflection and Improvement on the System for Initiating Forensic Psychiatric Evaluation in China
AUTHORS:
Kaiyin Zhu, Hexiao Yin
KEYWORDS:
Forensic Psychiatric Evaluation, Criminal Responsibility
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.12 No.11,
November
7,
2024
ABSTRACT: The initiation of forensic psychiatric evaluations concerns which criminal justice entity decides, and based on what standards, to conduct a psychiatric assessment of a criminal suspect or defendant. In practice, the initiation of forensic psychiatric evaluation in China is primarily based on “judicial officer-initiated system”. By reviewing relevant laws and regulations and summarizing typical cases, this paper identifies defects in China’s forensic psychiatric evaluation system as confusion over the initiating authority, unclear initiation standards, ambiguous reasons for non-initiation, monopolization of initiation power and incomplete remedies for non-initiation. These defects fundamentally stem from the inherent conflict between the party and law-enforcement agencies, as well as the reality of “replacing trial with evaluation”. To address these issues, this paper proposes granting the defendants more rights, clarifying initiation standards, and reconstructing the system for adopting forensic psychiatric evaluation opinions, aiming to improve the practice of forensic psychiatric evaluations and protect the rights of the parties involved.