👉The table of contents so far is here.
Chapter 7: The System of Litigation Law
7.7. Impeachment Justice
The impeachment justice is a special judicial branch that tries corruption, abuse of power, and other misconduct in the course of official duties by public officials and quasi-public officials. It is the only exceptional judicial branch that employs a court format within the communist judicial system, which is essentially devoid of a court system.
The judicial branches that fall under the category of impeachment justice include the Commons' Convention Impeachment Court, which tries misconduct by sitting delegates to the Commons' Convention and public officials directly appointed by the Commons' Convention ; the Special Human Rights Court, a special impeachment court that tries cases of human rights violations committed in the course of official duties by public officials and quasi-public officials; and the Public Officials Corruption Tribunal, which tries cases of corruption committed by public officials and quasi-public officials not directly appointed by the Commons' Convention.
Of these, the People's Assembly Impeachment Tribunal and the Special Human Rights Tribunal are non-permanent judicial branches established on a case-by-case basis, while the Public Officials Corruption Impeachment Tribunal is a permanent judicial branch. Although it is a judicial body, it does not have a criminal punishment system, so the main sanction imposed on those found guilty is dismissal, and depending on the circumstances, they may also be subject to a fixed or indefinite suspension or permanent deprivation of their civil rights. If a person's civil rights are suspended or revoked, they will no longer be able to hold any public office.
The Commons' Convention Impeachment Court is a special tribunal established for each Commons' Convention Impeachment Court in a Zone and in each level within a Zone. Its primary audience is Commons' Convention delegates, with a secondary audience consisting of various judicial positions directly appointed by the Commons' Convention for which status protection is strongly required to ensure neutrality. This is followed by other positions directly appointed by the Commons' Convention.
Because the Commons' Convention Impeachment Court takes the form of a trial, it begins with an indictment procedure similar to that of a criminal trial. A panel of prosecutors is appointed for this purpose, but before that, the Commons' Convention Impeachment Committee conducts a preliminary investigation and decides whether or not an impeachment trial is necessary.
Once the Impeachment Court is established, the appointed panel of prosecutors has the authority to conduct various compulsory investigations, if necessary, with a warrant from the Tribune for Habeas Corpus, but does not have the authority to detain suspects for long periods of time. Their authorities are limited to arresting suspects and questioning witnesses.
Once the panel of prosecutors has completed their investigation and decided to indict, a panel of judges is appointed. The panel of judges, consisting of a lawyer and two Commons' Convention delegates, hears and renders judgment on the charges. The defendant is guaranteed the right to submit counterarguments against the prosecutors' evidence, but appeals are not permitted against judgments and trials are finalized after one trial.
Corruption cases involving public officials and other individuals not covered by the Commons' Convention Impeachment Court are heard by the permanent Public Officials Corruption Impeachment Tribunal. As a permanent judicial body, the Tribunal's Prosecutor's Office can directly indict suspects without a preliminary investigation. Trials at the Public Officials Corruption Impeachment Tribunal are composed of a professional judge and two citizen jurors who hold Commons' Convention delegate licenses.
Special Human Rights Court, on the other hand, primarily concerns public officials and other individuals in a position to exercise coercive power over citizens. The establishment of such courts is decided by the Tribune for Habeas Corpus upon request from a citizen alleging human rights violations by a public official.
Apart from the fact that it is an emergency institution, the procedural flow of the trial is similar to that of impeachment trials for corruption of public officials. However, if the trial determines that the offender has strong antisocial tendencies and requires correctional treatment similar to that of ordinary offenders, the responsible person will be referred to the Correction and Probation Commission.
👉The papers published on this blog are meant to expand upon my On Communism.
