| The new Criminal Procedure Law of People's Republic of China, implemented in 2013, strengthens the system of expert witnesses' appearance in court, introduces the expert assistant system, and tries to find news approaches to the reform of the expert appraisal system, of the evidence system, and of the trial mode in China. In essence, expert witnesses' appearance in court is a process in which an expert witness receives cross-examinations from both the prosecution and the defense on his appraisal opinions in court, so as to guarantee the defendant's right to examine witness against him. The expert assistant system stipulated in Article 192 of the new Criminal Procedure Law aims mainly at cross-examination of appraisal opinions. Protecting defendants' rights to cross-examination should be the theoretical pivot of the system of expert witnesses' appearance in court and the expert assistant system. However, empirical studies show that, there has no marked change in the rate of expert witnesses' court appearance since the implementation of the new Criminal Procedure Law. The problem of low rate of court appearance of expert witnesses in China is actually a problem of the low rate of cases in which an expert witness is required to appear in court. And both expert witnesses and judges lack motivation with respect to expert witnesses' appearance in court. Moreover, the role played by an expert assistant in court is vague, that is, it can be that of an expert witness, a witness, a defense lawyer or an independent participant in litigation. In the future, China should further develop the system of expert witnesses' appearance in court and the system of expert assistant by strengthening the defendant's right of cross-examination and making the opinions of expert assistant admissibility in court, so as to build an expert appraisal system based on the equality of arms between the prosecution and the defense. |
京公网安备11010102006664号 京ICP备2023015853号