社区矫正法 (shèqū jiǎozhèng fǎ): Community correction law

The first draft of a community correction law is being reviewed by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature.

This is China's first law specializing in community correction, which refers to relatively lenient noncustodial sentences imposed on offenders. By serving their sentences in a residential community under supervision, offenders can better integrate into society, which helps improve social security and stability.

Community correction is regarded as a significant way to improve the judicial system as well as national governance. According to Minister of Justice Fu Zhenghua, community correction pilot programs were launched in China in 2003, and the system has been promoted nationwide since 2009. In the past 16 years, 4.31 million offenders have received community correction sentences. The cost of community correction is 10 percent that of a prison sentence, while the rate of reoffending during community correction is only 0.2 percent.

The draft stipulates the application range, management system, procedure, measure and supervision of community correction. In particular, it stresses the rights and interests of juveniles, in order to help them be rehabilitated into society.