A prosecutor in Dongcheng district questions a suspect through the remote questioning system. Photo Provided to China Daily

Prosecutors can now suggest sentences for convicts as part of innovative efforts to make trials more transparent.

Presiding justices normally decide penalties for guilty verdicts behind closed doors. However, following a successful pilot project in Dongcheng district, attorneys citywide will be able to make recommendations to be discussed in open court.

"The current trial system has some drawbacks, one being that the measurement of punishment is not open to the public," said Shan Min, vice-president of National Prosecutors College. "The court session lacks a thorough debate, and the judgment is usually not discussed in court. Defendants in similar situations have often received varying sentences in recent years."

Instead of prosecutors having to appeal sentences they feel are too lenient, the new reform means they can now suggest punishments when presenting indictments.

On Friday, prosecutors at Dongcheng district people's court suggested that the defendant, Wang Tai, receive the maximum 10 years in prison for selling fake visas. Officials took into account the fact Wang returned more than 164,000 yuan to his 12 victims.

"Defense attorneys can speak for the accused and appeal for leniency, so why shouldn't prosecutors be allowed to express their opinions on the punishment?" argued Wen Changjun, deputy chief prosecutor with Dongcheng people's procuratorate.

The district procuratorate launched the pilot in 2009 and now sees more than 80 percent of its sentence suggestions accepted by the court.

"The move brings sentencing into the light and ensures trials are more transparent," said Wen. "In many cases, the presiding bench will simply pronounce its judgment after the court session, but no one knows how it was determined."

The reform will also better ensure the rights of the accused, said professor Tian Hongjie at Renmin University of China. "While the public may not care about what problems the accused may face, they do concentrate on what sentence they will receive," she added.

Experts also believe that suggested sentences will dispel the mystery surrounding trials, while also reducing the number of appeals to go to higher authorities due to misunderstanding.

Although the move has won the nod from the Supreme People's Court and the municipal procuratorate to cover all areas, many scholars expressed concerns that the move may infringe on the courts' independence. However, Wen argued: "The plaintiff and the defendant are equal in court. In addition, the rights of prosecution include recommending a sentence."

Continuing its vein of innovation, Dongcheng district is also leading the way in improving judicial efficiency with its new remote video link. The system, which has been running since 2009, allows prosecutors to question suspects in distant detention houses via computers.

"It has enhanced the working efficiency, as well as the prosecutors' ability," said Jiang Yu, deputy chief prosecutor at Dongcheng district procuratorate.

The procuratorate's detention house is in the suburban Changping district, 28 kilometers away, while a simple pre-trial questioning can take just 20 minutes. Travel can seriously eat into prosecutors' investigation time.

The remote questioning system has so far been used in 450 cases, involving more than 500 suspects, although prosecutors are barred from using it in cases involving minors, people who are illiterate or the disabled.