law and Criminal Procedure Law Criminal Law China's first post-1949 substantive and procedural Criminal Code was enacted in 1979. The 1979 Code followed the release of a new Constitution in 1978, and the fall of the 'Gang of Four' in 1976. Chinese Criminal Code went through a major restructuring in 1997, all subsequent revisions were amendments on the 1997 version of the Criminal Code of the People's Republic of China. The present Criminal Code, The Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国刑法) is the product of extensive revisions, most recently passed on December 26, 2020 (the 11th Amendment to enact on March 1, 2021) which featured changes in response to recent social changes, some notable changes included the lowering of age that bears criminal responsibility to 16, and in the case of "committing crimes of intentional homicide, intentional harm", offenders of 14 to 16 of age would also bear criminal responsibility. Noteworthy features of criminal law in China include the requirement that crimes and criminal sanctions may only be governed by national laws (as opposed to provincial laws or ministerial regulations). This rule is set out in Article 8 of the Legislation Law of the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国立法法). The harshness of criminal law in China is under heavy criticism or strong support, especially the insistence on capital punishment for many crimes. China accounts for the biggest number of criminals executed in the world per year, which has raised great concern among different human rights groups and international organizations. Criminal Procedure Law This Criminal Procedure Law of China (中华人民共和国刑事诉讼法) provides for all phases of the criminal process. This is distinct from the system of administrative punishments (including detention for periods of multiple years) and procedures which are governed under a separate system of laws and regulations. The criminal procedure law governs the conduct of investigations, including pre-trial detention, interrogation, surveillance, prosecution (by an institution called the "procuratorate") and the conduct of trials/the defense of the accused. However, the independence of the courts and institutions involved in the investigation, prosecution and trial of criminal offences in China remains challenged by the structure of the PRC's government and its organs. One example of the structural barriers to the independence of courts is the Chinese Communist Party political-legal committee system, by which "the Party has the power to instruct, monitor or scrutinize courts regarding specific decisions of individual cases or