The autumn trial system (Chinese: 秋審制度) was a special judicial system in the Qing dynasty of China. During the Qing dynasty, people who committed crimes like subversion and treason were sentenced to death (Chinese: 立決). In such cases, typically, criminals could not be amnestied. Nevertheless, people who committed crimes, like murdering a junior member in the family, might be sentenced to death penalty with a suspension [note 1], called "Zhan Jianhou" or "Jiao Jianhou" in Chinese (Chinese: 斬監侯/絞監侯). In such cases, the officers in the Board of Justice (Chinese: 刑部), the Court of Judicature and Revision (Chinese: 大理寺), and the "Court of Justice" (Chinese: 都察院) would determine whether to execute criminals sentenced to "Zhan Jianhou" or "Jiao Jianhou" in the autumn by a procedure called the "autumn trial" (Chinese: 秋審制度).[1][2]
| Autumn trial system | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese | 秋審制度 | ||||||
| Literal meaning | autumn trial system | ||||||
| |||||||
After the autumn trial, around 10-20 percent of criminals sentenced to "Zhan Jianhou" or "Jiao Jianhou" would be executed, while other criminals could typically obtain a commutation or a suspension for one more year. A criminal having obtained suspensions in the autumn trial system for several times might also obtain a commutation de facto.[3][4]
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ This is not identical to the death sentence with reprieve in modern China
References
edit- ^ 李岚 (2022-02-05). "清代的秋审制度". 中华文史网 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2022-02-05.
- ^ 赤城 美恵子 (2013). "清代における秋審判断の構造". 法制史研究 (63).
- ^ 周正云; 周炜 (2012). 湖南近现代法律制度（一） (in Chinese). p. 187. ISBN 978-7-999008-55-2. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
- ^ 王若时 (2019). ""慎刑"原则在清朝秋审中区分"实"、"缓"的运用". 法律适用·司法案例. 18.