Notice of the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Issuing the Opinions of the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Comprehensively Heightening National Minor Judicial Assistance

· Area of Law： Civil Law Judicial Assistance

· Level of Authority： Working Documents of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate

· Date issued：02-27-2018

· Effective Date：02-27-2018

· Status： Effective

· Issuing Authority： Supreme People's Procuratorate

Notice of the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Issuing the Opinions of the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Comprehensively Heightening National Minor Judicial Assistance
The people's procuratorates of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government; the Military Procuratorate of the People's Liberation Army; and the People's Procuratorate of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps:
The Opinions of the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Comprehensively Heightening National Minor Judicial Assistance are hereby issued to you for your conscientious implementation based on the actual circumstances of work. The information on the implementation and any problems encountered shall be reported to the Supreme People's Procuratorate in a timely manner.
Supreme People's Procuratorate
February 27, 2018
Opinions of the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Comprehensively Heightening National Minor Judicial Assistance
For the purposes of further intensifying the judicial protection of minors and profoundly boosting the national judicial assistance from the procuratorial authorities, according to the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Minors, the Opinions of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Central Committee, the Ministry of Finance, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of Justice on Establishing and Refining National Judicial Assistance Rules (for Trial Implementation), the Several Opinions of the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Implementing the Opinions on Establishing and Refining National Judicial Assistance Rules (for Trial Implementation), and the Detailed Rules of the Supreme People's Procuratorate for National Judicial Assistance (for Trial Implementation), based on the actual circumstances of the procuratorial work, the following opinions on comprehensively heightening national minor judicial assistance are hereby offered:
I. Fully recognizing the significance of the national minor judicial assistance
Minors are the future of the country, and their sound growth directly relates to the aspirations of millions of families to live a better life, the prosperity of the country and national rejuvenation, and completing the building of a great modern socialist country in the new era in all aspects. The protection of minors is the common responsibility of whole society and important responsibility of the procuratorial authorities. Over recent years, there has been a leapfrog progress in the judicial protection of minors, but there remains the fact that minors and their families are slipping back into poverty due to cases, and there is even inability to obtain basic necessities of life, difficulties in continuity of schooling, and other problems, seriously injurious to the lawful rights and interests of minors and preventing their sound growth. Thus, the procuratorial authorities in all regions have actively provided national judicial assistance and helped minors falling into a plight in judicial proceedings, and they have made significant achievements and saw positive effect. The procuratorial authorities at all levels shall fully summarize experience, further improve recognition, practically heighten the sense of responsibility and voluntariness of providing national minor judicial assistance, with the aim of better detailing the assistance work, making the assistance work more target specific, and better optimizing assistance effect, highlight the priorities of protection of minors, comprehensively fulfill the judicial responsibility of case-resolving authorities, and take more powerful measures, so as to continue raising the level of the national minor judicial assistance, sufficiently reflect the party and the government's care for people's livelihood in judicial work, practically reflect the care, affection and warmness of people's justice, and help minors get out of the plight in their life and embark on a wholesome, happy, and promising path of life.
II. Firmly developing the concepts of particular protection and timely assistance
Minors are growing physically and mentally and unable to efficiently tackle changes and mental stress, and thus they are vulnerable to illegal injury, which tends to lead to serious consequences. When resolving particular cases, the procuratorial authorities shall provide qualified minors in the cases with national judicial assistance in a timely manner and place them under particular, prior and comprehensive protection based on their physical and mental characteristics and the need for future development. With an eye to helping minors get out of current plight in life as soon as possible, the physical and mental conditions, family education, and social environment of minors shall be improved vigorously, so as to promote the sound growth of minors. While minors are helped to restore their life and studies to a normal state, the personal dignity, right of reputation, right of privacy, and other lawful rights of minors shall be respected, so as to prevent "secondary injury." The procuratorial authorities shall fulfill its own functions and play its own role while fully collaborating with other relevant authorities and organizations and motivating all sectors of society, so as to join work forces for social protection of minors.
III. Specifying beneficiaries and achieving a full assistance coverage
The procuratorial authorities of competent jurisdiction shall provide the following minors with assistance:
1. A minor suffers physical injury and disability, or serious emotional trauma, caused by criminal wrong, and is rendered financially stressed by failure to receive sufficient compensation in a timely manner.
2. A minor is in urgent need of medical treatment as a result of criminal wrong beyond what his/her family can afford.
3. A minor is rendered financially stressed due to the death of the person supporting him/her caused by criminal wrong and the failure to receive sufficient compensation in a timely manner.
4. A minor is rendered financially stressed due to the material loss of his/her family property caused by criminal wrong and the failure to receive sufficient compensation in a timely manner, or reasonable reimbursement or assistance.
5. A minor is rendered financially stressed due to physical injury, or material loss of his/her family property, as a result of the retaliation for his/her reporting or testifying and the failure to receive sufficient compensation in a timely manner.
6. A minor is rendered financially stressed due to recovery of support from a person subject to execution proceedings incapable of payment.
7. A minor is rendered financially stressed due to personal injury caused by a traffic accident, or any other civil wrong, and the impossibility to obtain sufficient compensation through action.
8. A minor is otherwise rendered financially stressed due to a case and deemed in need of assistance.
IV. Reasonably determining assistance standards and ensuring the appropriation of the assistance funds for the designated purpose.
If a procuratorial authority decides to pay assistance benefit to a minor, it shall determine the amount of the benefit, taking into account the financial conditions of the minor's family and the expenses reasonably necessary for his/her schooling and growth, with the average monthly salary for an employee in the previous year in the province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government of jurisdiction over the case as a benchmark, which shall generally not exceed the aggregate of 30-month such salary. A minor who suffers serious physical injury or serious disability and whose family experiences considerable financial stress, or a minor who needs long-term psychotherapy or physical rehabilitation, may receive assistance benefit in excess of the cap subject to approval according to the relevant provisions. If the relevant legal instruments needs to be disclosed to the public, the identifying information of the minor and his/her legal representative or guardian.
The supervision of the appropriation of assistance funds shall be tightened, and when necessary, payment in installments, third-party management on behalf, and other modes of regulation of appropriation of the assistance funds may be applied, so as to ensure that the assistance funds are appropriated for the necessary and reasonable expenses of minors. Any entity or individual that withholds, embezzles, privately distributes, or misappropriates the assistance funds shall be held accountable in strict accordance with the discipline and law, with the assistance funds recovered.
V. Vigorously providing assistance in diversified manners to heighten the actual effect of the assistance work
For sound and happy growth, minors need both material assistance but also emotional and mental counseling; and need to solve the imminent difficulties in life and arrange well future studies and growth. When providing minors with national judicial assistance, the procuratorial authorities shall heighten their awareness of particular and prior protection of minors, instead of adopting the simple practice of "only giving money," take into account the specific circumstances of minors, depend on the relevant entities and professionals, take measures suitable for specific persons, provide precision assistance, and practically highlight the long-term assistance effect.
The procuratorial authorities may assist the following minors that is in plight as a result of cases in corresponding manner:
1. A minor who suffers sexual assault, injury from his/her guardian, or any other physical injury shall be counseled and directed mentally; and a minor who suffers emotional trauma or mental damage shall be provided with psychotherapy.
2. For a minor who is not under guardianship, or whose guardian has no capability of guardianship, or whose former guardian has been disqualified as a guardian, assistance in settlement, provision of provisional care, appointment of a new guardian, and other relevant work shall be provided.
3. A minor who drops out of school when receiving compulsory education shall be assisted in returning to school; for a minor who may drop out of school as a result of financial stress, the implementation of relevant student benefit policies shall be promoted; and if transfer to another school is necessary, the undergoing of the relevant procedures shall be coordinated.
4. A minor who finds it difficult to seek medical care or rehabilitation on account of physical disability shall be helped to select medical or rehabilitation facilities to promote recovery.
5. A minor who institutes an incidental civil action for damage to his/her person or property shall be helped to access legal aid; if he/she separately institutes a civil action, the waiver of relevant court costs shall be coordinated.
6. For a minor attaining an appropriate age who is willing to work, start a new business, or otherwise but lacks necessary skills, the relevant authorities shall be requested to provide skill training and other assistance.
7. For a minor qualifying for social assistance, policy consultation and assisted referrals shall be provided, and assistance shall be provide to request the relevant authorities in the place of his/her household registration to include him/her in the scope of social assistance according to provisions.
8. Manners otherwise deemed reasonable and efficient.
VI. Voluntarily providing assistance and implementing division of responsibility
National judicial assistance is an important function of the procuratorial authorities, the judicial protection of minors is a duty that the procuratorial authorities shall fulfill, and the effective national minor judicial assistance requires the vigorous participation of the procuratorial authorities at all levels, the relevant functional departments of the procuratorial authorities, and procuratorial personnel, joint endeavor, effective cooperation, and joint advancement.
The procuratorial departments of criminal petition shall be responsible for acceptance and review of applications for assistance, offering review opinions on assistance, granting assistance benefit, and other work, and the minor procuratorial work departments shall be responsible for providing assistance in other manners and other relevant work. Investigation supervision, prosecution, criminal execution procuratorial, civil and administrative procuratorial, complaint procuratorial, and other case-resolving departments shall heighten the awareness of assistance on their own motion, have a comprehensive understanding of the injury and difficulties in life of minors, and, if assistance benefit is necessary, request in a timely manner the resolution as provided from the procuratorial departments of criminal petition; and if assistance in other manners is necessary, request in a timely manner the resolution as provided from the minor procuratorial work departments, or notify the minor procuratorial work departments to intervene.
The procuratorial departments of criminal petition and the minor procuratorial work departments shall pay attention to strengthening communication, contract, collaboration, and cooperation and guarantee the earliest implementation of the relevant assistance measures.
VII. Vigorously mobilizing all parties and establishing an external cooperation mechanism
The procuratorial authorities shall, when providing minors with national judicial assistance, adhere to the unified leadership of the political and legislative affairs committees of party committees, strengthen the link to courts, public security and justice authorities, win the support of education, civil affairs, finance, human resources and social security, health and family planning, and other authorities, link themselves with the Communist Youth League, women's federations, the China Working Committee for Caring the Next Generation, trade unions, lawyers' associations, and other people's groups and organizations and schools, hospitals, communities, and other relevant entities, direct social organizations, especially minor protection organizations, public-welfare and charitable organizations, social service institutions, volunteer teams and other social forces, and establish a support system for national minor judicial assistance under the leadership of party committees, supported by the government, and vigorously participated in by all relevant parties.
Relevant public-welfare projects and public volunteer service platforms shall be voluntarily used to maximize their advantages in rich resources, flexible methodologies, and diversified forms and further expand the national minor judicial assistance in depth and width.
The mode of raising assistance funds dominated by the government and extensively participated in by the public shall be adhered to, more raising efforts shall be made, sources shall be expanded, and enterprises and individuals shall be vigorously encouraged to donate funds for the assistance. When donated funds are accepted and used, the donors shall be informed of the specific beneficiaries and amount of the assistance benefit so as to ensure the transparency and equity of use of funds.
VIII. Strengthening organization and leadership and advancing the assistance in a sound and orderly manner
The procuratorial authorities at all levels shall, with a great sense of responsibility, strengthen and improve the leadership of the national minor judicial assistance, conduct meticulous organization, make elaborate arrangements, ensure implementation, and endeavor to form a work pattern featuring determinate division of labor, orderly link, close collaboration, and synergistic advancement among all relevant authorities. The superior procuratorial authorities shall practically fulfill the duties of organization and guidance of the national minor judicial assistance in the local regions, strengthen the supervisory guidance of the assistance provided by the subordinate procuratorial authorities, grasp a comprehensive understanding of the progress in the assistance, solve problems in a timely manner, summarize and promote experience, and pay attention to lifting the level of the national minor judicial assistance in the local regions. Publicity and guidance shall be heightened, typical cases and positive achievements shall be showed, and endeavor shall be made to create a good atmosphere in which whole society pays attention to, cares about and shows loving concern for the national minor judicial assistance.