Imposition of the Death Penalty and its Impact in China_ The Rights Practice_ April 2022 on Safeguarding the Lawful Rights and Interests of the Parties in the Procedures of Death Sentence Review and Execution, effective from 1 September 2019.14 These provisions require that the courts of first instance, after receiving the final judgement from the SPC, to inform the prisoner as well as their close relatives of the imminent execution and allow them to meet. The court may also allow the person facing execution to meet their extended family and friends for the last time but this is only if there is a “valid reason” for such a meeting. The guidelines state that the prisoner has the right to record any last words, including through video and audio recording. 22. Under these provisions the defence lawyer should be notified by the relevant court of the SPC final verdict within five days after its announcement. Prior to these guidelines, after the SPC Review stage the lawyer of the defendant was not directly informed of the verdict and whether or not the death sentence had been approved. It is not known the extent to which courts are following these guidelines in practice. Prior to their release it was common for family members to hear of the execution before the lawyer. 23. The Criminal Procedure Law (2018), Article 263 states that “after the death penalty has been carried out, the enforcing court shall notify the criminal's family” but there have been cases of family members only finding out through public reports rather than directly through the courts.15 It is unknown whether or not these new provisions have made a difference in practice. 5) Methods of execution, including existing safeguards to prevent physical pain and suffering. 24. There is a lack of safeguards in China to guarantee that methods of execution prevent pain and suffering. The Chinese Criminal Procedure Law (2018), Article 263 states that “death sentences are carried out by methods such as shooting or lethal injection.”16 Lethal injection was introduced as an alternative method of execution to shooting in the 1997 amendment of the Criminal Procedure Law. This came as a result of both domestic and international concern and campaigning over the use of firing squad as inhumane and cruel. 25. Statistics about the use of the lethal injection, and the types of drugs and dosages, are a state secret. However, it is believed that its use expanded across China since the mid-2000s. The application is likely to be uneven across different provinces. There is very little published about the lethal injection in China but it is known that death is induced pharmacologically by using anaesthetics and lethal drugs. These are likely the same combination of drugs that is used in the United States (sodium thiopental, pancuronium bromide, and potassium chloride). 17 This combination of drugs as the lethal injection has been criticised internationally, and in the U.S., over concerns that it could inflict serious pain once administered. 26. There are also concerns over the determination of death in China which does not conform to international standards of medical ethics. In practice in China, declaring death by lethal injection happens within “tens of seconds” and this is not sufficient time.18 27. Mobile vans can be used in China to carry out the lethal injection, as they are thought to be a cost-effective method. However, there have also been concerns raised about these vans being an easy way to harvest organs. Several Provisions of the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding the Lawful Rights and Interests of the Parties in the Procedures of Death Sentence Review and Execution. 1 September 2019. Unofficial English translation, Law Info China: https://www.lawinfochina.com/display.aspx?id=30975&lib=law 15 Criminal Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China, 2018. Chinese official: http://www.npc.gov.cn/zgrdw/npc/xinwen/201811/05/content_2065631.htm Unofficial English translation, China Law Translate: https://www.chinalawtranslate.com/en/criminal-procedurelaw-2018/ 16 Ibid 17 Paul, Norbert, Caplan, Arthur, Shapiro, Michael, Els, Charls, Allison, Kirk, Li, Huige. (2018) ‘Determination of Death in Execution by lethal Injection in China.’ Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, 27, 459-466. 2018. 18 Ibid 14 5