Feature | How Much Can Inmate Medical Care Cost? Major Prison Law Overhaul Balances Rights and Anti-Corruption Measures (AI Translation)

特稿｜罪犯就医可花多少钱？监狱法大修既重权利又防腐败

The ongoing amendment to China's Prison Law, the first major overhaul in over three decades since its adoption in 1994, introduces significant revisions aimed at improving inmate rights, prison management, and offender reintegration into society. The draft amendment, first reviewed by the Standing Committee of the 14th National People’s Congress in late April 2024, expands the law from 78 to 114 articles and is open for public comment, reflecting the need to address emerging challenges and societal changes [para. 1][para. 3][para. 4].

Chief among its reforms, the draft law allows inmates temporary leave under special permission to handle family emergencies, visit ailing or deceased relatives, or attend to other major matters—a provision notably absent from the original legislation [para. 1]. Academics and officials argue that modern prison management requires clearer legal frameworks, particularly as complexities arise in managing ill inmates or verifying new prisoner information [para. 3]. The amendments also follow years of nationwide consultations, with the draft nearly doubling the length of the original law at one point [para. 4].

The draft structures content into eight chapters, newly adding a chapter on “Legal Liability” and explicitly mandating the public disclosure of prison affairs. This aims to increase transparency, providing legal basis and oversight for enforcement actions and policies [para. 5]. Additionally, the amendments clarify authority and responsibility divisions between prisons, prison guards, and other judicial bodies, specifying that provincial-level judicial administrative departments have jurisdiction over prisons. A police oversight mechanism is also formalized, addressing a longstanding need for checks and balances among public security, justice, courts, and procuratorates [para. 7][para. 10][para. 12][para. 16].

To address overlapping judicial powers, the draft emphasizes enhanced coordination between judicial entities for criminal penalty enforcement, specifying responsibilities and introducing deadlines to replace vague language like “in a timely manner,” though some ambiguity remains [para. 15][para. 17]. These reforms respond to recent administrative tensions, including debates over who manages property penalties linked to sentences and the call—in academic communities—for a unified Criminal Enforcement Law covering all detention facilities [para. 20][para. 21].

The law also enumerates ten specific duties for prison officers, prohibiting misconduct such as unlawful information sharing and improper inmate assessments. Notably, the “duty exemption clause” protects officers from individual liability for lawful actions during duty, with compensation provided by the prison instead. However, oversight will become tighter, and the draft seeks to clarify the role of procuratorates in reviewing deaths in custody, though procedural gaps remain [para. 24][para. 28][para. 30][para. 32].

A highlight of the revision is the formal listing of inmate rights and obligations, guaranteeing that prisons inform new arrivals of these rights. Issues like inmate healthcare are clarified: while prisons cover basic medical needs, excessive demands and insufficient funding remain major challenges, often forcing prisons to exceed budget allocations [para. 33][para. 35][para. 36][para. 37]. The draft ensures government-guaranteed basic medical care according to local insurance standards and calls for new regulations on inmate injuries or deaths at work, moving away from treating prisoners as conventional workers without wages [para. 38][para. 40].

Additionally, all references to “production” are replaced by “labor,” emphasizing rehabilitative rather than economic motives, and the controversial topic of prison enterprises is highlighted as an unresolved area needing clearer legal definition [para. 43][para. 45][para. 47]. The rights to defense, appeal, and legal aid are bolstered, though ingrained practices sometimes ignore these rights in favor of compliance and repentance [para. 51][para. 53].

On rehabilitation, the draft underscores transforming offenders into law-abiding citizens and facilitating their social reintegration. It introduces differentiated security levels and prison areas to match offenders’ risk and rehabilitation needs, as well as adding requirements for mental health services—especially for juveniles—aligning with international standards [para. 59][para. 61][para. 63][para. 65]. The law also requires prisons to coordinate with local agencies for the post-release resettlement of offenders, recognizing that successful reintegration depends on cooperation across society and is central to achieving lower recidivism and greater social stability [para. 74][para. 75][para. 76].