On December 25, 2024, the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress passed amendments to the Supervision Law, which established a new supervisory organ of the state to investigate corruption and other abuses of office by public officials. This was the first time the law was amended since its enactment in 2018. Under the amendments, supervision commissions that investigate alleged wrongdoing are granted increased authority to detain suspects. The amendments also add new protections for the rights of subjects under investigation. The new Supervision Law will take effect on June 1, 2025.
The supervision commissions are responsible for overseeing the conduct of not only Party and government officials but also individuals in other key public roles, such as managers of state-owned enterprises and personnel engaged in the management of public schools, hospitals, cultural institutions, and scientific research organizations. (Art. 15.)
Enhanced Detention Powers
The 2018 Supervision Law grants supervision commissions the power to place suspects into retention in custody (liuzhi) for investigative purposes for up to six months. Under the new law, that period can be extended to eight months if the suspect faces the possibility of a prison sentence of 10 years or more. For cases handled by the National Supervision Commission (the nation’s supreme supervisory body) or by provincial supervision commissions upon approval by the national commission, the period may be reset once if new, serious duty-related offenses are uncovered. This effectively raises the maximum period of retention in custody to 16 months. (Art. 48.)
New Restrictive Measures
The amendments introduce three additional measures that supervision commissions may use to limit suspects’ freedom, mirroring the restrictive measures in criminal proceedings, as follows:
- Compelled appearances (qiangzhi dao’an). Under the newly added article 21, supervision commissions may compel individuals suspected of serious duty-related violations or crimes to appear for investigation.
- Release pending investigation (zeling houcha). Contained in article 23, this measure applies to people suspected of serious duty-related violations or crimes who are ineligible for retention in custody or, though eligible, have valid reasons for release, such as severe illness or inability to care for themselves. Once released, they are prohibited from leaving their city or county of residence without approval from the supervision commission. They must also report any job or address change to the commission, among other restrictions.
- Protective custody (guanhu). Under the new article 25, supervision commissions may impose this short-term measure under certain conditions. The measure is meant to protect persons suspected of serious duty-related violations or crimes when they voluntarily surrender or confess relevant issues and are not subject to retention in custody. Protective custody can be invoked only in cases involving significant security risks, such as escape or suicide. According to article 46, protective custody allows detention of up to seven days, which can be extended by one to three days.
In addition, the amended law introduces “confinement” (jinbi), a new emergency detention applicable to supervision commissions’ own personnel to prevent abuses of authority. Lasting up to seven days, it can be invoked to “prevent more severe consequences or adverse effects.” After the conclusion of an investigation, subjects of confinement may be transferred to protective custody or retention in custody as appropriate. (Art. 64.)
Protections for Supervision Subjects
The new law prohibits supervision commissions and staff from abusing their authority to unlawfully interfere with an enterprise’s business operations. If a business operator is required to assist in investigations, their personal rights, property rights, and other lawful rights and interests should be protected, and any disruption to normal business activities should be avoided or minimized. (Art. 43, para. 3.)
The updated law also grants subjects of protective custody or retention in custody and their families the right to apply for a change to the restrictive measure imposed. After receiving an application, supervision commissions have three days to issue a decision. If the commission rejects an application, it must inform the applicant and give the reasons for the rejection. (Art. 50, para. 2.)
Laney Zhang, Law Library of Congress
April 2, 2025
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