Abstract

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Title:: Supervision by Public Opinions，Trial by Media and Independence ofCriminal Justice

Keywords:: independence of criminal justice; supervision by public opinions; trial by media

Abstract:: At present，the public participation in judicial procedures has become increasingly popular andmedia reports on criminal cases more transparent. This has brought about a group of typical cases whichshowcase the tension between the supervision by public opinions and the independence of criminal justice fromdifferent perspectives. Due to the differences in their basic principles，the supervision by public opinions haslong been in conflict with the independence of criminal justice，though they are both based on constitutionallegitimacy and objective rationality. A good institutional design should strike a balance between them，whichdepends on adequate exploration in both theory and practice. To achieve this goal，it is necessary for us toanalyze how the supervision by public opinions is alienated and why the trial executed by the media take shapein order to promote the judicial justice. On this basis，we have to work out good measures for building effectiveprinciples of the supervision by public opinions，defining the right position for those who are involved in thesupervision，and ensuring the self-discipline of the supervisors. A good institutional framework where thepublic supervision can interact with judicial independence productively also lies in due understanding of thetrue meaning of the principle of judicial independence and the value of its procedures.