Specific Provisions of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China on the Collection, Authentication, and Use of Evidence in Investigating Cases of Disciplinary Violations by Party Members

(July 23, 1991)

Article 1 In order to ensure the proper collection, authentication, and utilization of evidence, safeguard the quality of case handling, and faithfully enforce Party discipline, these Regulations are hereby promulgated.

Article 2 All facts that substantiate the true circumstances of a case constitute evidence. Evidence includes:

1. Physical evidence refers to objects and traces that can substantiate the true facts of a case.

2. Documentary evidence refers to written materials (including symbols and drawings) whose contents serve to prove the true facts of a case.

3. Witness testimony refers to the statements made by a witness regarding the facts of the case as they know them. Anyone who is aware of the true circumstances of the case may serve as a witness. However, a person who is unable to distinguish right from wrong or to express themselves clearly may not testify.

4. Audiovisual materials refer to recordings—whether audio or video—that can be used as evidence to establish the facts of a case.

5. Statements of the victim refer to the accusations and accounts provided by individuals who have been directly harmed by disciplinary violations, detailing the facts of the case.

6. Statements by the Party member under investigation refer to the explanations, defenses, and reports or exposures of co‑involved individuals with disciplinary violations that the Party member provides regarding the facts of the case.

7. Expert opinion refers to the conclusion reached by an expert who, using specialized knowledge or skills, conducts a scientific examination of a matter that cannot be resolved by investigators.

8. Records of site inspections and examinations refer to the written records prepared by public security and judicial officers when they conduct inspections and examinations of premises, objects, and other evidentiary materials relevant to a case.

9. On-site minutes refer to the written records prepared by disciplinary inspection personnel when inspecting premises related to a case (non-criminal).

Evidence must be verified as true before it may serve as the basis for a final judgment.

Article 3 The collection, authentication, and use of evidence must be grounded in factual truth, with all actions based on objective reality; no preconceived notions, subjective conjecture, or one-sided hearsay shall be permitted. The democratic rights of Party members and the lawful rights of citizens must be respected. All Party members and the general public have a duty to provide the Party organization with any information they possess regarding the case. The use of threats, inducements, deception, or any other unlawful means to collect evidence is strictly prohibited.

Article 4 The collection of evidence in cases involving violations of Party discipline shall be conducted by Party disciplinary inspection personnel or by Party members designated by the Party organization, and must be carried out by no fewer than two persons. Evidence must be collected promptly, objectively, and comprehensively.

The collection of evidence is primarily conducted by case investigators. During the adjudication process, if the adjudicators find that the evidence is insufficient or that there are inconsistencies among the evidence, the reporting agency is generally required to conduct additional investigations and gather further evidence; where specific pieces of evidence need to be supplemented, the adjudicating department may also undertake such supplementary collection.

Article 5 When collecting physical evidence, the original items should be retrieved whenever possible. Physical evidence that can be preserved with the case file shall be filed together with it; for original items that cannot be retrieved or cannot be filed with the case, photographs shall be taken and included in the file, with a clear indication of the location where the original items are stored.

Article 6 The collection of documentary evidence shall be conducted by means of extracting meeting minutes, letters of introduction, documents, personal records, private correspondence, diaries, and the like, with original documents being obtained whenever possible. If the original cannot be obtained, excerpts or photocopies may be used; however, the source must be clearly indicated, the institution that holds the original must be identified, and the seal of that institution must be affixed. When excerpting or photocopying meeting minutes, personal records, or private diaries, attention must be paid to maintaining chronological continuity, and any selected passages must not be taken out of context.

With respect to original materials or copies that may serve as documentary evidence, Party organizations at all levels shall not refuse to provide them under any pretext. Materials collected that involve confidential matters must undergo the requisite approval procedures. Party members are obligated to submit to the organization any work notebooks containing information relevant to the case.

The collection of original materials such as private diaries and letters that may serve as documentary evidence may only be carried out through mobilization; forcible seizure is prohibited. Where such materials involve personal privacy, the relevant Party organizations shall ensure their confidentiality.

Article 7 All Party members and the general public who are aware of the facts of a case shall promptly and truthfully provide testimony and may not refuse to testify. Party members who deliberately furnish false information, if the circumstances are serious, shall be subject to appropriate disciplinary measures.

Collect witness statements, avoiding the use of symposium‑style meetings. Each witness should provide a separate statement, and, as a general rule, one statement per matter. Witnesses shall write their statements in pen or brush; if they are unable to write, another person or the investigator may draft the statement based on the witness’s account. Once drafted, the statement must be read aloud to the witness, revised according to the witness’s input, and then signed, sealed, or thumbprinted by the witness. When preparing a written witness statement, clearly set forth the time, place, parties involved, causes, circumstances, methods, and consequences of the facts to be proven. Investigators must maintain accurate records of the interview, which shall be signed by the interviewee.

With respect to witness testimony, the person collecting the evidence shall indicate the witness’s place of employment and official position, and sign the record. It is not necessary for the witness’s employer to affix its official seal or to add remarks such as “verified” or “for reference.”

After a witness has given testimony, any supplementary or corrective statements may be submitted in writing, accompanied by an explanation of the reasons for such corrections. The case-handling personnel shall file both the supplementary or corrected witness testimony and the original statement provided by the witness together in the case file.

After a witness has given testimony, the Party organization shall maintain confidentiality. If it is discovered that the Party member under investigation or their relatives and friends have retaliated against the witness, such cases shall be dealt with severely.

Article 8 The collection of statements from party members under investigation includes: the investigated party member’s admission of or defense against the errors they have committed, as well as materials exposing other co-defendants who have violated discipline.

Party members under investigation shall be loyal and truthful to the Party, truthfully disclose their own issues to the organization, and at the same time enjoy the right to defend themselves in accordance with the provisions of the Party Constitution. If a party member under investigation raises objections to the “factual materials on which the disciplinary action is based,” the relevant Party organization shall carefully review such objections and provide an explanation, which shall then be filed together with the case records.

Article 9 When necessary, disciplinary inspection organs may make use of expert opinions, site inspection records, and other evidentiary materials produced by public security organs, the People’s Procuratorates, and the People’s Courts.

Evidence shall be obtained from the public security organs, the people’s procuratorates, and the people’s courts in accordance with the relevant provisions.

Disciplinary inspection personnel, when dealing with non-criminal cases involving a crime scene, shall carefully inspect the scene and prepare a detailed record.

Article 10 When imposing disciplinary measures under the Party’s regulations on Party members who have been subject to criminal penalties or administrative disciplinary sanctions, it is imperative to gather the principal evidence.

Article 11 The task of evidence authentication is to examine and analyze each piece of evidentiary material individually, based on its specific characteristics, in order to determine its authenticity, assess whether it bears an intrinsic connection to the facts of the case, and evaluate its relevance to ascertaining and substantiating the circumstances of the case. Only evidence that, upon such authentication, is found to be consistent with objective reality and to have an inherent link to the factual issues at hand may serve as the basis for reaching a verdict.

Article 12 When examining evidence, the first step is to determine whether each piece of evidence is objective and authentic, or whether it has been fabricated; whether it is relevant to the facts of the case; whether it is original or derivative; and whether it is direct or circumstantial. It is also necessary to assess whether there are any issues regarding its source. Subsequently, a comprehensive analysis should be conducted to identify any inconsistencies among the various types of evidence that purport to establish the same factual circumstances, as well as to evaluate the internal coherence and interrelationships among them. Attention must be paid to how changes in time and conditions may affect the evidentiary value, and different pieces of evidence should be situated within the context of the events’ occurrence and evolution, taking into account the historical backdrop at the time and integrating them with other evidence for a holistic assessment.

Article 13 In the examination of physical evidence, it is necessary to determine whether suspected items and traces were improperly collected, whether the collected evidence has been fabricated, and whether there are any instances of frame‑up or malicious framing. Furthermore, the relationship between the seized physical evidence and the factual circumstances of the case must be studied and analyzed to ascertain whether such evidence bears probative value.

Article 14 When examining documentary evidence, it is necessary to ascertain its original author, the circumstances under which it was produced, whether it has been forged, whether any excerpts have been taken out of context, and whether the recorded content contains inaccuracies. Furthermore, the authenticity of the evidence should be assessed in light of other corroborating evidence.

Article 15 When evaluating witness testimony, it is essential to examine whether the content of the testimony is relevant to the facts of the case, whether its source is reliable, whether it has been influenced by external, improper factors, whether it is truthful, and whether there are any inconsistencies or contradictions within the testimony itself. The method of confrontation should not be used to assess the credibility of witness testimony.

Article 16 When evaluating the statements of Party members under investigation, it is necessary to examine whether their admissions or defenses are consistent throughout, whether any contradictions exist, and to compare them with other evidence to determine whether they are reasonable and credible.

Article 17 When examining audiovisual materials, it is important to determine whether they have been forged, edited, or spliced and assembled.

Article 18 When assessing the statements of victims, it is important to consider how emotional factors may affect the credibility of their accounts.

Article 19 In ascertaining the facts of a case, the evidence must be conclusive. Once the evidence has been examined and its authenticity confirmed, it becomes admissible; no one may alter or destroy it, and the relevant Party organizations may not arbitrarily select or discard evidence when submitting it. In particular, evidence that has been verified to demonstrate the innocence of the Party member under investigation must not be discarded. Evidence must be evaluated in a comprehensive manner; when contradictions arise among pieces of evidence, their credibility and reliability may not be determined solely on the basis of quantity. If contradictions among the evidentiary materials relied upon to establish the principal factual errors cannot be resolved, a decision may not be rendered.

Article 20 When a case is decided solely on the basis of verbal testimony in the absence of physical or documentary evidence, at least two pieces of evidence (including two) are required to render a verdict.

Article 21 When a verdict is rendered based solely on circumstantial evidence in the absence of direct evidence, all such circumstantial evidence must be rigorously verified as true; each piece of evidence must bear an objective connection to the facts of the case; and the evidence collected must constitute a coherent and comprehensive evidentiary framework capable of excluding all alternative explanations before a conviction may be entered. If other possibilities cannot be ruled out, no conviction may be pronounced.

Article 22 A case may not be concluded solely on the confessions of the party member under investigation; if no other evidence is available, a verdict cannot be rendered. However, if the party member under investigation refuses to admit guilt but other evidence is both credible and sufficient, a verdict may still be reached.

Article 23 This Regulation shall be interpreted by the Case Adjudication Office of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC.

Article 24 These Provisions shall enter into force as of the date of their issuance.