The 60th Executive Committee and the 30th Annual Conference and General Meeting of the International Association of Prosecutors (IAP) were held in Singapore from Sept 5 to 8, under the theme "Combating New Types of Crime." Tong Jianming, Vice-President of the IAP and the First Deputy Prosecutor General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) of China, led the Chinese procuratorial delegation to the conference and delivered a keynote speech entitled "Practice and Exploration of Chinese Procuratorial Organs in Combating Cybercrime."
On behalf of China's SPP and its Prosecutor General Ying Yong, Tong extended warm congratulations on the successful holding of the conference. He noted that internet-based crimes are increasingly characterized by professionalization, intelligence, concealment, and internationalization, posing a significant challenge to global governance.
In recent years, Chinese procuratorial organs, as the country's legal supervisory bodies and judicial organs responsible for ensuring the unified and correct implementation of the law, have garnered practical and effective experience in punishing and preventing cybercrime in accordance with the law, Tong explained, introducing several key measures.
He noted that the SPP, in collaboration with relevant judicial and law enforcement departments, has promptly issued judicial interpretations, improved case-handling regulations, and established a guidance group for cyberspace-related procuratorial work to guide procuratorial organs nationwide in strictly punishing various types of cybercrime in accordance with the law.
Chinese procuratorates have focused on identifying prominent issues in administrative supervision and industry governance during case handling, and have promoted their resolution through civil and administrative public interest litigation or procuratorial recommendations to advance law-based cyberspace governance, Tong added.
They have also actively integrated into the building of the Digital China initiative, thoroughly implemented the digital prosecution strategy, and fully leveraged new technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the quality and efficiency of handling cybercrime cases, he said.
Tong also highlighted that through multilateral mechanisms including the IAP, Chinese procuratorial organs have established regular collaboration with law enforcement and judicial departments from relevant countries in strengthening joint efforts to combat transnational cybercrime.
He emphasized that China has always been an active advocate and supporter of the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime. Chinese procuratorial organs are willing to work with their global counterparts to continuously deepen international law enforcement and judicial cooperation, combat all types of cybercrime in accordance with the law, strengthen comprehensive cyberspace governance, jointly address risks and challenges in cyberspace, and promote the building of an open, mutually beneficial, and win-win cyberspace under the rule of law.
During the interactive session, Tong provided an overview of the in-depth application of digital technology in China's procuratorial practice by presenting relevant case examples. He elaborated on the practical implementation of the big data legal supervision model and discussed potential avenues for establishing international cooperation mechanisms in this area. He also addressed the question of whether AI technology could replace prosecutors, offering insights and responses.
On the sidelines of the conference, Tong met with Lucien Wong, Attorney-General of Singapore; Stephen Parkinson, Director of Public Prosecutions and head of the Crown Prosecution Service of the United Kingdom; Shamila Batohi, National Director of Public Prosecutions of South Africa; Kamran Aliyev, Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan; and Giorgi Badashvili, Prosecutor General of Georgia.
Liu Yongzhi, Chief Prosecutor of the Heilongjiang Provincial People's Procuratorate, accompanied Tong. The meeting was attended by over 450 prosecutors from more than 90 countries.
