Within 24 hours after an arrest， the family of the arrested person or the unit to which he belongs shall be notified of the reasons for arrest and the place of detention， except in circumstances where such notification would hinder the investigation or there is no way of notifying them.

　　Article 51 Interrogation must be conducted within 24 hours after the arrest， by a people's court or people's procuratorate with respect to a person it has decided to arrest， and by a public security organ with respect to a person it has arrested with the approval of the people's procuratorate. If it is found that the person should not have been arrested， he must be immediately released and issued a release certificate.

　　Article 52 If in the process of examining and approving arrests， a people's procuratorate discovers illegalities in the investigatory activities of the public security organ， it shall notify the public security organ to make corrections， and the public security organ shall notify the people's procuratorate of what corrections have been made.

　　Chapter VII Incidental Civil Actions

　　Article 53 If a victim has suffered material losses as a result of the defendant's criminal act， he shall have the right to file an incidental civil action during the course of the criminal proceeding.

　　If losses have been caused to state property or collective property， the people's procuratorate may file an incidental civil action while initiating a public prosecution.

　　When necessary， the people's court may seal up or distrain upon the property of the defendant.

　　Article 54 An incidental civil action shall be beard together with the criminal case. Only for the purpose of preventing excessive delay in a trial of the criminal case may the same judicial organization， after completing the trial of the criminal case， continue to hear the incidental civil action.

　　Chapter VIII Time Periods and Service

　　Article 55 Time periods shall be calculated by the hour， the day and the month.

　　The hour and day from which a time period begins shall not be counted as within the time period.

　　A legally prescribed time period shall not include travelling time. Appeals or other documents that have been mailed before the expiration of the time period shall not be regarded as overdue.

　　Article 56 When a party cannot meet a deadline due to irresistible causes or for other legitimate reasons， he may， within five days after the obstacle is removed， apply to continue the proceedings that should have been completed before the expiration of the time period.

　　A people's court shall decide whether or not to approve the application described in the preceding paragraph.

　　Article 57 Summons， notices and other court documents shall be delivered to the addressee himself； if the addressee is absent， the documents may be received on his behalf by an adult member of his family or a responsible person of his unit.

　　If the addressee or a recipient on his behalf refuses to accept the documents or refuses to sign and affix his seal to the receipt， the person serving the documents may ask the addressee's neighbours or other witnesses to the scene， explain the situation to them， leave the documents at the addressee's residence， record on the service certificate the particulars of the refusal and the date of service and sign his name to it； the service shall thus be deemed to have been completed.

　　Chapter IX Other Provisions

　　Article 58 For the purpose of this Law， the definitions of the following terms are：

　　（1） “Investigation” means the specialized investigatory work and related compulsory measures carried out according to law by public security organs and people's procuratorates in the process of handling cases.

　　（2） “Parties” means private prosecutors， defendants and the plaintiffs and defendants in incidental civil actions.

　　（3） “Legal representatives” means the parents， foster parents or guardians of a person being represented and representatives of the government organ or people's organization responsible for that person's protection.

　　（4） “Participants in the proceedings” means the parties， victims， legal representatives， defenders， witnesses， expert witnesses and interpreters.

　　（5） “Near relatives” means a person's husband or wife， father， mother， sons， daughters， and brothers and sisters born of the same parents.

　　Part Two Filing a Case， Investigation and Initiation of Public Prosecution

　　Chapter I Filing a Case

　　Article 59 State organs， people's organizations， enterprises， institutions and citizens upon discovering facts of a crime or a criminal suspect shall have the right and duty to bring a complaint or accusation to a public security organ， people's procuratorate or people's court， as proper to the scopes of jurisdiction provided for in Article 13 of this Law.

　　Public security organs， people's procuratorates and people's courts shall accept all complaints， accusations and the voluntary surrender of offenders. If a matter does not fall under the receiving organ's jurisdiction， it shall refer the matter to the competent organ and notify the complainant or the accuser. If the matter does not fall under the receiving organ's jurisdiction but calls for emergency measures， it shall take emergency measures first and then refer the matter to the competent organ.

　　Article 60 Complaints and accusations may be filed in writing or orally. The person receiving an oral complaint or accusation shall make a written record of it， which， after being read to the complainant or accuser and found free of error， shall be signed or sealed by the complainant or accuser.

　　The person receiving a complaint or an accusation shall clearly explain to the complainant or accuser the legal responsibility that shall be incurred for making a false accusation. However， a complaint or accusation that does not accord with the facts， or even a mistaken complaint shall be strictly distinguished from a false accusation， as long as no fabrication of facts or falsification of evidence is involved.

　　If the complainant or accuser wishes to remain anonymous， his name shall be kept confidential during the period of investigation.

　　Article 61 A people's court， people's procuratorate or public security organ shall， within the scope of its jurisdiction， promptly examine the materials provided by a complainant or accuser and the confession of an offender who has voluntarily surrendered. If it believes that there are facts of a crime and criminal responsibility should be investigated， it shall file a case.

　　If it believes that there are no facts of a crime or that the facts are obviously incidental and do not require investigation of criminal responsibility， it shall not file a case and shall notify the complainant of the reason. If the complainant does not agree with the decision， he may ask for reconsideration.

　　Chapter II Investigation

　　Section 1 Interrogation of the Defendant

　　Article 62 Interrogation of a defendant must be conducted by the investigatory personnel of a people's procuratorate or public security organ. During an interrogation， there must be no fewer than two members of the investigatory personnel participating.

　　Article 63 A defendant who does not need to be arrested or detained may be summoned to a designated place for interrogation， or he may be interrogated at his residence or his unit， but in all cases the investigatory personnel shall produce a certificate issued by a people's procuratorate or public security organ.

　　Article 64 When interrogating a defendant， the investigatory personnel shall first ask the defendant whether or not he has committed any criminal act， and let him state the circumstances of his guilt or explain his innocence； then they may ask him other questions. The defendant shall answer the investigatory personnel's questions truthfully， but he shall have the right to refuse to answer any questions that are irrelevant to the case.

　　Article 65 During the interrogation of a defendant who is deaf or mute， a person who has a good command of sign language shall participate， and such circumstances shall be noted in the record.

　　Article 66 The record of an interrogation shall be shown to the defendant for checking； if the defendant cannot read， the record shall be read to him. If there are omissions or errors in the record， the defendant may make additions or corrections. When the defendant acknowledges that the record is free from error， he shall sign or affix his seal to it. The investigatory personnel shall also sign the record. If the defendant requests to write a personal statement， he shall be permitted to do so. When necessary， the investigatory personnel may also ask the defendant to write a personal statement.

　　Section 2 Questioning of the Witnesses

　　Article 67 Investigatory personnel may question a witness at his unit or residence， but they must produce a certificate issued by a people's procuratorate or public security organ. When necessary， they may also notify the witness to give testimony at the people's procuratorate or public security organ.

　　Witnesses shall be questioned individually.

　　Article 68 When a witness is questioned， he shall be instructed to provide evidence and give testimony truthfully and shall be informed of the legal responsibility that shall be incurred for intentionally giving false testimony or concealing criminal evidence.

　　Article 69 The provisions of Article 66 of this Law shall also apply to the questioning of witnesses.

　　Article 70 The provisions of all articles in this Section shall apply to the questioning of victims.

　　Section 3 Inquest and Examination

　　Article 71 Investigatory personnel shall conduct an inquest or examination of the sites， objects， people and corpses relevant to a crime. When necessary， experts may be assigned or invited to conduct an inquest or examination under the direction of the investigatory personnel.

　　Article 72 Each and every unit and individual shall have the duty to preserve the scene of a crime and to immediately notify a public security organ to send personnel to hold an inquest.

　　Article 73 Investigatory personnel must carry a certificate issued by a public security organ while conducting an inquest or examination.

　　Article 74 If the cause of a death is unclear， a public security organ shall have the power to order an autopsy and shall notify the family members of the deceased to be present.

　　Article 75 An examination may be conducted of the person of the victim or defendant in order to ascertain some of his characteristics or physiological condition， or the circumstances of the injury.

　　If a defendant refuses to be examined， the investigatory personnel， when they deem it necessary， may conduct a compulsory examination.