Chen Bi/Wen The Prison Law, which is related to the correction of criminals, has undergone a major revision 32 years after its promulgation. Its content involves improving the procedures for commutation, parole, and temporary execution outside of prison, safeguarding the right of prisoners to appeal, relaxing restrictions on lawyers and prisoners' meetings, family meetings, and communication, and establishing a minimum wage system for prisoners' labor. The newly revised Prison Law was passed on April 30, 2026 and officially came into effect on November 1.

In the newly added provisions, the independence of the right to appeal is undoubtedly recognized by the legal community as a milestone in human rights protection. Article 43 of the Prison Law stipulates: "Prisons, people's courts, and people's procuratorates shall not use appeals, charges, or reports filed by criminals in accordance with the law as a basis for determining that criminals have disobeyed discipline or shown no remorse

In fact, the right of criminals to appeal, accuse, and report has long been legally protected. According to the Criminal Procedure Law of our country, parties, their legal representatives, and close relatives may appeal to the People's Court or People's Procuratorate against a legally effective judgment or ruling, but cannot suspend the execution of the judgment or ruling. The Prison Law promulgated in 1994 also stipulates that if a prisoner is dissatisfied with an effective judgment, they can file an appeal; The appeal, accusation, and report materials of criminals shall be promptly forwarded by the prison and shall not be withheld.

But in reality, criminals often encounter hidden restrictions when exercising this right. According to the "Regulations on Prison Scoring and Assessment of Prisoners" issued by the Ministry of Justice, "obeying court judgments, confessing and repenting" is one of the prerequisites for prisoners to receive a basic score of 35 points per month. If a criminal files an appeal, it may be deemed as "not confessing and repenting", which in turn affects the assessment score. The assessment score is not only directly linked to the criminal's activity scope, meeting and communication, living conditions, cultural and sports activities, but also an important basis for the prison to submit to the people's court and procuratorate when requesting commutation or parole.

The dilemma of having power but not daring to exercise it normally, which may result in adverse consequences, is expected to be resolved after the implementation of the new law. The new article clearly states that if a criminal files an appeal during the execution of their sentence, it shall not be regarded as unrepentant. This regulation truly safeguards the right to appeal.

Another noteworthy aspect of this amendment is the "sealing of criminal records". Data shows that the peak of recidivism among released prisoners within two years is highly correlated with unemployment status, indicating the importance of employment support in reducing recidivism rates. However, for released prisoners, employment is extremely difficult. Individuals who have completed their sentences for minor crimes still face severe employment barriers due to the accompanying consequences of their criminal records, while those who have completed their sentences for serious crimes face even more prominent challenges in terms of professional exclusion and social acceptance.

The number of job positions willing to accept individuals with criminal records is extremely limited, and the inability to obtain a "no criminal record certificate" means losing the vast majority of employment opportunities. In 2025, the well-known enterprise in Henan province, Pangdonglai, announced the reservation of 20 employment opportunities for ex convicts with criminal records, sparking social discussions. Yu Donglai, founder of Pangdonglai, stated that "ex convicts are already equal citizens" and "there is no need to feel inferior. This is undoubtedly a precious attempt, but such an opportunity is still a drop in the bucket for the vast group of ex convicts.

The second review of the revised draft of the Prison Law responded to this issue: "Prisons should seal the criminal records and related case information of eligible criminals in accordance with relevant laws and regulations; they shall not provide them to any unit or individual except for the needs of judicial organs or relevant units to inquire according to national regulations." Unfortunately, the final version adjusted the scope of application of criminal record sealing to only apply to juvenile offenders. The contraction of the policy of sealing criminal records of adult offenders may be due to cautious considerations in social risk prevention and control, but fundamentally it is not conducive to reducing recidivism rates.

From the institutional arrangement of the Prison Law to the controversy caused by the sealing system of public security illegal records in the Public Security Administration Punishment Law at the beginning of this year, the exploration of the rule of law for the sealing of criminal records and illegal records is both hindered and long, but it is still a direction that the legal community should firmly adhere to.

Returning to the revision of the Prison Law itself, the core is still to answer the question of 'what exactly does a prison do?'. In traditional cognition, prisons impose punishment and pain on criminals, but modern prisons have strengthened their functions of correction and rehabilitation, making prison law a law for correction and prevention. I look forward to the revision and implementation of this law, which can better achieve the goals of reforming people, teaching them to be good, and helping criminals return to society.

(The author is an associate professor at China University of Political Science and Law)