国内英语新闻:China's top legislature wraps up bimonthly session

BEIJING, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) closed its five-day bimonthly session Friday, adopting a revised Criminal Procedure Law, revisions to the organic laws of courts and procuratorates, among others.

Presiding over the closing meeting, Li Zhanshu, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, said the NPC attached great importance to achieving judicial reform and justice via legislation and supervision.

The revised Criminal Procedure Law introduces "default judgment" in criminal trials, which allows the prosecution of suspects who stay overseas and are involved in corruption, severely endangering state security or terrorism.

Citing the first NPC Standing Committee inquiry on judicial work ever held during a bimonthly session, Li said it was an exploration of the NPC exercising its supervision over judicial organs.

Before the closing meeting, Li presided over a chairpersons' meeting of the NPC Standing Committee.

At the closing meeting, lawmakers voted to enact a new law on international criminal judicial assistance and to adopt a resolution to mandate the Supreme People's Court to handle cases related to intellectual property rights, which require more expertise.

Lawmakers also approved the one-year extension of a pilot program, which aims to spur innovation and reduce inefficiencies in the country's drug approval system. The so-called "marketing authorization holder" mechanism, introduced by the State Council in a three-year pilot reform in late 2015, expands those eligible to acquire drug manufacturing licenses from pharmaceutical companies to drug researchers and institutions.

In addition, a package of revisions on 15 laws, including the Wild Animal Conservation Law and the Metrology Law, were adopted in accordance with a key institutional reform plan adopted by the NPC on March 17.

For example, the customs and quarantine offices used to be parallel law enforcement agencies under the Wild Animal Conservation Law, but the latter are now a part of the customs administration.

Two treaties between China and Grenada, one on extradition and the other on criminal judicial assistance, were also ratified at the closing meeting.

During the session, lawmakers for the first time reviewed two State Council reports on state-owned assets.

Lawmakers also deliberated reports on the implementation of the Law on Protecting Against and Mitigating Earthquake Disasters and the Law on Quality and Safety of Agricultural Products.