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People's Liberation Navy - Discipline Inspection and Judicial Systems

Discipline Inspection System

The PLA has a system of discipline inspection organizations that are responsible for monitoring the actions of PLA Party members and Party organizations and ensuring that Party discipline is maintained. This system is mirrored after the CCP's discipline inspection system on the civilian side. The components comprising the PLA's discipline inspection system can be divided into three groups:

• Party discipline inspection commissions
• The CMC Discipline Inspection Commission is the top-level military organization that oversees the PLA's discipline inspection system
• CCP discipline inspection commissions are established in all PLA units at the regiment-level and above
• Discipline inspection departments which include:
• The General Political Department's Discipline Inspection Department
• The PLAN's Political Department's Discipline Inspection Department
• The political department in each jun level and above headquarters has a subordinate Discipline Inspection Department
• Below the jun level, the Organization Department within the Political Department is responsible for carrying out discipline inspection tasks
• At battalion- and company-level units, the Party committee or branch assigns Party members to undertake discipline inspection tasks

Members of the discipline inspection commission at each level are selected by the Party Congress, which is held every five years.

Judicial System

China's armed forces have a military judicial system composed of the military courts, military procuratorates , and security departments, which exercise the trial, procuratorial, and investigating powers, respectively, in accordance with the laws regarding criminal cases within the armed forces. The military courts and military procuratorates are established within the armed forces as part of the State judicial system, meaning that they adhere to State laws.

Within the PLAN, military courts and procuratorates have been created in PLAN Headquarters and each of the three fleet headquarters. They are considered administratively subordinate units within PLAN Headquarters and the three fleet headquarters, but exercise independent judgment. Although neither organization is directly subordinate to the Party Committee or Political Department in PLAN Headquarters or the fleet headquarters, the PLA incorporates judicial system work as part of the political work system.

The military courts accept criminal cases within the armed forces and may accept other cases with authorization from the Supreme People's Court. The military procuratorates serve the role of an Inspector General and judge advocate organization. Their responsibilities are as follows:

• Examining criminal cases investigated by the internal security organs and deciding whether to approve an arrest or to initiate a prosecution
• Directly accepting and investigating criminal cases involving crimes committed
• Deciding whether to make an arrest or to initiate a prosecution
• Exercising supervision over the legality of the investigatory and judicial activities of the internal security organs and the military courts.

The security departments, which are established in the political departments of PLA units at or above the regiment level, investigate criminal cases within the armed forces in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Procedures Law.