How to identify "specific related parties" in disciplinary and illegal cases? There is a very special type

Several provisions of the Regulations of the CPC on Disciplinary Punishment and the Law of the People's Republic of China on Administrative Punishment of Public Officials regulate specific related persons to take advantage of the position of party cadres and public officials to accept other people's property and seek personal gains, and mainly describe specific related persons as "spouses, children and their spouses and other relatives, side staff and other specific related persons". In practice, further clarifying the scope and identification standards of specific stakeholders is an inevitable requirement for accurately identifying the nature of disciplinary and criminal acts committed by party members and cadres, and for seriously investigating their disciplinary and legal responsibilities.

Based on practice, we believe that specific stakeholders should be identified according to three criteria.

One is based on identity recognition, mainly referring to the spouses, children, and their spouses of party members, cadres, and public officials, as well as their relatives and staff around them. The current provisions on party discipline and government penalties have a broader scope of "specific related parties" than those stipulated in the "Opinions on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Bribery Criminal Cases". The definition of relatives includes not only close relatives, but also other relatives, such as father-in-law, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, etc., and clearly defines "staff around them" as specific related parties, such as secretaries, drivers, nannies of party members and leading cadres. This not only reflects the characteristics of disciplinary inspection and supervision organs in handling cases, but also highlights the requirement of discipline being stricter than the law and discipline being before the law. For the determination of kinship, in addition to the statements of the investigated person, witness testimony and other evidence, attention should also be paid to the collection of cadre resume, letter of application for joining the Party, enrollment registration form, cadre appointment and removal approval form, marriage certificate, registered residence information issued by the public security organ, kinship certificate, etc. In addition to the statements of the investigated person and witness testimony, attention should also be paid to collecting relevant cadre appointment and removal documents, labor contracts, and work division documents for the identification of staff around them.

Secondly, it is determined based on improper sexual relationships, mainly referring to the mistresses of party members, cadres, and public officials. The so-called mistress usually refers to two individuals, one or both of whom have a spouse and maintain an improper sexual relationship for a long time. In practice, when identifying a mistress, in addition to the statements of both parties, attention should also be paid to collecting relevant evidence of daily interactions and economic exchanges. If both men and women have less interaction in their daily interactions and occasionally have one or two inappropriate sexual relationships, it is not appropriate to directly identify them as specific relationships. A comprehensive judgment should be made based on the economic exchanges and other circumstances of both parties.

The third is based on the recognition of common interests, mainly referring to other common interests of party members, cadres, and public officials. For example, partners, co investors, bribe introducers who have formed a tacit understanding, and co bribe recipients. In practice, common interests mainly refer to economic interests, and pure relationships such as classmates, colleagues, friends, and comrades in arms do not belong to common interests. If the leading cadre A has a good relationship with his comrade B, the construction boss of a certain project, in order to undertake the project, asks A to help greet him through B. After the matter was completed, B received a benefit fee from the engineering boss. If Party A is unaware of this, then Party B is suspected of using their influence to accept bribes, and Party A may be suspected of abusing their power. At this time, it is not appropriate to simply treat Party B as a specific related person of Party A. If Party A is aware that Party B has received benefits and has not raised any objections, it can be determined that Party B, as a specific related party of Party A, is suspected of jointly accepting bribes. It should be noted that common interest relationships are not limited to common property relationships, but also include spiritual and other interest relationships. For example, some leading cadres are obedient and responsive to so-called "masters" and "political fraudsters", forming spiritual attachment and dependence on them. Although the two parties are not economic interests, they have certain social harm and also infringe on the integrity of party members and public officials in their positions. We should focus on collecting evidence that both parties have a common interest relationship, such as their daily interactions, economic exchanges, whether there is joint investment, joint possession of property, spiritual dependence, and evidence of organized groups. For the relationship of spiritual interests, in practice, there are difficulties in discovering, collecting evidence, and investigating. It is necessary to conduct big data analysis on the friend circle and life circle of the investigated person, identify suspicious specific relationships, and do a good job in the ideological and political work of the investigated person, allowing them to actively explain and cooperate with the investigation.

In determining the violation of discipline and law by a specific related party, if the specific related party is not a party member or public official, criticism and education, self-examination, and order to sign a statement of repentance should be given according to the situation. If the violation is involved, it should be transferred to the relevant administrative organ for administrative punishment in accordance with the law; If a specific related person is a party member or public official, the nature of their disciplinary and illegal behavior should be accurately determined based on whether they have a common subjective intention of violating discipline and law with party members, cadres, and public officials, and they should be given disciplinary and administrative sanctions in accordance with relevant regulations. In determining that a specific related person is suspected of committing a crime, a specific related person alone can constitute the crime of bribery through the use of influence, the crime of introducing bribery, etc. If a specific related person and a party member or public official subjectively collude and objectively jointly commit a duty crime, it constitutes a joint crime.