China is set to amend its anti-corruption law, allowing bail for corruption suspects during investigations but also extending the detention period during which suspects are denied access to a lawyer.
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A draft amendment to the Supervision Law was under review by the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, China’s top legislative body, during its four-day session that ended on Friday, state news agency Xinhua said.
It would be the first amendment since the legislation’s introduction in March 2018. The draft was published on the NPC website on Friday afternoon as a month-long public consultation starts.
The Xinhua report did not say when and whether the standing committee would approve the amendments but legislative amendments are generally adopted after three reviews.
Some lawyers said that the draft did not give them more leeway in defending their clients while providing anti-corruption agencies more legal tools to carry out investigations.