Abstract: Article 105 of the Criminal Procedure Law is a provision on periods and their calculation. Periods are counted by hour, day or month, instead of year. The phrase “The starting hour or day of a period shall not be counted in the period” is merely a method of calculating the period, the purpose of which is to recognize the end of the period or the cut-off point, thus avoiding the exercise of a right beyond the prescribed time period, the lapse of a right, and the invalidation or illegality of certain acts of litigation. The time and date of the beginning of a period signifies that the effect of the period has begun, with legal effect in the procedural law. However, it is not included in the duration of the litigation period. Instead, it is considered in the substantive law pertaining to the offset of the sentence. In such cases, the day of detention and arrest should be included as part of the custody duration. In addition, the term “travel time” refers mainly to the time when the documents are in transit, and should not include the time when criminals, defendants and suspects are sent under escort from one place to another place. Excluding the latter from the period would be contrary to the spirit of the legislation of Article 105 Paragraph 4, which stipulates that the period of detention shall not be extended on account of holidays, and is also contrary to basic jurisprudence and the concept of safeguarding human rights. In addition, people’s courts, people’s procuratorates, and public security authorities may find that a suspect or defendant suffers from a mental illness in criminal proceedings and needs to be appraised. It is inappropriate to stipulate in Article 149 of the Criminal Procedure Law that the period during which a mental illness appraisal of a suspect is made shall not be counted as part of the period for the handling of the case. It is proposed that a separate paragraph be established in Article 105, stipulating that “the period for psychiatric evaluation shall not be counted as part of the case-handling period”, so that it is applicable to various stages of the proceedings.

Key Words: period; unit of account; method of calculation; the starting hour or day of a period; travel time

Author: Dong Kun, research fellow, CASS Institute of Law.

Source: 1 (2025) Law Science Magazine.