a trial but for disclosing and condemning the crime, thereby controlling them by raising awareness of residents and fostering fear. In addition, the public trial system goes against the fair trial principle. Although there have been inconsistent testimonies on whether judges, prosecutors, lawyers, and people’s court judge attend the trial, making it difficult to grasp the reality, it has been stated that even if they are present, they do not play any particular role.131 In addition, violations on the right to life and personal liberty and security occur in the process of public trials. During a trial, those with the heaviest crime among all are sometimes shot dead.132 One North Korean defector received a public trial in front of the culture center in Potae district, Samjiyeon County, Yanggang Province in 2014 for the crime of illegal border-crossing.
The testifier was severely beaten in the MSS detention center for 20 days and went on a public trial without preliminary examination with no judges, prosecutors, layers, and people’s court judge in attendance.133
North Korea operates a quasi-trial system, which is not an official trial system based on the court. Comrade Trials and MSS political criminal trials fall into this category, and many other organizations than trial institutions impose administrative penalties. Such operation of an alternative trial system constitutes a violation of the ICCPR.
(1) Comrade Trial System
North Korea has an independent and unique form of trial system called the Comrade Trial System, a social institution designed to control its population without having to go through formal trial organizations and proceedings. North Korea is said to have abolished the Crowd Trial System, which was temporarily enforced during the Korean War, and operated the Comrade Trial System by region since around 1972. The legal grounds for the System are found in the Prosecution and Surveillance Law. Article 40, paragraph 3 of the Law stipulates that a prosecutor may declare a comrade trial to rectify a violation of law or inquire into legal accountability when he/she intends to subject criminals to a preliminary examination, refer lawbreakers to the Socialist Law-Abiding Life Guidance Committee or the Comrade Trial Board, or penalize them with labor training or detention.
Subjects of a comrade trial are people who commit economic crimes, cause losses through negligence, or are involved in minor incidents hindering Kim Il Sung’s Unitary Ideology, and other relevant offenders. At a comrade trial these people may be subject
to unpaid labor of six months or less, while perpetrators of economic improprieties may be subject to an administrative fine equal to ten to twenty times the undue gain in the form of deduction from their salaries; suspension of exercise of administrative rights; demotion; self-criticism; stern warnings; admonitions; and so forth. However, there seems to be no appellate procedures in place.134Comrade trials were held on every regular market day (once every ten days) in Yonsa County, North Hamgyeong Province, and as a result, most (90 percent) went to labor training camps (rodongdanryundae) and some (10 percent) went to prison camps (kyohwaso).135
The Comrade Trial System is primarily carried out in the military.136 A North Korean defector replied regarding comrade trial that their purpose is “criticizing those who did not do military service well.”137
Comrade trials in the military are conducted at the battalion level and always with the presence of an immediate superior. The results are predetermined by a higher department, and a comrade trial is enforced to set an example. Most finish with education or criticism but in the worse case, one can be dishonorably discharged.138
Court Administration Agency‚ An Overview of North Korea’s Juridical System (Seoul: Court Administration Agency‚ 1996)‚ pp. 630~637. (In Korean)
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Those who are dishonorably discharged are relocated to mines of farming villages with his/her family members.139 Punishment is not imposed on-site for comrade trials. Preliminary examination procedures take place after comrade trials, and afterwards punishment based on the Criminal Law is imposed.140 For instance for those causing social disturbance are stripped of their uniform and sent to a prison camp.141
(2) Political Criminal Trials by MSS
Numerous testimonies indicate that North Korea has maintained a policy of clearly differentiating the punishment for political crimes and general crimes. The North Korean Criminal Procedure Law stipulates that the cases related to crimes against the State or the people shall be subject to investigation and preliminary examination conducted by MSS institutions, and the first instance shall be held in a provincial court (or municipality directly under central authority). As such, cases related to crimes against the State or the people are handled differently than the cases of general crime (Article 46, 48 and 51).
However, according to one testimony, trials are conducted by
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the MSS, which is contrary to the applicable provisions of the Criminal Procedure Law. A former MSS agent testified that if a preliminary examination process at an MSS provincial bureau reveals that the criminal fact is true, such as through interrogation, it is reported to the MSS prosecutor’s office. If the prosecutor’s office determines that the suspect has in fact committed the criminal act, he/she is tried at the place where the preliminary examination was held. A prosecutor at the MSS prosecutor’s office renders a decision in the name of the Central Court, the trial is held behind closed doors, and a sentence is decided pursuant to the Criminal Law. The MSS also determines whether it would be appropriate to imprison all the family members, and whether the criminal will be imprisoned for life. However, there exists no literature that provides a basis for such determination. Senior officers hold a Case Council meeting to decide how to handle a case, including the scope and duration of imprisonment.142 Another North Korean defector, who previously conducted relevant work at the MSS, said that at the end of a preliminary examination, a prosecutor from the MSS prosecutor’s office renders the final decision. In sum, political prisoners allegedly do not undergo formal legal proceedings.143 A North Korean defector, who was forcibly repatriated from China to North Korea in 2010, explained that in
A North Korean defector, 19 April 2005, interviewed in Seoul.
A North Korean defector, 10 October 2005, interviewed in Seoul.
the Sinuiju MSS, political offenders are distinguished from general offenders through investigation, after repatriation. Those who attempted to go to South Korea, the United States and Japan, and those who received education from a church related institution were categorized as political offenders and sent to political prison camps (kwanliso) without any trial process, unlike general offenders who went through trials.144
(3) Imposition of Administrative Penalties by Diverse Institutions
In North Korea, administrative penalties are imposed for violations of law that are not serious enough to be punished by the Criminal Law (Article 13 of the Administrative Penalty Law).
Administrative penalties include warnings/stern warnings, unpaid labor, re-educational labor punishment, demotion/dismissal/loss of employment, fines, suspension penalty, compensation penalty, confiscation penalty, suspension of qualification/degradation/
deprivation of qualification, etc. (Article 14 of the Administrative Penalty Law). However, in addition to judicial organizations, other institutions, including the Socialist Law-Abiding Life Guidance Committee, the Cabinet, institutions of the prosecutor’s office, arbitration institutions, institutions of the MPS, censorship supervision institutions, and qualification-granting institutions,
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can impose administrative penalties. Enterprises and organizations can also impose administrative penalties (Article 229 of the Administrative Penalty Law). Administrative penalties are also stipulated in the People’s Security Enforcement Law and the Prosecution and Surveillance Law. MPS institutions and the Responsible Workers’ Association can impose re-educational labor, suspension, degradation and deprivation of qualifications, suspensions, and confiscations for violation of legal orders (Article 57 of the People’s Security Enforcement Law).
In North Korea, a variety of administrative penalties, based on the Administrative Penalty Law, the People’s Security Enforcement Law, and the Prosecution and Surveillance Law, are utilized as a means of exercising strict social control over the North Korean people. Among these administrative penalties, unpaid labor and re-educational labor, and in particular, labor training cannot be simply regarded as a form of administrative discipline. Rather, they exhibit characteristics of punitive action.