How Should Criminal Procedure Respond to the Digital Age?

Changes in litigation settings, expansion of prosecutorial power, diversification of procedural actors, and digitalization of evidence have all become defining features of criminal procedure in the digital era. Although the models through which procedural elements are presented have evolved, the essence of criminal procedure must still adhere to its fundamental values and principles. Confronted with the challenges that digital technologies pose to these foundational values, a single regulatory or responsive approach is insufficient to fully address the deep and ongoing integration of digital technologies into criminal proceedings. To effectively adapt to the digital age and enhance its vitality and coherence, China's criminal procedure system should be guided by a model of "value inter-embedding and mutual reconstruction".