Tip of The Iceberg? An Evaluation of the Non-uploaded Criminal Sentencing Documents in China

By utilizing a mixed-method approach that combines a quantitative analysis of 10,183 retrieved records of non-uploaded cases, and a qualitative in-depth interview of ten judges and five judge assistants, the current study investigated the pattern of selective uploading, and explored the possible reasons for non-disclosure. We found that the estimated upload rate based on the number of the uploaded and the non-uploaded cases for criminal cases is higher than that reported by previous studies. In addition, there are considerable variations across the type of crimes, the location of courts, and the year of adjudication regarding the patterns of non-disclosure. The in-depth interviews revealed that there are four common scenarios where a case can be assigned to the “Other” group for the reason of non-disclosure: (1) circumstances involving unconcluded cases; (2) cases containing sensitive information that can be used for illegal purposes; (3) cases that involve specially granted circumstances that lead to a mitigated punishment; or (4) simple technical difficulty.