China's courts will videotape the proceedings of appeal hearings involving death sentences, China's Supreme People's Court Chief Justice, Xiao Yang said Tuesday.

All appeals of China's death sentences will be heard in public beginning July 1 as promised, said Judge Xiao at a national working meeting on criminal trials.

"Audio taping and videotaping the entire proceedings will be gradually adopted in appeal hearings of death sentence which will be held in public court sessions so that justice can be ensured," he said.

Key witnesses cannot refuse to give testimony and the use of torture during interrogation to extract confessions must be banned, he added.

Since the notice issued by the Supreme People's Court last December, five higher courts have heard appeals of death sentences in open court.

According to China's Criminal Procedural Law, a people's court shall hear appeals of death sentences in a public court session.

Yet many courts have failed to hear appeals of death sentences in public. Last year the Chinese media exposed several cases where death sentences were inappropriately handed down.

In October 2005, the Supreme People's Court issued its Second Five-Year Reform Plan, which requires appeals of death sentences to be heard in public.

(Xinhua News Agency May 24, 2006)