China will see in the New Year with up to 59 new laws and regulations that will go into effect on Monday, ranging from death penalty reviews to financial crimes.

The 28 central and 31 local level laws and regulations would better "ensure the country's opening-up and safeguard human rights," according to the Chinacourt.com, a website sponsored by China's Supreme People's Court.

All death penalties imposed by provincial courts are required to be approved by the Supreme People's Court starting from Jan.1.

The Supreme People's Court would review the evidence, laws and regulations application, measurement of penalty, and the litigation process in the trial and hear the defendant out either in person or by letter, before reaching the final decision.

Money laundering in foreign markets costs the country 200 billion yuan (25 billion U.S. dollars) each year, and the Anti-Money Laundering Law along with the People's Bank of China's regulations for financial organizations requires the establishment of a client identification system that will record all client data and transactions from Jan. 1.

The Standing Committee of National People's Congress also revised provisions on the banking industry, granting banking industry authorities the right to investigate individuals and organizations to curb other forms of financial crimes.

Regulations issued by China's State Council suspend, from Jan.1, 2007, to Oct. 17, 2008, the requirement for overseas journalists to apply to provincial foreign affairs offices for permission to report in all provinces of China, demanding instead that they need only obtain prior consent of the organizations or individuals they want to interview.

Overseas journalists who are non-residents would not need to be accompanied or assisted by a Chinese official or a Chinese host institution when they report, and hire Chinese citizens to assist them in their reporting activities through organizations providing services to foreign nationals.

Other important laws and regulations which will go into effect include the Passport Law, Measures for the Administration of the Refined Oil Market, Measure for the Administration of the Crude Oil Market and Banking Supervision Law.

Source: Xinhua