BEIJING - The draft amendment to the Criminal Procedure Law, to be submitted for final review and voting, highlights the principle of protecting human rights and punishing criminals as a whole, said a spokesman in Beijing Sunday.

The principle of respecting and protecting human rights has been written in the draft, confirmed Li Zhaoxing, spokesman for the Fifth Session of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC), at a press conference.

The draft amendment will be put for voting at the coming parliamentary session, after being reviewed by the NPC Standing Committee twice in last August and December.

"The Criminal Procedure Law should not only identify criminal facts precisely and timely and correctly impose legal punishment on offenders, but also make sure innocent people are not wronged," he said.

China's Criminal Procedure Law was enacted in 1979 and revised in 1996.