BEIJING, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- China's Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) on Tuesday announced a guideline to regulate the work of procuratorial organs in holding hearings while handling cases.

A hearing officer should be a Chinese citizen who has reached the age of 23, upholds the Constitution and laws of the country, and has the physical conditions to perform the duties, said the guideline.

People who have been subjected to criminal punishment or dismissed from public office are not qualified to be hearing officers, according to the document.

The SPP held hearings of 13 cases between January and September, and local-level procuratorial organs held hearings of 16,354 cases during the period.