Study Of The Confessional System

This doctoral thesis consists of four chapters.In the first chapter the fundamental theory of confession system is overall illustrated and analysed in view of western theory about that. First of all, concept and components of confession are discussed in the article, including two schools on those in western countries: one, typical of USA, is narrowly defined as direct admission of guilt committed by the accused in explicit words; the other, typical of England, is a extensive definition of the accused admitting guilt by which he will be affected adversely afterward. The former is adopted in China. Reasons for the two different concepts and their influences on the function of criminal judicatory differ with each other. Besides, attention is paid to the value of confession, which is considered as one of the two-dimension value system comprised of extrinsic and intrinsic values of confession. The core of its extrinsic value is the value of confession evidence, in addition to social, crime controlling and economical value of confession. The intrinsic value of confession is composed of religious, psychological, moral and utilitarian values. The extrinsic and intrinsic exist in their integrity, mutually influencing and supporting. At the same time, the current situation of the value of confession and formation of the value system of confession in China are outlined, in particular it is pointed out that the principle, adopting or rejecting it when it is needed, should be stick to in China. It is argued that confession and plea of guilt are distinct on the aspect of nature, origin, result, etc. As to their different impacts on litigation, confession is confined to the level of evidence, however, plea of guilt has a substantial effect on the trend of litigation through initiating a summary procedure. Nevertheless, a close connection between confession and plea of guilt exists. On one hand, confession made by the accused during investigation is the premise and foundation of plea of guilt in the stage of subsequent prosecution and trial; on the other hand, plea of guilt is likely to convert into confession that could be used by the accused under some conditions.The second chapter shows a complete and detailed analysis and study on the process of origin, development, transformation of confession system in western countries, as well as on the backgrounds such as correspondingpolitics, structure of litigation and ideology. First, based on the analysis on the social formation, political system and state of legal system in the ancient western world, particularly represented by the ancient Greece and Rome, it is demonstrated that litigation and confession system did not occur simultaneously, for confession system emerged later than the entire litigation system did, that conditions for the practice of confession and corresponding system did not exist in the procedure of accusation in Athens democratic regime, and that with growing strengthening of national power in the duration of ancient Rome, especially in late Rome when the Rome empire founded, criminal inquisitional proceedings came into being and confession came to be used in criminal litigation. Hence, it is concluded that confession system originated from the period of Rome Empire in late Rome. Second, the medieval times, a critical time for the emergence and development of confession is divided into two stages in the article: one is the period of transition in Europe when slave society transformed into feudal society as well as the period of feudal lords' separatist regime; the other is the period of feudal autocratic monarch system. It is argued that confession system had not established in the former period, during which developing chain of confession system broke. However, in the later period, that of feudal autocratic monarch system (about 13th century), with monarch' s strengthening control of judicature, cracking down and punishing guilt became the main objective of feudal judicature. Meanwhile, typical inquisitional proceedings were promoted in criminal litigat...