On General Defences In British Criminal Law

General defences in British criminal law generally refers to the circumstances whythe behavior bear no criminal responsibility when the external crime elements aresatisfied. It has an extremely important status in the British criminal law, which is thecore of the theory of crime constitution, the centre of the criminal responsibility and theconnecting link of criminal law. By using a comparative and historical method andfrom the view of criminal substantive law, procedural law and evidence law, this paperexplores the inside-out general defences and associated elements in British criminal law,and concludes its intrinsic value in the British criminal law.There is no concept of general defence in China’s criminal law, and relativeresearch is not so much in our country. Through collecting and reading the relatedbooks and translation, this paper sums up and refines the function of general defence inBritish criminal law. The target of this paper is to conclude the function of the generaldefences in British criminal law and reveal the characteristics and value of it whichreflects its legal relation in coordinating, judging and balancing the crime constitution.The general defences reflect the characteristics of the British criminal law and containsthe value of it. The final aim of this paper is to study and take reference from that of it.General defences embody the basic principle of British criminal law rules: it is amethod of jurisprudence, legal order and value concept. It coordinates the equitylegislation, ensuring the innocence, and refrain the punishment of criminal law. Itreflects the legislative intent, the humanistic spirit in the censure of crime constitutionand guarantees the moral principle of criminal law and the public interest in proceduraljustice system.General defences in crime constitution plays a special evaluative function: it is theupper level (the second mode) in crime constitution, and it adjust a crime constitution through balancing the actus reas and mens rea. It plays a negative, balanced function inin criminal procedure to assure its reasonableness and accuration.General defences dominate the different relationships in criminal law: it itselfcontains the criminal substantive law elements (including its basic types, criminalliability and related exempt, mitigated, disposal of crimes of criminal punishment),and it connects the criminal procedure, criminal evidence rules which reflects theprocedural justice such as the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Throughthese functions it safeguards the substantive rights and procedural rights of criminal law.Generally defences deeply reflects British national legal culture and the traditionand academic spirit of English law. It is the result of rationalization of the heritage ofhumanity and social integration. The locality of general defence in British law isassociated with its important role in the process of national development.Since the Norman conquest, British law has a nine hundred and forty-eight yearshistory. The unique characteristics and reasonable structures of general defences islacked in Chinese criminal law, which is needed to be studied in our country. Althoughour Chinese legal system has been developed for thousands of years, the contemporaryChinese criminal law system was builded up since1979. Now, China has beendeveloping fastly in various areas including the legislative process, we must have aglobal way of thinking to establish the constitutional principle of government to protecthuman rights in China. In this context, to reaserch on the general defences in Britishcriminal law have a positive significance.