Studies On Problems Of Criminal Liability For The Minors

Now the quantity and quality of minor crimes has continuously increased and become very serious, which gravely threatens the social order and becomes a social problem. Like adult crime, minor crimes are the result of the comprehensive effect of various kinds of negative factors, and are closely related to the trend of social development in certain period. On one hand, it is a reflection of social problems and defects in political, economic, cultural and ethical fields; on the other hand, it is also a manifestation of the physical and mental problems of the minors. So the responsibility of minor crimes is indidividual to the indidividual offenders, but is social to the society. Although the criminal punishments are provided to punish the minor crimes in accordance with China's criminal law, they are also educational means against minors′criminal behaviors and are protective, educational and preventative means in the purpose and nature of punishment. In order to convict and weigh sentences correctly to the minor offenders, and attain the goal of educating, saving and rehabilitating them, we need to research the present situation and problems of the protective function of China′s criminal law, and further improve the criminal law′s protection system to minors. In part one, this dissertation will define the conception of minors, and analyze the minor′s physical and mental characters. Based on this, the rest parts will discuss such problems as the fundamental principle and the scope of the minor′s criminal liability, the applicable criminal punishment, etc. and some suggestions to improve the criminal responsibility system of minor crimes. In part two, this dissertation will suggest to revise the Article 17, section 4 of China′s criminal law, to divide into two scopes of age to manage, and to create another special suspension to the construction of the system.In part three and part four, this dissertation will discuss the scope of the minor′s criminal liability. On the problem of the applicable criminal punishment of minors, the writer suggests that we should consider the minor′s behaviors in their everyday life, and introduces the "moral evidence" weighing sentences to the minor offenders. On the problem of the applicable kind of punishments of minors, the writer considers that life imprisonment and deprivation of political rights cannot apply to minors, but in some circumstances, fines can applied to minors, and make some suggestion on paying the fines by minors. On the problem of the execution of punishment, the writer suggests that the superior People′s Courts should take back the power of commutation of punishment and parole, so that they can make relatively flexible decision according to special condition of minor offenders. The writer will suggest to abolish the previous criminal record system, so the recidivist system cannot apply to minors.