Deliberations On The Principle Of Limitative Aggravation For Combined Fixed-Term Imprisonment Of Plural Crimes

Principle of limitative aggravation is an important cumulative punishment principle in the criminal law of P. R. China. Most scholars agree that principle of limitative aggravation embodies the flexibilities of criminal law, and conforms to the criminal policy of our country, that is temper justice with mercy. However, some scholars query the principle of limitative aggravation. The questions are mainly focused on the justice of the criminal law, aim of punishment, discretionary power of judge, legitimacy of punishment, and principle of distributing penalty. To answer these questions, some scholars propose to expand the adjustment of doctrine of cumulating punishments and replace the principle of limitative aggravation, or to establish accurate formula in the scope of principle of limitative aggravation. Based on the aforementioned background, the questions about the principle of limitative aggravation are well studied in this thesis. We find that the questions about the justice and scientificity of the principle of limitative aggravation are mainly come from the loopholes, such as the legislative vacancy of discretion and the neglect on the operation modes of the principle, which are existed in current criminal law of our country. Therefore, the discretion and operation modes in the principle of limitative aggravation are investigated and well discussed. The improvements about the principle of limitative aggravation in the eighth amendment of Criminal Law are also analyzed and discussed.