On Regulating Pyramid Selling From The View Of Criminal Law

Pyramid selling in China is known as the "economic cult". The illegal and criminal pyramid selling activities have become an outstanding problem that can bring serious damage to the socialist market economic order, violate the property rights of state, collectives and citizens, and can affect the social harmony and stability. Before the "Criminal Law Amendment (7)" was issued, our Penal Code has no specific provisions against the crime of pyramid selling. The conviction to pyramid selling was based on "Supreme People's Court's approval on issues of serious acts of pyramid selling or disguised pyramid selling " in 2001. But the conviction model has some flaws, and can not fully adapt to the current grim situation to fight against pyramid selling. In order to prevent and punish such crimes effectively, the Eleventh National People's Congress Standing Committee of the seventh meeting passed the "Criminal Law Amendment (7)"on February 28,2009. The amendment made special provisions on the guilt of organization, leadership of pyramid selling in the form of stating counts. After studying on relevant provisions of home and broad, the thesis, combining judicial practice, makes a preliminary study on regulating pyramid selling, from the view of criminal law, in order to initiate research to promote the deepening study of this crime.The thesis is divided into three parts:introduction, the main text and conclusion, and has more than three thousand words. Introduction overviews the development and harm status of pyramid selling in our country, also the problems in regulating pyramid selling crime in the judicial practice, and the research methods and significance about this issue. The main text consists of six parts The first part is to define the concept of pyramid selling. In this part the author examines the origin and development of pyramid selling in foreign countries, the historical evolution of the concept in our country,the difference between pyramid selling and direct selling in China, and the concept definition of pyramid selling in this thesis.The second part investigates regulations of pyramid selling from the view of criminal law.First, this part investigates regulations of the "pyramid sales fraud" style of pyramid selling in civil law and common law countries。Then it makes a historical investigation on criminal regulations of pyramid selling in our country, and discusses the legislative background of organizing, leading pyramid selling. The third part discusses crime compound of organizing, leading pyramid selling, from benefit definition, from compliance judgment of objective compound element and responsibility of subjective judgment. And it focuses on the definition of pyramid selling action, and actions of organizing, leading pyramid selling, and the crime subject and sin form, and it discusses that some low-level pyramid selling participants can't be considered to constitute the crime with possibility theory. The fourth part studies judicial determination of the crime of organizing, leading pyramid selling activities. This part discuses and demonstrates completed and unfinished form, accomplice and crime number form of the crime and other issues. As several easily confused crimes in practice, it analyzes key issues that should be accurately distinguished and grasped, and explained the distinction between the crime and illegal management. And the author puts forward her point of view about regulating pyramid selling with "single-track system" or a "dual system", and also about the application of abiding by old and lighter principle. The fifth part studies the penalty application of organizing, leading pyramid selling activities. The author's puts forward her point of view about applicable principles and standards of principal penalty and pecuniary penalty. The author also discuses on sentencing some less serious organizers and leaders to probation and pardon; The sixth part puts forward perfect legislative proposals and explanations about regulating pyramid selling from the view of criminal law. It suggests how to solve the problem to convict active participant and the team's pyramid payment type. It also suggests to increase punishment standards to organizing, leading pyramid selling and add the punishment of property confiscate, to make principal prescription on the standards of severity and the definition and punishment of plural crimes. In conclusion, the author summarizes her own views, and proposed to establish a platform for cooperation of administrative law enforcement and judicature to fight more effectively against pyramid selling, and to take various measures to restore victim losses to maintain social harmony and stability.