A Research On Some Issues Concerning The Crime Of Intentional Injury

The Crime of Intentional Injury, as a traditional violent crime, has been a main target for criminal laws in all ages. In recent years, crimes of intentional injury have been increasing every year among all the juridical practices, which have caused great harm to victims'health and social stability. With the continuous development of the social economy, new forms of crime are emerging one after another and the crime of intentional injury is also presenting its complexity and variety. Therefore, judicial organizations find it difficult to handle such issues in their judicial practices. Through a general analysis combining some complicate and ambiguous problems in judicial practice with various views and cases, this paper points out some personal opinions and hopes that they will help to fight against intentional injury crimes, protect people's legal rights, and maintain a harmonious and stable society. This paper consists of 4 parts:I. Definition and Conditions of the Crime of Intentional InjuryThe provision of Rule 1, Article 234 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China defines the crime of intentional injury as an intentional behavior that causes harm to others'body, but this can not tell the reality of intentional injury crime. Based on China'criminal law theories and judicial practices, the author holds that the statement about this crime in the Criminal Law is vague and not correct. First, the provision doesn't reflect the illegality of intentional injury. Only illegal behaviors of intentional injury constitute the crime, while legal injuries do not. Second, the article fails to give a full account on the protectable objects of the law against the crime of intentional injury. Generally speaking, protectable objects of the law against the crime of intentional injury include two parts: one is the protection of the human organism'integrity and the other is the protection of functionality of body organs. Thus it will be more appropriate to define the crime of intentional injury as an intentional and illegal behavior that causes harm to others'body health.Criminal law in China adopts the idea of Four Elements to explain the conditions of a crime. The object of intentional injury crime is someone's physical fitness. It is the essential characteristic of this crime, and it is also the main difference from other offences against personal rights and other ordinary assaults. Generally speaking, the crime of intentional injury refers to an intentional and illegal injury to others'health, so we wonder whether intentional injury to someone's own body counts as a crime of intentional injury. Our criminal law theoretically claims that self-injury is usually not subject to punishment, and therefore the one who injured himself or herself is not committing a crime of intentional injury. However, if a victim is forced to implement a self-injury conduct and injure himself or herself to avoid illegal harm from other people, the illegal violator is committing a crime of intentional injury. The crime of intentional injury is shown from an objective perspective to have conducted illegal behaviors that cause harm to others'physical health. Generally speaking, the crime of intentional injury belongs to the crime with actions taken, but does inaction constitute the crime of intentional injury? The author believes that inaction may also constitute the crime of intentional injury. When one bears special responsibilities to prevent others'health from injuries but fails to perform that responsibility which leads to injuries to a victim, his or her behavior can be considered as the crime of intentional injury. The subject of the intentional injury crime is a general subject. Usually, the subject of the intentional injury crime is a natural person, but with the development of our society, some people have suggested that organizations can also become the subject of the intentional injury crime. The crime of intentional injury has to be subjectively intentional. Motives behind crime of the intentional injury are diversified, some out of personal revenge or jealousy, some out of flaunting or overbearing, others out of family or marriage or other disputes. Those different motives do not affect the constitution of the crime of intentional injury.II. Distinction of the Crime of Intentional InjuryIt includes distinctions between the crime of intentional injury and noncrime, and between different crimes. In the distinction between a crime and noncrime, the crime of intentional injury and accidents has drawn most arguments, especially about the injuries to people with idiosyncrasies. When this kind of injuries occur and cause death, China'criminal law theories and judicial practices do not agree with each other on whether this behavior should be defined as a crime of intentional injury or an accident. The author suggests that the judgment should be based on two considerations: first is to consider whether the person concerned is fully aware of the victim's idiosyncrasies; second is to consider whether the person concerned has caused a minor injury or an injury even more serious to the victim's body. If subjectively the person is neither fully aware, nor objectively has he or she caused a minor injury to the victim, he is not committing an intentional injury crime. If subjectively the person is fully aware, and objectively he or she has executed harmful actions to the victim, he is committing a crime of intentional homicide rather than the crime of intentional injury. As for the classifications of different crimes, the crime of intentional injury and intentional homicide represent much resemblance in objective behaviors, which results in the difficulty to distinct and define these two crimes. In particular, it is even harder to distinct between an intentional injury causing death and accomplished intentional homicide, and between attempted intentional injury and intentional homicide (but injuries inflicted), so it is necessary to draw clear lines between them. About the distinction between the crime of intentional injury and the crime of provoking fights and quarrels, the author believes that it can be made by the person's subjective intention, objective behaviors and the inflicted objects. As to the distinction between the crime of intentional injury (causing death) and the crime of negligent homicide, whether the person subjectively aims to cause intentional injury should be mainly considered. If the person subjectively aims to cause intentional injury, and objectively executes harmful actions and has caused the death of the victim, the crime of intentional injury (causing death) is constituted; otherwise, the crime of negligent homicide is committed.III. Research on Two Issues Concerning Intentional InjuryThe Criminal Law of China gives no specific stipulations about intentional injuries to fetus. Criminal law theories at home and abroad hold two opposite views: one thinks that it should be defined as the crime of intentional injury; the other argues that it should not be defined as the crime of intentional injury. The author believes that even though the criminal law in China has not stipulated the definition and punishment of intentional injuries to fetus, it doesn't mean that fetus'rights are not under the protection of criminal laws. On the contrary, it is more necessary for fetus to be protected by the law. Therefore the author suggests that the crime of intentional injury to fetus be added to the criminal laws.As for the issue on whether the crime of intentional injury is accomplished, some scholars hold that a minor injury has no unaccomplished forms while a major injury has. However, the author thinks that a minor injury has unaccomplished forms while a major injury has not. When it can be declared that one subjectively and obviously to cause harm, but fails to do so and the case does not belong to circumstance obviously minor with little damage, it can be treated as attempted minor injury; when it can not be firmly determined about whether the person subjectively intends to cause minor injuries, it should not be treated as attempted minor injury. If the person subjectively and obviously intends to cause a serious injury and has carried on the behaviors of serious injury, but only fails to cause a minor injury instead of a serious one because of factors beyond his or her own will, it can be treated as an accomplished crime of intention minor injury, subject to the sentencing for a minor injury and no longer subject to related punishment for attempted criminals; under equal conditions, if no injury or only a minor injury is inflicted to others, it should be considered as attempted crime of intentional minor injury, and is punished according to Rule 1, Article 234 of the Criminal Law with reference to the punishment rules for attempted crimes in the general principles of the Criminal LawIV. The Sentencing of the Crime of Intentional InjuryIn judicial practices, the suspension of sentence is often applied to the cases of minor injuries, but it is rare in the case of serious injuries. Some people even argue that the suspension of sentence should not be applied to the case of serious injury at all. The author believes that the suspension of sentence may be applied to the case of serious injury under specific conditions.Generally speaking, about the sentencing in the case of several injuries to others'body, it can be convicted and punished if one minor injury or other more serious consequences have caused by someone who intends to cause harm to others. However, if several minor injuries or other more serious consequences have caused by someone who intends to cause harm to others, should it be punished according to the sane standard? Such punishment involves two problems: first, the sentences will not be disproportioned; second, suspicion of indulgence of crimes may be attached. Therefore, it is necessary to make further amendments and improvements to the sentencing provisions stipulated in the criminal law.As for continuous intentional injuries inflicted on others, the argument lies in that whether it should be punished as a single crime of continuing offence or punished cumulatively as multiple offences of the same kind. The author thinks that the key problem is that whether the person's harmful behavior is subjectively based on the same or a general intention. If it is out of the same or a general intention, it should be treated as continuing offence and punished severely as a single crime; if not, it should be treated as multiple offences of the same kind and punished cumulatively. Only punished cumulatively as multiple offences, can the crime be in accordance with its sentence.