On Strict Liability In Criminal Law

Strict liability is a special theory in criminal law of common law system. With the highly modern industrial society and the rapid growth of high-risk industry, strict liability came into being. The content of strict liability developed and improved continuously. Strict liability is a highly controversial theory, especially in civil law system. The criminal law theory has a negative attitude towards the application of strict liability in China. However, in modern society, with the rapid growth of high-risk industry and the frequency of economic activities, it is necessary to apply strict liability in China for the sake of the public. In this paper, I will discuss strict liability and relevant issues. In addition to the introduction and conclusion, it is divided into five parts, which are as follow:Partâ… :Overview of strict liability. In this part, it introduces the historical origin of strict liability and the concept of strict liability from the perspective of substantive law and procedural law. The classification of strict liability and the discrimination of relevant definition are also described.Partâ…¡:Application of strict liability in different countries. It analyzes the reflection of strict liability in two major legal systems. Though in civil law system strict liability is not recognized, the trace of it can be found in criminal law of different countries.Partâ…¢:Basis of legitimacy of strict liability. The application of strict liability is the requirement of fighting against and preventing crime, and the requirement of the improvement of lawsuit efficiency. Strict liability conforms to the value of justice and the restraining criminal law. Strict liability is consistent with the requirements of the reform trends of criminal law and the tendency of turning criminal law into criminal policy. These arguments provide the basis for the following discussion.Partâ…£:Strict liability and China's criminal law. Through the analysis of some provisions in criminal law, we can see that there is room for the application of strict liability in China. In China's criminal law, strict liability is not provided. In order to provide a reasonable basis for strict liability, strict liability should be stipulated in China's criminal law.Partâ…¤:Construction of strict liability in China. Strict liability in China should conform to principle of statutory crime and punishment, restrictive principle, principle of allowing a reasonable defense. Strict liability should be clearly stipulated in general provisions of the criminal law, in order to provide basis for specific provisions. Strict liability is mainly applied to crimes of environmental pollution and producing and marketing fake or substandard commodities, and so on.