Regime Of Strict Liability. Criminal Law Study

Strict liability is a characteristic in criminal law theory in Anglo-American law systems, which has important procedural value. In leading into it, our scholars probe into its connotation and rcasonblity widely and beneficially. They have formed two absolutely opposite viewpoints in regard to the problem whether strict liability exists in our criminal law. But no matter whether we acknowledge it or not, its value to procedural efficiency is tremendous undoubtedly. The thesis analyses a few theoretical problems, so as to deepen its cognition and find its correspondence to our current criminal law theory, then make it localized.The thesis is composed of four parts.Part I: The author analyses the survey of strict liability. Firstly, the author introduces the historical development of strict liability, then analyses the definitions that scholars of England and American have defined, so as to conclude the original connotation,feature and cassification of strict liability. The the author introduces the legislative condition in Anglo-American law systems, Continental law systems and our country. Through the analysis between the both sides, the author concludes that there is legislative in the general provisions and the specific provisions of our current criminal law.Part II: The author probes into the foundations of strict liability. It has been argued badly since it occurs. The author holds that strict liability has its philosophic, phycologic and judical practice foundations so that it can occur and survive. Viewing from philosophy, because of the limitation of realization and complexity of objective act, we can develop the theory of culpability.Strict liability can compensate for its deficiency rightly. Viewing from phycology, intent and negligence can't outline many activities ofhuman beings completely. But strict liability can meet the need that the rulers buffet other subjective crimes. Viewing from judicial practice, strict liability can prevent special crimes appearing in current society and improve litigious efficiency. Furthermore the author analyses it in the viewpoint of economy.Part III: The author deals with the limitations of strict liability's applicable area. Because of the hardness of punishment, if we expand and abuse strict liability, citizen's humanrights are to be violated, the stability of the state and the society is to be destructed. So we must limit it application on materiality and procedure. Material limitations include these factors such as transformation of criminal legislation, the dangerous degree of act, the hardness of punishment, the applicable object of the law, the enforcement of the law; Procedural limitations mainly include prescribed defence reasons and good faith defence.Part IV: The author expounds the relation between strict liability and some important theories in our criminal law. The question whether strict liability is contradictory or not determines our attitudes on it. In the author's opinion, strict liability is probably compatible \vilh the principle of a legally prescribed punishment for a specified crime, the theory of the consitution of crime, the purpose of criminal law, the value of punishment. So we should acknowledge it openly rather than let it dissociate from the criminal law theory or interpret it irrelevantly.