On The Abolition Of The Reeducation Through Labor

From theoretical perspective to practical inquiries, the system on reeducation through labor is like an iceberg emerging into my view. While I strike the table and shout bravo for its fruitful social control function, I feel sorry about it overlooking the civil rights. This thesis begins with the protection of the civil rights, tries to argue about the irrationality of the system on reeducation through labor from its historical and present, theoretical and practical perspective, and the author proposes the view of abolishing the system on reeducation through labor. Of course, the function of reeducation will be left. After we reconstruct the administrative sanction system and the criminal sanction system in a proper way, they could completely satisfy the social control function.The thesis is composed of four chapters. On the basis of going back to its historical record simply, the author addresses the theoretical basis producing the system on reeducation through labor in the first chapter. The system on reeducation through labor is guided by Marxism with Chinese traditional culture and western rectification technique as its foundations. The system on reeducation through labor was developed at the beginning of new China being born, it played an important role in consolidating the new government under the special times background.The second chapter reviews the legal nature of the system on reeducation through labor in its historical evolution. The system on reeducation through labor focuses the education function, and on the other hand, it possesses some color of strongly meeting the emergency, therefore there are various ideas about its nature. Our understanding of its nature should begin with its historical evolution. Its nature is changing. At present, the system on reeducation through labor is acombination of sanctions: it serves the administrative sanction purpose by way of criminal sanction. The obscure nature doesn't accord with the sprit of law.The third chapter is the emphasis in this thesis. It reviews its legal principles from the perspective of protecting the civil rights. The system on reeducation through labor played an important role in keeping the social order, which could never be denied with its remaining social-functionally rationality. It cares too much for its on social functions, therefore it lacks the support of legal principles, and it can not afford any pondering. It can not follow the justice of entity and procedure generally accepted by modern publ ic law, and i t even violate the spr i t of Chinese Constitution and some articles in international human rights treaties. Naturally, it can not put enough emphasis on protecting civil rights while protecting the social order. When dealing with the relationship between individuals and the society, we should bear in mind the concept of justice: the value of civil rights and individual freedom should be in the first place; and the power and order which should is in the second place should obey and serve the value. When there are conflicts between its social control function and the civil rights, protecting the civil rights should be placed first. Therefore, the existing of the system on reeducation through labor is worth consideration. We may reform it or abolish it because in the era of more and more recognizing and respecting the rights, we can not bear any thing violating the rule of law. The author proposes in the fourth chapter that the system on reeducation through labor should be abolished, but its reasonable function should be left. Therefore, the existing sanction system should be rebuilt. Chinese existing three-class sanction system lacks support originating from the legal theory because the objective requirements of the system on reeducation through labor are the same as criminalsand the public security punished, and at the same time its time limit is the same as some time limit imposed on some kind of imprisonment with set term. Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China and Regulations on Public Security Administr...