The Abolition Of The Reeducation Through Labor System Of Jurisprudence

The practice of reeducation through labor founded in 1957, is a legal system with Chinese characteristics. When reviewing its history, it is obvious to see that this system has played irreplaceable roles in strengthening national regime, educating and transforming the offending people, maintaining national, political and social stability, preventing and decreasing crimes and offences, guaranteeing economic and cultural construction. However, with the development of society, this system has proved to be problematic. Following the reform and opening up of the country in early 1980s, it has been intensively controversial to keep or to do away with this system. With the promulgation and enforcement of the Legislative Law in particular, the system of reeducation through labor has faced historical options and lots of domestic and international experts are putting forward their opinions. Basically these opinions fall into three groups. The first group is to maintain the system. Supporters of this opinion think this system is reasonable because it accords with Chinese national conditions and therefore it should be maintained through additional legislation; The second group is to transform the system. These people regard that the system itself is defective, but at the current Chinese situation it cannot still abolished. Instead, it should be perfected through legislation; The third group thinks that the existent defects and problems of reeducation through labor were the results and indication of the old times when the country was not wholly ruled by law so it should be abolished to push the legislation based ruling process. I think this system should be abolished. This paper from the viewpoint of jurisprudence tended to have a deep-rooted analysis on the illegal nature of its existence and suggested that reeducation through labor in China be removed immediately.