A Study Of Issues Concerning Judicial Application Of Criminal Policy Of Tempering Justice With Mercy

The criminal policy, equaling the soul of criminal legislation and criminal justice, is a concentrated demonstration of reaction to crime by certain societies which is of important realistic significance in terms of construction of criminal rule of law. The criminal policy of tempering justice with mercy is a basic criminal policy that must be adhered to over a long period of time both at present and in the future. In the course of criminal trial, the foregoing policy is fulfilled and implemented, resulting in the scientific application of the three methods of"mercy","severity"and"tempering". Severe punishment against grave criminal crime can maintain the social stability while lenient handling of minor criminal cases can enhance social harmony, leading to organic integration of legal effect with social effect in terms of handling criminal cases. A range of issues concerning the judicial application of the criminal policy of tempering justice with mercy will be elaborated in this thesis.The intension, background and concept of the policy of tempering justice with mercy is expounded in Chapter One herein. The intension and historical origin of the aforementioned policy as well as the development process of the criminal policy in the wake of the foundation of the new China is discussed in the first quarter to analyze the detailed intension of the said policy. The epochal background for the policy of tempering justice with mercy, including the impact of development trend, political requirements of building a harmonious society, introspection into the idea and practice of the severe-penalty doctrine, and the conceptual upgrade in the academic and theoretical circles, is related and analyzed in the second quarter. The brand new idea of the policy of tempering justice with mercy including integrated ideas of combating crime and safeguarding human rights, of procedural justices and substantive justices, of suppressing crime and promoting development, of punishing crime and restoring order, and of legal effect and social effect is expounded in the third quarter.The effect, impact and significance of the policy of tempering justice with mercy is expounded in Chapter Two. The effect of the said policy is discussed in the first quarter. The effect of"severity"in the policy, i.e. the severe punishment against grave criminal crime is elaborated first. The timeliness and inevitability of the penalty as well as the use of circumstances to determine the measurement of severe penalty at judicial discretion is stressed. Then the effect of"leniency"in the policy, including the role of non-criminalized handling, that of non-criminal penalty, that of delivering oneself up, rendition of meritorious services and light sentences on juvenile criminals, that of determination of circumstances for measurement of lenient penalty at judicial discretion, and gradual increase in the level of mitigation of punishment and non-imprisonment, is discussed in the first quarter. The impact of the foregoing policy including the influence of the policy on the application and execution of criminal penalty in our country as well as the adjustment of the criminal policy and reform of the criminal penalty in our country is related and analyzed in the second quarter. The significance of the aforementioned policy including that of building a harmonious society, that of the actual criminal penalty and that of the relevant penalty system is discussed in the third quarter.The realistic visualization of the judicial application of the policy of tempering justice with mercy is expounded in Chapter Three. The realistic application of"severity"is discussed in the first quarter. It includes how to grasp the criminal type of"severity", the type of defendants that should be severely punished according to the law, and how to materialize"severity"against the crime meriting severe punishment according to the law. The realistic application of"leniency"including the scope of the target meriting lenient treatment and issues worth paying attention to in terms of a light sentence according to the law is related and analyzed in the second quarter."Tempering"in the foregoing criminal policy is expounded in the third quarter. The detailed channels of the said policy are discussed in the fourth quarter. It involves further deepening the split-flow of the complicated and the simple, using the recovery judicial idea for reference, trying non-imprisonment penalty and community correction, and perfection and innovation of corresponding mechanism and systems.