The Relationship Between Departing From Joint Crimes And Discontinuance Of Joint Crime And The Application Of Them In Criminal Law

The concept of departing from joint crimes was firstly put forward by theJapanese scholar Dazhongren. The aim of creating such a concept was to make up thedeficiencies of discontinuance of joint crime and solve the problem of how to confirmthe criminal responsibility of some actors who departed from joint crimes but did notable to stop the accomplished offense. However, with gradually thorough research,the issue of departing from joint crimes, which is different from discontinuance ofjoint crime, becomes an independent theory in the research field of joint crime.Meantime, its advantages are more and more apparent. Nevertheless, no article aboutdeparting from joint crimes is in the Chinese criminal law, leading to the situation thatno regulation could be accorded to when it happens. Originated in Japan, thetheoretical basis of departing from joint crimes must be understood and the definitionshould be adjusted to fitting for Chinese situation if it is expected to be absorbed intoChinese law. Therefore, the writer wrote the article to analyze and discuss thedifferences of opinions in the academic research (the definition and elements ofdeparting from joint crimes), the necessity of absorbing it into Chinese law (thedifferences between departing from joint crimes and discontinuance of joint crime)and how to absorb it (the identification of departing from varied joint crimes). The first chapter is the foundation of the article. The fundamental theories ofdiscontinuance of joint crime and departing from joint crimes are remarked in thispart, especially the current research situation of departing from joint crimes in Japan,the writer’s analysis towards different opinions and the research findings in China.Then focus on the definition and elements of departing from joint crimes, which aremost controversial and reach the writer’s own conclusion based on Professor Dagu’sopinion-complicity dispelling. Departing from joint crimes means after the complicityhas been established but before accomplished offense, some accomplices break up thecomplicity and get rid of the crime, but other accomplices commit the crime based onthe complicity and give rise to criminal consequence. The elements of the conceptinclude time, subjective and objective conditions. That is the conclusion.Based on different opinions and the writer’s own idea remarked in chapter one,the second chapter is about the similarities and essential differences betweendeparting from joint crimes and discontinuance of joint crime. It explains further thatdeparting from joint crimes is a special topic in the field of joint crime, but not just asupplement to discontinuance of joint crime. It has positive effects to improve relativeregulations of Chinese criminal law.The third chapter is the conclusion part and also the objective of writing thisarticle. According to Chinese criminal law, joint crimes are classified into instigators,accessories and executors and convicts organizing the crimes. This chapter analyzesthe elements of all kinds of joint crimes concretely in view of the classification andthe time when depart from the complicity, and emphatically discusses the last type ofjoint crimes in order to apply the theory of departing from joint crime into practice.The conclusion summarizes the achievements and regrets of the article.