Study On The Legal Status And Interpretation Rules Of "serious Circumstances"

If we retrieve the high-frequency words from our Criminal Code,“plot” must be one of those.In the whole Criminal Code，with452articles，the word of plot appears nearly300times, when thelegal interpretations are involved，the frequency will be higher. And with the continual revision andperfection of criminal law，the provisions of crime involved plot will also continue to increase.The word of “serious” is very inclusive, so the legislature for free of omissions，they usuallyuse the legislative technique of generality. And the “serious” is just one example of this technique.The words of “serious”、“abominable” and “particularly abominable” are so available，that theycan apply to all kinds of social problems. The “serious” make the criminal law more flexible andexpansible，which links up the stable Criminal Code and the changing society. But at the sametimes, it also increase the fuzziness and uncertainty of the provisions, which makes the constitutiveelements of crime become elusive. In such case, the difficulty of judicial application will increasetherewith. The criminal law studies the crime and punishment, and no matter the determination orpunishment of the crime cannot achieve without the evaluation of the plot. Only complete theevaluation of the plot can we finish the final evaluation of the behavior, and achieve the mission ofthe criminal law， conviction and sentencing. This paper try to research on the “seriouscircumstances”, and by proving the characteristics of the "serious circumstances", study therelationship of “serious circumstances”、concept and constitution of crime, and the key point willbe on the rules of the interpretation on “serious circumstances”.This paper will be started with a introduction, and the main body contains three chapters，atlast there will be a conclusion. In the part of the Introduction, the main content will be a general introduction on the researchstatus of the “serious”. It will contain the current research, the confusion in practice, and the valueand significance on theory and practice of this paper.In the first chapter of the main body, we will introduce the essential meaning and legal statusof “serious circumstances”, and “plot” will be redefined as one kind of subjective and objectivefacts, which reflect the social harmfulness and personal dangerousness, and it has a function toaffect the conviction and sentencing. Then this paper discuses the relationship between the “seriouscircumstances”、concept and constitution of crime, and arrive at a conclusion that：It is notreasonable to refer the “serious circumstances” as one kind of quantitative factors of concept ofcrime. And because of the fuzziness and generality of “serious circumstances” itself, it would notbe a part of the constitution of crime. Because it is not a objective and distinct standard，it does nothave the function to discriminate the crime and non crime.The second chapter is on the relationship between the “serious circumstances” and sentencingrules. Through the comparative research method, we will analysis the current legislation of the”serious circumstances”, and arrive at a conclusion that the function of “serious circumstances” liesin affecting sentencing but not conviction. This chapter will tease the legal plots in our CriminalCode about giving a heavier punishment and a accumulative penalty, there will also be acomparative study of foreign Criminal Code on the current legislation of the “seriouscircumstances”, and analysis the legislative features of our country. Then combined with theGuidelines on Sentencing (for Trial Implementation) published in2010and2014，we will discussthe influence that the “serious circumstances” make to the sentencing.The third chapter is about the current interpretation of our country on accumulative penaltyplots. Through the research we find that most of the regulations on accumulative penalty plots arejudicial interpretation, which mainly focus on criminal amount，the number of crimes，the identityand role of the perpetrators and so on. Besides, this chapter will emphasize on the interpretationrules of the aggravation, and propose that a strict interpretation is necessary when we interpret the“serious circumstances”. As for the interpretation method, we should put the literalinterpretation in the first place, give consideration to system interpretation at the same time, andlimit the expanding interpretation strictly. In addition, we will also discuss the special rules ofinterpretation on the aggravation, to benefit the judicial practice. Through the above argument, we arrive at some conclusions as follow. The “seriouscircumstances” cannot be the component of crime, for the fuzziness and generality of itself. Insome statutes, the “serious circumstances” are set before legal penalty in parallel with patterns ofbehavior, and this is just a kind of suggestive measures. In our country, the function of the “seriouscircumstances” involved in the Criminal Code, lies in affecting the sentencing. Interpretation is thepremise for the application. We should adhere to the principle of strict interpretation, when weinterpret “serious” and “particularly serious” and so on. At same times, we need also combine thecharacteristics of the aggravation. As for the crimes of property infringement, we should combinethe amount and plot to interpret the aggravation of such cases. For the “serious circumstances” asgeneral provisions, we should adhere to the rule of homogeneity. For the “particularly serious”, weshould interpret it in the way that add the law degree to “serious”.