Research On Moral Words In Criminal Judgments

Strengthening the reasoning of judicial documents is the key point of judicial reform.The use of moral words in civil judgment have received a good effect of settling and ending disputes.At the same time,moral words have been also used in criminal judgment.Moral words may not only be used as the basis and reasoning for conviction and sentencing,but also for advising and admonishing criminals.In the criminal judgment,there are many subjects who use moral words,and there are also many moral contents involved.Based on China's traditional concept of "the unity of propriety and law" and modern concept of "people's judicature",as well as the fact that moral factors are involved in legislation and judicature,it seems impossible to completely eliminate moral words in criminal judgment.However,the use of moral discourse does not always bring positive effects as expected by judges.On the contrary,it may cause negative effects,such as different judgments of the same case,repeated evaluation of the same plot,retroactivity,etc.,and even damage the legitimacy of criminal judgment,resulting in contradictory value orientation.Therefore,it is necessary to provide a unified and operable method for the application of moral words in criminal judgment.Moral words without substantive content(the crime does not involve specific morality),which only plays a decorative role,should be completely abandoned;The moral words as exhortation and admonition to criminals,it is not suitable to appear in the criminal judgment and can be expressed in the form of"message from the judge".We should adopt different attitudes towards the criminal ACTS that involve specific morality according to the differences between them.The application of moral discourse in criminal judgment should be prudent,and technical transformation should be carried out when conditions permit.