Judicial Determination Of Hit-and-Run Behavior After Traffic Accident

With the continuous development of China's economy,cars,as a convenient and efficient means of transportation,have gradually entered thousands of households.However,at the same time,more and more traffic accidents have occurred,bringing many related criminal cases.Among them,the accurate identification of hit-and-run behavior after traffic accident has been a big problem,which involves the definition of "escape" behavior,the subjective and objective elements of "escape",as well as the definition of "death caused by escape" and a series of difficult and controversial issues that trouble the theoretical and practical circles of criminal law.Based on this,this paper will further discuss the difficult problems in the judicial confirmation mentioned above,in order to contribute knowledge to promote the unity and accuracy of the relevant judicial practice.This paper is divided into three parts to study the judicial determination of hit-and-run.The first part starts from the connotation of "escape" and mainly analyzes three views on the connotation of escape.The meaning of "escape" has always been the focus of controversy in the academic circle.There are three mainstream views in the academic circle: "escape from legal investigation","escape from rescue obligation" and "escape from legal obligation".These three theories have their own advantages and disadvantages,but they all fail to comprehensively summarize the legal nature and essence of the word "escape" in the crime of traffic accident.Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of the above three viewpoints,"escape" behavior should be: the behavior of running away when one knows that one's behavior has caused a traffic accident,but fails to undertake the corresponding legal obligations of reporting a case,rescuing the case,waiting for handling and so on.The second part mainly analyzes the constitution of hit-and-run behavior.From the subjective aspect of escape,the subjective motive of escape includes evading legal investigation and evading responsibility investigation.In most cases,escape needs both motives,but in some cases,only one motive is needed.The objective elements of escape behavior can be discussed from the perspective of escape space and time.The scope of the escape should not be limited to the first crime scene,but should include any location related to the handling of the accident.Has escaped the time range should be limited in a certain period of time after the traffic accident,should not be too much longer,specific to the judicial practice,can control after the traffic accident to escape time and person to accept traffic administration for the first time processing and told the true identity information and contact before,in this time period from which can be deemed as escape behavior.In addition,the escape behavior that involves line linking problem,penal responsibility,in the traffic accident,the courts often will be responsibility of the accident issued by the administrative authority differentiates,as a basis for the criterions for the conviction,the administrative responsibility directly bring a lot of problems as the practice of criminal responsibility identification,the cognizance of criminal responsibility should be established on the standard norms of criminal law,or by strict judicial cognizance to reasonable administrative responsibility and criminal responsibility.The third part mainly discusses the identification of "death caused by escape".The exact scope of the term "escape to death",which refers to the object,has been vague.Most scholars think that "person" here only refers to the victims of the first traffic accident,and some scholars think that "person" here not only refers to the victims of the first traffic accident,but also includes the victims of the actor's second accident in the process of escape.According to the comprehensive analysis,the target of this behavior should be strictly limited to the first traffic accident,but not to the injuries in subsequent accidents.In addition,there are three views about the subjective fault of "causing death by escaping" in the theoretical circle,namely,the intentional fault theory,the negligence theory and the intentional fault theory.Among them,the comprehensive analysis of fault intentionally said more reasonable,namely the offender for killing the victim's subjective mentality has both fault and deliberately,because "the escape causing death" is essentially an objective punishment condition,intentionally or negligently has no effect for the provisions shall be applicable,will only affect the final sentencing.On the nature of "death caused by escape",there are three viewpoints in the academic circle,namely,the theory of consequential aggravated crime,the theory of aggravated crime and the theory of combined crime.Among them,it is more reasonable to analyze the crime of aggravated circumstances comprehensively,that is,this provision is the crime of aggravated circumstances of traffic accident.It is reasonable to interpret "causing death by escaping" as aggravating the circumstances of the crime of traffic accident,so as not to make certain hit-and-run ACTS impossible to be convicted,nor to make a double evaluation of the act of escaping,and to ensure that such ACTS are given heavier penalties.The establishment of "causing death by escaping" must meet three conditions: the responsibility of the previous act of causing death belongs to the actor;There is evidence to prove that the victim on the spot is not dead;And the result of the victim's death is caused by the actor's behavior of running away without timely help.In addition,in judicial practice,it is often difficult to distinguish between indirect intentional homicide by omission and "death by escape",because the legislature has actually made special legal provisions to include this case in "death by escape".In the circumstances of displacement and concealment of the victim to his death,it requires the actual dependence and absolute exclusivity between the actor and the victim to be converted into intentional homicide or intentional injury.