Research On The Minimum Age Of Criminal Responsibility Of Minors

Since the Criminal Law came into effect in 1997,the starting point of criminal responsibil-ity age in China has been fourteen years old for a long time.With the rapid development of economy,whether this starting point is in line with the physical and mental development of mi-nors has been controversial,and there are constant discussions in the theoretical and practical circles.In order to respond to social disputes and solve the problem of juvenile delinquency of low age and violence in practice,the Criminal Law Amendment(11)was officially passed on December 26,2020,which adjusted the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 14 to 12 and set up strict prosecution procedures.The adjustment of the age of criminal responsibility will lead to change in the system of juvenile criminal responsibility norms.Therefore,it is necessary to clarify the application of the new law after its promulgation,and make a theoretical analysis of the problems,so that the new law can meet the needs of social practice and realize the maximum value of the age of criminal responsibility system.This paper is divided into six parts,the specific content of each part is as follows:The first part of the Criminal Law Amendment(11)to modify the age of criminal responsi-bility as the background,to explore the necessity of the minimum age of criminal responsibility.On this basis,this paper analyzes and comments on the theories of minimum age of criminal re-sponsibility maintenance,reduction and flexibility.The second part introduces the evolution of the minimum age of criminal responsibility in China,analyzes the background of the change and comments on the amendment of the new law.Through the investigation of the minimum age of criminal responsibility in 192 countries around the world,it is found that the minimum age of criminal responsibility in most countries is set at 7-14 years old,and the United Nations Convention is set at 12 years old.The amendment of the new law in China is in line with the international trend.And then this paper selects Germany,represented by realism,and the United States,represented by realism,are taken as the research objects to analyze the minimum age of criminal responsibility system of the two countries.After the elaboration of the specific situation at home and abroad,the decisive factors that determine the division of the age of criminal responsibility,namely the ability of identification and the abil-ity of control,are analyzed.The third part uses the empirical analysis method,combined with the natural growth rate of population,the growth rate of criminal offenders,the applicable proportion of conditional non prosecution,the proportion of minors in the total population and other data,draws the conclusion that although the absolute number of juvenile delinquency has decreased,the relative number has increased.Through the analysis of the judgment documents in the past three years,it is found that China’s juvenile delinquency is mainly male,with the trend of younger age and violent means of crime.Then mob crime and robbery were more prominent.It shows that the form of juvenile delinquency is serious.The fourth part,combined with the above data analysis and judicial status,summarizes the shortcomings of the current age of criminal responsibility,that is the age of 12 to 14 is narrow.There are many crimes of affray,and the crime has the situation of legal fiction.Whether the group should apply the legal fiction or not,the judicial interpretation is not unified,and the ap-plication is not clear.The fifth part introduces the theoretical basis of the minimum age of criminal responsibility,mainly from the modest nature of criminal law and the principle of legal interest protection,to provide a theoretical basis for the following system construction.The sixth part,based on the above theories and data,puts forward suggestions to improve the minimum age of criminal responsibility system in China.The first is to expand the scope of crime from 12 to 14 years old.The first is to expand the scope of crime from 12 to 14 years old.Considering the system of criminal law,the modesty of criminal law and the principle of legal interest protection,based on the scope of crime from 14 to 16 years old and combined with the current situation of crime in practice,robbery and rape can also be included in it.The second is to clearly point out that the relative age of criminal responsibility should also apply the provi-sions of the legal fiction,so as to realize the adaptation of crime and punishment.Third,com-bined with the relevant foreign systems,taking the flexible age of criminal responsibility as a reference,this paper proposes to learn from the malicious supplementary age provisions,and made a localized system design.