The Practical Research Of The Statute Of Limitations For Criminal Prosecution

The investigation and processing of criminal cases is the major content of the national public prosecution.The statute of limitations is an important factor in practice when considering whether to initiate a prosecution.Under the current law system,how to clearly and precisely apply the statute of limitations has become an inevitable requirement of criminal justice practice.In China,the simplicity of the criminal law for the regulation of the statute of limitations leads to difficulties and obstacles in judicial application,including the starting of limitation periods,the exceptions to the statute of limitations,and the determination of limitation periods in concurrence of light and serious crimes.The author starts with the problems encountered in the practice and studies three problems.When it comes to the start date of the statute of limitations for a criminal prosecution,the author believes that the start date is the time when the crime is completed in general cases,while it should be the time when the crime is committed rather than completed in special cases where consequences are constituent elements such as criminal negligence and offense of segregation by time.Among the four elements that are not subject to the statute of limitations,case filing for investigation is a complete organism.The formal requirements for filing a case are not absolute,but it must be that the investigation authorities have implemented the procedures for accepting the case and carried out substantial investigation activities.The practical application of evading detection should include not only fleeing from the place of residence after noticing the crime has been filed and investigated,but also having a clear criminal understanding of the form of one’s criminal behavior while criminal facts have been discovered by the judiciary.The evasion behavior is not only leaving the place of residence,but also actively obstructing the investigation,such as bribing the investigators and instigating others to give perjury,though not leaving the place of residence or the crime scene;the victim’s accusation within the prosecution period only requires a clear claim and the investigation authorities should decide to file a case and carry out an investigation according to the report of the police.In view of the increasing number of crimes that are stipulated in the criminal law with fixed-term imprisonment of less than one year,only criminal detention or fine alone,the substantive system of a lighter punishment and a statute of limitations for prosecution should also keep with the trend.The author suggests the statute of limitations be limited to three years for the crimes with less than one-year imprisonment or only criminal detention,in order to promote the active performance of judicial organs and the restoration of social order.