On The Independent Construction Of Maritime Traffic Accident Crime

Currently,for traffic accidents occurring at sea on ships,most cases only involve civil liability or administrative liability.In judicial practice,the prosecution of maritime traffic accidents is mainly applied to the crime of traffic accidents under Article 133 of the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China(hereinafter referred to as "Criminal Law").However,there are obvious differences between land traffic accidents and maritime traffic accidents in many aspects,which leads to many problems in determining the crimes and misdemeanors.Therefore,we advocate the construction of a crime specifically applicable to maritime traffic accidents-the crime of maritime traffic collision,and the targeted criminal regulation of maritime traffic collision crimes.Through the comparison with land-based traffic accidents,we discuss the limitations of the direct application of traffic accidents,and advocate the construction of an independent maritime traffic crime,which can improve the applicability of the law while solving the problems of excessive discretion of judges,stabilizing the crew,and promoting the improvement of criminal law.In addition to the introduction and conclusion,this thesis is divided into three main parts as follows.The first part: the necessity of the independent construction of the crime of maritime traffic accidents.This part discusses the special characteristics of maritime traffic accidents,the special characteristics of the subjects responsible for maritime traffic accidents,and the positive significance of the independent construction of maritime traffic crimes.Through the comparison with the land traffic accident crime,it highlights the characteristics of the maritime traffic accident,discusses the possible problems of the current way of handling maritime traffic accidents and the limitations of the direct application of the traffic accident crime,and lists the positive significance of the construction of this crime.The positive significance of the independent construction of the maritime traffic offense is discussed in five aspects,namely,the inherent requirement of human rights protection,the promotion of fair settlement of each case,the avoidance of excessive discretion of judges,the promotion of the improvement of criminal law,and the enhancement of crew members’ awareness of responsibility,proving that the advantages of the independent construction of the maritime traffic offense outweigh the disadvantages.The overall effect of the argument is to prove the necessity of the independent construction of the maritime traffic offense.The second part: The design of the crime of maritime traffic collision,i.e.,the constituent elements of the crime of maritime traffic collision.This part is mainly based on the controversial points of the existing academic community.The three aspects of the crime are discussed in terms of the conditions of incrimination,aggravating circumstances and the subject of responsibility,and it is determined that a certain degree of personal and property damage can constitute the crime,and the subjective aspect is limited to gross negligence,and the introduction of negligent and dangerous offenders,which can also constitute the crime when specific circumstances are met without the occurrence of actual harm.At the same time,the degree of damage caused is divided,and aggravating circumstances are provided for.The third part: the configuration of statutory penalties for the crime of maritime traffic collision.This part is complementary to the previous part,that is,on the basis of the constituent elements of the analysis of the severity of criminal liability and the specific way to bear,to improve the provisions of the crime of marine traffic collision.This part provides for the main penalty and additional penalty for the crime.And a specific division of the range of the main penalty.The statutory maximum penalty and statutory minimum penalty are clearly defined.Compared with the land traffic offense,the statutory minimum sentence is lowered,which tends to protect the interests of crew members under the premise of guaranteeing judicial fairness,making the profession of crew members still attractive to young people and achieving the purpose of stabilizing the crew.The final conclusion summarizes all the ideas of this thesis and proposes legislative recommendations.