| In 2012,China introduced the "beyond reasonable doubt" standard of proof from the common law system and made it a subjective element of the "certainty and sufficiency of evidence" standard of proof,with a view to establishing a unified subjective and objective standard of proof.However,in recent years,the application rate of "beyond reasonable doubt" in China’s criminal justice practice is still extremely low,the application of the standard of proof is not uniform,and the understanding and positioning of "beyond reasonable doubt" is inaccurate.The "beyond reasonable doubt" standard of proof comes from common law countries,and the factors involved in its application are economic,political,philosophical and religious,etc.In addition,it is highly subjective,so there are still many problems to be solved in its application.This paper analyses the concept of the "beyond reasonable doubt" standard of proof and the current situation of its application,and on this basis clarifies the obstacles to the application of the "beyond reasonable doubt" standard of proof in China’s criminal proceedings and puts forward corresponding suggestions for improvement.The first chapter is an overview.Considering that the "beyond reasonable doubt"standard of proof is a product of common law countries and is highly subjective and difficult to define,on the basis of completing the tracing of the "beyond reasonable doubt" standard of proof,the standard of proof is compared with the "inner In this chapter,we will further understand the standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt by comparing it with the concepts of "inner conviction","sufficiency of evidence" and"burden of proof".Chapter 2 deals with the current situation of the application of "beyond reasonable doubt" in criminal cases in China.The research method is empirical analysis,through case search and big data analysis to summarize the problems in the application of the "beyond reasonable doubt" standard of proof.At the macro level,the problems include low application rate,large regional differences and decreasing application year by year;at the case level,the problems of ambiguous positioning of the "beyond reasonable doubt" standard of proof,confusing relationship with the application of corroboration and the pursuit of uniqueness of conclusions are found through the collation of relevant judgment documents.The third chapter is "Beyond Reasonable Doubt".Chapter 3 deals with the dilemma of the application of the "beyond reasonable doubt" standard of proof.This article analyses the practical obstacles to the application of the "beyond reasonable doubt" standard of proof in criminal proceedings from the perspectives of the normative system,institutional design and judicial practice.The obstacles at the normative level include three aspects: firstly,the logical relationship between the "certainty and sufficiency of evidence" and the "beyond reasonable doubt" is not clarified.The former is an evidentiary requirement while the latter is a requirement for the degree of fact to be found,and it is a logical fallacy to make the latter a necessary condition for the former.Secondly,there is no limitation on the stage of application of the standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt,which hinders the trial-centred court reform.Thirdly,the lack of detailed provisions on the burden of proof has led to an imbalance in the confrontation between the prosecution and the defence.On the one hand,the inadequate training and assessment mechanism for judges has become a realistic defect that makes it difficult to effectively apply the "beyond reasonable doubt" standard of proof;on the other hand,the defects of the people’s assessor system have led to the frequent phenomenon of "accompanying but not trying".On the other hand,the shortcomings of the people’s assessor system have led to the frequent occurrence of the phenomenon of "accompanying without trial",and people’s assessors have not fully discharged their duties in determining facts.The problems in judicial practice are divided into four areas,namely the limitations of traditional judicial philosophy,the unclear connotation of "reasonable doubt",the limitation of independent trials by judges and the lack of prerequisites for the application of the "beyond reasonable doubt" standard of proof due to the non-appearance of witnesses in court.Chapter 4 provides suggestions for improvement in response to these problems.At the normative level,firstly,a parallel system of proof standards should be established to rectify the logical problems of the existing norms,and at the same time,an effective connection should be made between the application of the standard of proof of corroboration and the standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt;secondly,the application of the standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt should be limited to the trial stage,and the application of the standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt should be restricted to the courtroom.Secondly,the application of the "beyond reasonable doubt" standard of proof should be limited to the trial stage,with the court hearing being the focus of determining the facts of the case;thirdly,the burden of proof should be refined to balance the strengths of the prosecution and the defence.At the institutional level,on the one hand,the comprehensive ability training and assessment system for judges should be improved to provide a good talent pool for the application of the "beyond reasonable doubt" standard;on the other hand,the people’s assessor system should be improved to give full play to the active role of people’s assessors in the fact finding dimension.At the level of judicial practice,firstly,to establish a scientific and reasonable theoretical guidance to provide better guidance for practice;secondly,to enhance the operability of "reasonable doubt" by clarifying it;thirdly,to ensure that judges are independent in determining facts;and fourthly,to implement the presence of witnesses in court to be questioned by both sides to achieve a comprehensive grasp of the facts of the case. |
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