Systematic Interpretation Of The Third Paragraph Of Article 17 Of The Criminal Law Under The Guidance Of The Criminal Policy Of Juvenile Delinquency

The previous age standard of criminal responsibility can not effectively curb the trend of violence,younger age and high recidivism rate of minors.In this regard,the third paragraph of Article 17 of the criminal law is added to reduce the minimum age standard of criminal responsibility to 12 years old.The addition of reducing criminal responsibility clauses makes the inherent age model of criminal responsibility more perfect,and solves the embarrassing situation faced by young minors to a certain extent.The provision of reducing the age of criminal responsibility involves both substantive and procedural aspects,which is a correct and necessary choice and has certain practical significance.Before the introduction of relevant judicial interpretation and legislative interpretation,how to understand and grasp this clause under the overall characteristics of our country and the background of the development of the times,so as to provide a practical legal basis for effectively solving the problem of juvenile delinquency,is a topic worthy of exploration and an urgent task.On the one hand,China’s special spirit of protecting minors embodied in legislation,judicature and law enforcement should be consistent in understanding and application.We should strictly abide by the principle of legally prescribed punishment for a crime,implement the criminal policy of tempering justice with mercy,advocate "punishment as a supplement,education as the main" and restrict the application of the spiritual concept.On the other hand,we should use the research method of criminal integration,take the similar provisions in the criminal legal system as the reference,and make a selective reference based on the particularity of juvenile delinquency.In terms of substance,the crimes of intentional homicide and intentional injury stipulated in this paragraph should refer to crimes rather than specific crimes,and there should be an alternative relationship between crimes and results.As for the plot element of "bad circumstances",it should be another restrictive condition besides the limitation of crime and result,and its determination should be holistic.The identification of "bad circumstances" should include subjective and objective levels,and conduct comprehensive analysis and identification in combination with personal danger.Specifically,it includes whether the subjective motivation of the crime is despicable,whether it seriously violates ethics,the number of victims,identity,the number of crimes and the cruelty of criminal means.At the procedural level,in the approval and prosecution procedure of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate,it is more reasonable to locate the approval and prosecution behavior as the investigation procedure behavior,which should be reported level by level by the municipal procuratorate divided into districts,and young minors should be given the procedural participation right in the approval and prosecution,as well as the procedural participation right and relief right of the injured in the approval and prosecution.