激情犯情节法定化的立法思考

激情犯情节法定化问题目前正成为我国刑法学界讨论的热点问题之一。在刑事立法过程中,我们需要借鉴国外激情犯的立法经验,确定对激情犯的处罚原则和立法模式。从刑法学、犯罪学和心理学角度考虑,对激情犯应当从宽处罚。在立法模式方面,在立足我国现行刑法典结构的基础上,可以借鉴大陆法系国家对激情犯的规定,采用总则式的立法模式。在激情犯的认定标准方面,应当从刺激的范围因素、刺激的程度因素、实施犯罪的时间因素、犯罪的对象因素等方面进行考虑。在此基础上,针对我国刑法典的具体情况提出适合我国国情的立法建议。     

“从宽处罚”规范化研究

从宽处罚是我国宽严相济刑事政策的具体体现之一。我国刑法规定了从宽处罚的具体情节和方式,但这些规定仍不够完善和规范,在一定程度上导致了量刑实践中的一系列问题。可以通过合理界定法定从宽情节和酌定从宽情节,将法定从宽情节"合理化"、酌定从宽情节"法定化"等措施,完善我国刑法从宽处罚的有关规定,促进从宽处罚适用进行规范化。     

对自首犯的处罚研究

自首是我国刑法规定的一项重要刑罚制度,是惩办与宽大相结合刑事政策的具体化、法律化。古今中外法律大都对自首有所规定,自首从宽逐渐成为各国刑事政策的一种共识,并不同程度地贯彻到刑事立法与司法之中。从宽的理论根据在于自首犯的人身危险性较小,并能节约司法资源,提高诉讼效益。现行刑法典规定自首为＂可以型＂从宽处罚情节比较恰当,但对自首犯有重大立功表现时＂应当减轻或免除处罚＂规定的合理性,值得怀疑。     

实体法与程序法双重视角下的认罪认罚从宽制度研究

认罪认罚从宽制度由镇压与宽大相结合等刑事政策演变而来,在刑事实体法和程序法中均有相关规定和程序设计,同时也存在诸多问题与不足,应当从实体法和程序法两个层面进行改革和完善.具体包括:改革规范认罪认罚从宽制度的实体文件的制定范式,将犯罪嫌疑人、被告人认罪认罚作为“应当”型的法定情节,构建科学合理、相互衔接的认罪认罚程序,赋予犯罪嫌疑人、被告人适用认罪认罚程序的选择权,对选择或同意适用认罪认罚程序的犯罪嫌疑人、被告人予以从轻处罚,并规定对其减少基准刑的幅度等.     

退赃可以适当从宽

退脏,是指刑事罪案的被告人在接受审查和裁判期间,由本人或其亲属代为将犯罪所得的赃款赃物,或按照实际价值(以下代称案值),退激给公安、司法机关的行为。对于退赃行为,我国刑法尚无可以从宽处罚的规定。在司法实践中,有的为了鼓励被告人退赃,用以减少和弥补被害者的经济损失,对此视为酌定情节予以适当从宽处罚的。但有的则认为退赃是被告人及其亲属理所应当的,如果从宽于法无据,也有悖于罪刑相一致的原则,故     

免予刑事处罚的适用及其与缓刑的并罚

本文案例启示：对于犯罪情节轻微不需要判处刑罚的,可以免予刑事处罚;同时,在被告人在犯数罪的情况下,可以判处缓刑。此种情况下,免予刑事处罚与缓刑可以并罚。     

预备犯普遍处罚原则的困境与突围——《刑法》第22条的解读与重构

《刑法》第22条赋予预备行为以刑事可罚性,并规定了预备犯普遍处罚原则。这一规定存在正当性、必要性、操作性与实效性等方面的诸多问题。我国司法通过刑事政策、但书规定、目的论限缩解释以及刑事证明、罪疑从无等路径,对普遍处罚原则予以救济和限缩,基本实现了预备犯例外处罚的实践理性。但是,突破预备犯普遍处罚原则困境的根本之道仍在立法重构,即预备犯的刑法规制应实现从普遍处罚到例外处罚、从总则规范到分则规范、从形式预备犯到实质预备犯的模式转换。     

《刑法修正案(八)》贯彻了宽严相济的刑事政策

宽严相济的刑事政策的基础是罪刑法定原则和罪刑相适应原则。在"宽"的方面,体现了谦抑性:已满七十五周岁的人犯罪从宽处罚:对不满十八周岁的未成年人犯罪从宽处罚;增加了坦白从宽作为法定从宽处罚情节;废除了13个罪的死刑,符合了减少死刑的国际大趋势;社区矫正制度在刑法中正式确立。在"严"的方面,体现了重刑化:提高了有期徒刑数罪并罚的最高期限;延长了无期徒刑实际执行的最低期限;提高了死缓犯减刑后的最低服刑期限;增加构成特别累犯的范围;增加了犯罪集团的首要分子也不适用缓刑的情形。     

关于“完善认罪认罚从宽制度”的几个理论问题

认罪认罚从宽制度是指在刑事诉讼中,从实体和程序上鼓励、引导、保障确实有罪的犯罪嫌疑人、被告人自愿认罪认罚,并予以从宽处理、处罚的由一系列具体法律制度、诉讼程序组成的集合性法律制度.认罪认罚从宽制度与以审判为中心的诉讼制度之间实质上是刑事诉讼中对办案机关及办案人员办理案件的实然需要与应然要求的关系;认罪认罚从宽不等于辩诉交易,后者只是一项具体的诉讼制度,不可能与我国的认罪认罚从宽制度相提并论;认罪认罚从宽制度同样适用于侦查阶段;认罪认罚从宽制度既适用于简易程序、速裁程序,也适用于普通程序.     

老年犯罪从宽处罚论

随着我国迈入老龄化社会、老年人口日益增多,老年犯罪人的数量也在不断增加。对于老年犯罪从宽处罚的规定,不仅我国历史上有所涉及,世界其他国家也有相关规定,但是我国现行刑事立法却未有涉及。无论是从现实需要还是从理论上而言,对老年犯罪都应该以法定量刑情节的方式明确规定从宽处罚,并规定对老年人不适用死刑,力求老年犯罪人承担刑事责任方式的多样化。     

胁从犯存废论

胁从犯是我国刑法特有的规定。胁从犯的存在有违背责任原则之虞,并且不利于"统一法秩序"的构建。基于心理动因、刑罚目的、谦抑精神、司法实践等方面的反思,当法律无法强求受胁迫者拒绝实施犯罪行为,亦即受胁迫者欠缺合法行为的期待可能性时,就不应追究受胁迫者的刑事责任。因此,胁从犯的规定是不必要的,可以考虑予以废除。     

Punishment and rehabilitation

Conclusion Despite partial amendments to criminal legislation the existing Czech criminal system is marked by its punitive character. Despite a slight change in attitudes towards punishment after 1990, the nature of penalties has not been adapted to the new goals. The punishment which fulfils the retributive, i.e. deterrent objective will not automatically become a means of re-education and rehabilitation merely because we change its objective in law. The new purpose of punishment requires changes in contents of punishment, i.e. searching for effective ways of handling offenders both outside and inside prisons. We have to renounce the idea that rehabilitation of offenders can be achieved by coercion. We have to respond to offending by imposing an adequate punishment which must be executed paying full respect to human rights and dignity. In this context, any offender must be able to exercise his or her right to request conditions and means for social reintegration (training, improvement of skills, medical treatment etcetera), if the offender is really interested in rehabilitation. We can only create conditions, we cannot reintegrate anybody by force. Rehabilitation in the Czech Republic continues to be more a good intention than a reality.     

犯罪控制的惩罚主义及其效果

1979年以来我国刑事立法和司法忽视或遗忘了刑法的特征与内在价值,高估了刑法影响人的行为的可能性,刑法一直保持着在功能化方向上的惯性,刑罚结构和刑罚适用面临着重刑主义的突出问题。我国的犯罪控制存在着惩罚主义的结构特征,然而惩罚主义的意愿和努力,并没能有效遏制犯罪规模和犯罪的总体严重程度迅猛发展的势头。在刑事政策和刑罚体系的主导思想没有做出重大调整前,刑罚轻缓化的改革仍然任重道远。     

论双重犯罪原则之实质类似说

双重犯罪原则是引渡制度的重要内容 ,对于引渡请求所指向的行为只要依请求国与被请求国两国法律达到实质类似 ,就以为符合双重犯罪原则。从国际刑法学的角度 ,论述了在对国际犯罪进行引渡的过程中 ,双重犯罪原则之实质类似说的具体适用需要把握的若干问题 ,认为实质类似说与罪刑法定主义并无冲突 ,也不会造成对政治犯不引渡原则的背反 ,它与普遍管理原则所引申出的或引渡或起诉原则能够达成协调。另外 ,认为实质类似说体现在定罪和刑罚两方面 ,各国对可引渡之罪的标准从列举式到淘汰式的演变也表明了国际刑事立法对该说的确定     

Gender ‘Hostility’, Rape,and the Hate Crime Paradigm

This article examines whether crimes motivated by, or which demonstrate, gender ‘hostility’ should be included within the current framework of hate crime legislation in England and Wales. The article uses the example of rape to explore the parallels (both conceptual and evidential) between gender‐motivated violence and other ‘archetypal’ forms of hate crime. It is asserted that where there is clear evidence of gender hostility during the commission of an offence, a defendant should be pursued in law additionally as a hate crime offender. In particular it is argued that by focusing on the hate‐motivation of many sexual violence offenders, the criminal justice system can begin to move away from its current focus on the ‘sexual’ motivations of offenders and begin to more effectively challenge the gendered prejudices that are frequently causal to such crimes.     

SENTENCING HOMICIDE OFFENDERS IN THE NETHERLANDS: OFFENDER,VICTIM, AND SITUATIONAL INFLUENCES IN CRIMINAL PUNISHMENT*

Empirical investigations of criminal sentencing represent a vast research enterprise in criminology. However, this research has been restricted almost exclusively to U.S. contexts, and often it suffers from key data limitations. As such, an examination of more detailed international sentencing data provides an important opportunity to assess the generalizability of contemporary research and theorizing on criminal punishment in the United States. The current study investigates little-researched questions about the influence of prosecutorial sentencing recommendations, victim/offender relationships, and extralegal disparities in sentencing by analyzing unique data on the punishment of homicide offenders in the Netherlands. The results indicate that offender, victim, and situational offense characteristics all exert important independent effects at sentencing and that prosecutorial recommendations exert powerful influences over judicial sentences. The article concludes with a discussion of future directions for comparative sentencing research across international contexts.     

论情绪的刑法评价

情绪对刑事责任的影响主要表现为强烈情绪对刑事责任能力的影响和引发情绪的被害人过错对犯罪动机的影响。对情绪进行刑法评价的考察因素主要有:刺激因素的范围与真实性、情绪的强度以及情绪行为的指向与持续性。在刑事立法上,可采取两种方式对情绪加以评价:总括式立法,在刑事责任能力条款中增设情绪犯罪责任的规定;分散式立法,在具体制度和犯罪中规定情绪犯罪的责任。我国刑法可采取总括式立法对情绪加以评价。     

刑法的可能性:预测可能性

当把预测可能性与刑法相联系,便形成刑法的预测可能性这一论题,而刑法的预测可能性意味着刑法从制定到运行,即整个刑法实践都要立基于公民包括罪犯和被害人对刑法立法及其运作的可预知性、可等待性乃至可期盼性,即刑法对于公民而言的期待可能性或可被期待性.从刑法的基本原则到刑法立法、刑法司法、刑罚执行,预测可能性都在为刑法的可能性提供着认知层面的说明,而刑法的保障人权和维持秩序两项机能都可在预测可能性那里得到诠释.刑法的预测可能性的形成及其判断离不开常识、常理、常情.     

Sex offender punishment and the persistence of penal harm in the U.S

The U.S. has dramatically revised its approach to punishment in the last several decades. In particular, people convicted of sex crimes have experienced a remarkable expansion in social control through a wide-range of post-conviction interventions. While this expansion may be largely explained by general punishment trends, there appear to be unique factors that have prevented other penal reforms from similarly modulating sex offender punishment. In part, this continuation of a “penal harm” approach to sex offenders relates to the past under-valuing of sexual victimization. In the “bad old days,” the law and its agents sent mixed messages about sexual violence and sexual offending. Some sexual offending was mere nuisance, some was treatable, and a fraction “deserved” punishment equivalent to other serious criminal offending. In contrast, today's sex offender punishment schemes rarely distinguish formally among gradations of harm or dangerousness. After examining incarceration trends, this article explores the historical context of the current broad brush approach and reviews the unintended consequences. Altogether, this article reinforces the need to return to differentiation among sex offenders, but differentiation based on science and on the experience-based, guided discretion of experts in law enforcement, corrections, and treatment.     

The triumph of vengeance over retribution: the United States Supreme Court and the death penalty

In this article the author uses a review of Welsh S. White'sThe Death Penalty in the Nineties as a framework for analyzing recent trends in the United States Supreme Court's death penalty jurisprudence. Since 1976 the Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of capital punishment at least in part on the notion that the death penalty serves the useful social purpose of retribution. This article, however, contends that it is imperative to distinguish between retribution and vengeance as rationales for criminal punishment. Modern retributive theory calls for punishments to be guided by considerations of proportionality, fairness, and equality. Vengeance-based punishments, on the other hand, are aimed at satisfying the victim's and society's desire for retaliation and are not limited by the retributive principle that punishment must be proportionate to the severity of the crime and the moral blameworthiness of the offender. The article analyzes recent Supreme Court decisions that are not examined inThe Death Penalty in the Nineties-decisions that allow the introduction of victim-impact evidence into capital sentencing proceedings and permit the death penalty to be imposed on 16-year-old offenders, mentally retarded defendants, and those who neither kill nor intend to kill. These decisions, it is argued, demonstrate that the contemporary Court has bestowed judicial approval on vengeance as an acceptable justification for capital punishment.