废除死刑之门——未成年人不判死刑原则及其在中国的确立与延伸

禁止对未成年人判处死刑是联合国《儿童权利公约》、《少年司法最低限度标准规则》、《公民权利与政治权利国际公约》等所确立的一项基本原则。自20世纪初以来,中国即开始了确立这一原则的努力,但直到1997年刑法典才实现了与这一原则的"无缝衔接"。考察未成年人不判死刑原则在中国确立的历程,至少有三点启示:第一,尽管艰难,但彻底废除死刑在中国仍具有实现的可能性;第二,从犯罪主体(强调其社会弱势群体特征)的角度废除死刑要比从罪行性质的角度入手,更具可行性,也更为平等和较少带来负面影响;第三,青年,尤其是年轻青年与未成年人有着诸多类似之处,可以而且应当首先将未成年人不判死刑规则延伸于这一群体,这也是避免误判不满18岁未成年人死刑的需要。

The Road to Abolishment of Death Penalty——Essay on establishment and extension of no death conviction on juvenile principle in China

Prohibition of the death penalty for juveniles is a basic principle established by convention on the Rights of the Child,juvenile justice Standard Minimum Rules,civil Rights and the International Convention on the Political Rightsof the United Nations.Since the early 20th century,Chinese began to make an effort to establish this principle.But it was not until the 1997 Penal Code has taken this principle,and made the "seamless convergence" with it.Inspecting the course of the establishing minors not sentenced to death in China,there are at least three inspirations:First,notwithstanding the difficulties,completely abolishing the death penalty in China still has the possibility of achieving;Second,abolishing the death penalty from the angle of the main crime(stressing its socially vulnerable groups' features)is more feasible,equal,and have less negative effects than starting from the perspective of the nature of the offense;Third,the youth,especially the younger youth and juveniles,have many similarities.And we can and should first extend the rules of not sentencing juveniles to death in this group,which also meets the need to avoid misjudgment of the death penalty to juveniles under 18 years old.