The Reflections of Limitations on the Restraint of Criminal Law
DOI: https://doi.org/10.62517/jel.202514405
Author(s)
Jiahao Fan
Affiliation(s)
School of Humanities and Law, North China University of Technology, Beijing, China
Abstract
The theoretical basis and viewpoints of the restraint of Criminal law have certain limitations to some extents. The pursuit of the economic nature of criminal law is prone to lead to a deviation from the value of justice pursued in criminal law legislation and criminal justice. There is a palpable tension between the leniency of criminal law and the principle of proportionality between crime, responsibility and punishment, which may lead to the weakening of the function of criminal penalties. The ultima ratio of criminal law will undercut its independence as a means of crime governance and is not conducive to the timely prevention of certain behaviors that seriously jeopardize society by criminal law. The theoretical presupposition of the incompleteness of criminal law is difficult to hold, and its positive role is very limited. It is easy to cover up the legislative inertia of criminal law and vitiate the protection of legal interests by criminal law. The judgment criteria for various viewpoints of criminal law restraint are rather ambiguous, resulting in weak operability and difficult to implement.
Keywords
Restraint of the Criminal Law; Utilitarianism; Economical Efficiency; Obscurity
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