Research on Difficult Issues of Bribery and Corruption Crimes

Author: Lin Yagang, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-06-01
Features: Bribery and corruption crimes, which violate the integrity of public officials' duties, have always been a focus of legal crackdown in China. The crime of bribery and corruption is composed of:
(1) The object of bribery and corruption crimes is the national integrity-building system. The national integrity-building system is primarily characterized by diligence in duty, integrity in public service, clear governance, and combating corruption. Combating corruption is a long-term political task of our Party and State. Bribery and corruption not only damage the relationship between the Party and the people but also tarnish the reputation of public officials, hinder China's integrity-building system, affect the healthy development of political reform and the market economy, and particularly obstruct the progress of realizing China's grand strategy of governing the country according to law.
(2) The objective manifestation of bribery and corruption crimes is the violation of the national integrity-building system, with serious circumstances. This primarily includes acts such as embezzlement, bribery, and misappropriation committed by public officials by exploiting their official positions. It also includes acts closely related to their specific identities but without the exploitation of official positions. "Serious circumstances" include cases involving substantial amounts or other serious circumstances.
(3) The subject of bribery and corruption crimes is relatively complex. For natural persons, most crimes are special subjects, i.e., public officials. Some crimes have general subjects, such as bribery and introduction of bribery. For unit crimes, some crimes can only be committed by units, such as unit bribery and unit acceptance of bribes. Some crimes can be committed by both units and natural persons, such as bribery to a unit.
(4) The subjective aspect of bribery and corruption crimes can only be constituted by intent; negligence does not constitute this crime.