Research on the System of Criminal Extinguishment

Author: Yu Zhigang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-07-01
Features: The great value of the system of criminal punishment extinction lies in: Legally, it is one of the fundamental legislative manifestations and forms of recognition for the realization or termination of criminal liability, a remedy for the existing phenomenon of dark crime numbers and a vacuum of punishment, one of the ways to achieve the social effects of criminal punishment, and more importantly, an embodiment of the humanitarian connotation of criminal law. Judiciously, on one hand, it can effectively reduce judicial costs and reflect the efficiency of criminal punishment; on the other hand, it is an effective way to urge the timely exercise of criminal power and prevent judicial laziness. In terms of the value of social order, it not only acknowledges and respects the positive self-reform and self-restraint effects of the offender but also recognizes the legislative mechanism of social self-purification and the existing stable order, serving as an effective way to avoid the mechanical intervention of punishment and becoming an unjust law. The system of criminal punishment extinction is an embodiment of the historical progress of criminal law, a product of the conflict between legislative rationality and the limitations of judicial means, and a fundamental reflection of criminal law's transition from instinct to reason. The system of criminal punishment extinction is irreplaceable in the theoretical system of criminal law: First, it aligns with the trend of leniency in criminal punishment. With the globalization of concepts such as fairness, justice, and respect for basic human rights, the rationality and humanitarianism of criminal punishment have been increasingly recognized by society, and leniency in criminal punishment is becoming a global trend. Second, it is an indispensable part of the dynamic process of the relationship between crime and punishment. The origins of criminal punishment vary, and its purpose, function, and other issues have been fully emphasized and studied in criminal law theory research. However, the natural and unnatural extinction of criminal punishment is the last indispensable part of the emergence and development of criminal punishment but has never received the attention it deserves. Although the specific manifestations of the final extinction of criminal punishment are diverse, an independent and complete system of criminal punishment extinction is undoubtedly one of the most representative forms.