Construction of Criminal Record Elimination System under the Background of Active Criminal Law Legislation : Guided by Restorative Justice Principles

积极刑法立法背景下前科消灭制度之构建—以恢复性司法理念为指导

The practice of criminal legislation in China shows a positive trend of expansion, with a pronounced inclination towards minor crimes legislation. A large number of minor criminal groups amplifies the negative effects of the criminal record system. The indiscriminate treatment of criminal record has led to the phenomenon of “over-punishment”. The existing criminal record system's suffers from ambiguous conceptual definitions, unclear criteria for its establishment and application, and some of the provisions even violate the spirit of self responsibility. Although the judicial authorities have carried out many beneficial explorations, the ultimate solution to the problem of minor offenders still lies in the establishment of criminal record elimination system. Restorative justice principles aim at restoring damage, helping offenders reintegrate into society and achieving special prevention. However, in the rigid framework of criminal record regulations, achieving restorative results becomes difficult. It is therefore urgent to construct criminal record elimination system based on these principles. In terms of details, a broad concept of criminal record should be adopted, setting time conditions modeled on the statute of limitations, and constructing “statutory”, “adjudication” and “application” methods of elimination, limiting elimination effects of criminal record to the non-criminal domain.

我国刑事立法实践呈现出积极化扩张趋势，轻罪立法趋势明显，数量庞大的轻微犯罪群体扩大了前科制度的负面效应。无差别的前科处遇导致“惩罚过剩”的现象，既有前科制度存在概念含混、成立和适用标准不清等问题，甚至有部分规定有违罪责自负的精神。虽然司法机关进行了诸多有益的探索，救治轻微犯罪群体的治本之策仍在于配套建立前科消灭制度。恢复性司法理念旨在恢复损害，帮助犯罪人复归社会，实现特殊预防，恢复性结果在僵化的前科规定下难以实现。因此，以其为指导构建前科消灭制度迫在眉睫。在具体细节上，应采广义前科概念，仿照追诉时效设置时间条件，建构“法定”“裁定”“申请”消灭方式，将前科消灭的效力限定于非刑事领域。