A Research Of The Attribution Of Responsibility For Homicide Case In The Qing Dynasty

As a holistic judicial activity,the Qing dynasty homicide case trial was centred on the imputation of criminal responsibility.The Tou-shahomicide case is the most representative type of homicide case in the Qing dynasty,with the highest incidence rate and the most records in the cabinet archives,making it a typical object of study of homicide cases in the Qing dynasty.Therefore,using Tou-shahomicide case as the object of analysis can better reveal the basis,characteristics and patterns of criminal attribution in the trial of Qing dynasty homicide cases.This article focuses on the Tou-sha law and its application to the trial of homicide cases,discusses the basis,methods and modes of imputation in homicide cases,and explores the internal logic of the trial activities.In the Qing dynasty,the imputation of liability in homicide cases was based on the laws and regulations,and a model of imputation was formed that was complementary to the main and secondary aspects and focused on the case as a whole.The most common example is the Tou-shahomicide case,where the balance between emotion,reason and law was achieved through the imputation of blame for the primary offence(the killing)and the secondary offence(the failure to prevent the fight).This is achieved through the imputation of responsibility for the primary offence of Lun Lun and Heng Qing,and the imputation of responsibility for the secondary offence of Zhi Zheng.A review of the origins of Tou-sha legislation reveals the refinements of the Tou-sha laws of the Qing Dynasty and the origins of the dilemmas inherent in Tou-sha homicide trials.After reviewing the evolution of Tou-sha legislation from the pre-Qin Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty,it can be seen that from its inception,Tou-sha was based on the premise that human life was of paramount importance,i.e.the result of harm was the death of a person.In addition,Tou-sha was characterised by the general behaviour of beating and killing as a result of a fight,and the basic principle of killing to pay for life was the basic principle of sentencing.After the Tang Dynasty,the elements of imputation such as the instrument of crime and subjective intent were added.In the Ming Dynasty,significant changes were made to the categorisation of offences and the removal of the instrumentality of crime as a criterion for imputation.The evolution of the Tou-sha laws in the Qing dynasty demonstrates a process characterised by a rough to rigorous legal system,with legislation moving from simplicity to prosperity and then to decline.From the evolution of the Tou-sha laws in the Qing Dynasty,it can be seen that the determination of Tou-sha crimes in the Qing Dynasty advanced the following three developments on the basis of inherited legislation from previous generations.First,in terms of legislative form,the system of laws and regulations was further expanded.Secondly,the language of the legislation was improved through the use of explanatory language(minor and general notes)in relation to the determination of subjective intent and the form of guilt,but the inherent limitations of the legislation still existed.Thirdly,in terms of the content of the legislation,it breaks away from the limitations of external behavioural characteristics and tends to move away from "fighting" to "striving".In comparing and examining the relevant documents,the author found that there were errors in the codification dates of some of the Tou-sha cases in the "Reading the Cases in Doubt".After clarifying the limitations inherent in the Tou-shahomicide case law,we can find that,taking Tou-sha as an example,there are three prominent features of the imputation of liability in the Qing dynasty homicide case trial.Firstly,the object of imputation included the primary offence of homicide case(the act of killing)and the secondary offence(the act of failing to prevent the fight).Secondly,the trial of homicide cases in the Qing dynasty took Lun Shang,Heng Qing and Zhi Zheng as a way to build a systematic model of imputation.Thirdly,the attribution of responsibility in the Qing dynasty homicide case trials was both subjective and objective,with a separation and integration of attribution activities.The Qing dynasty’s autumn trial clause summarised the principle of attribution of responsibility for homicide in the Tou-shahomicide trial as "first weighing the circumstances and then discussing the injuries".It is clear from the records of the trial that the judicial officials of the Qing dynasty identified and attributed blame for the various subjective and objective elements of the case through Lun Shang and Heng Qing,thereby determining the charges and penalties.The attribution of responsibility for the main crime(homicide)in the Qing dynasty Tou-shahomicide trials was based on the attribution of responsibility by Lun Shang,which established a causal link between the outcome of the death,the act and the perpetrator through the attribution of responsibility by Lun Shang,based on objective elements such as injuries to the body.In the attribution process of the Tou-shahomicide case trial in the Qing Dynasty,Lun Shang was used as the starting point for the examination of the objective side of the act.The objective elements of the crime,such as injuries,the murder weapon and the identity and role of the perpetrator in the crime,are mainly examined,and the attribution of responsibility in Lun Shang is based on the examination of the injuries.The main objective is to establish the causal link between the death and the act and the perpetrator by identifying the fatal injuries and confirming that the injuries match the cane.In order to prevent the officials of the criminal pallbearers from being treacherous,the Qing dynasty unified the standard of identification through the revision of regulations,the revision of the "Law Library Correction of the Book of Injustice" and the promulgation of the new "Post Mortem" to stipulate the fatal wound.However,the statutory fatal wound to determine the causation of death has the limitation of jewellery bag.Therefore,the Qing Dynasty further established presumption norms for Tou-sha cases through legal provisions.As Lun Shang only completed the determination and attribution of responsibility for the objective aspects of the act,it was necessary to examine the subjective aspects of the act as well as other circumstances and circumstances of the case beyond the fatal injury in order to achieve a fair trial outcome.Therefore,the Qing dynasty homicide case trial in Lun Shang attribution of blame on the objective basis,but also the subjective feelings of the perpetrator,the case of the relevant circumstances and other objective factors Heng Qing attribution.The core of Heng Qing is the subjective intent and the form of guilt determination.The author finds that the form of guilt in Tou-sha is similar to the compound form of guilt in modern criminal law.The form of guilt in the Qing dynasty Tou-shahomicide case should be a complex structure containing the intent to injure and the negligence to cause death,and the content of guilt includes three forms.In order to accurately identify the subjective intent and the form of guilt,and to ensure that the punishment was fair and appropriate,the Qing judges also investigated and weighed the circumstances of the case beyond the body and injuries.Specifically,in the Qing dynasty Tou-shahomicide cases,the circumstances were weighed to cover all the circumstances of the case,the circumstances of the culprit and the circumstances of the victim.Specifically,the main circumstances of the case were weighed,such as whether to suspend the sentence if there were justifiable circumstances,whether to admit or reserve the sentence if there was an urgent need to save the family,whether to differentiate the sentence according to the degree of service,and whether to allow the surviving relatives to petition the case.The court has also been able to balance the circumstances of the case to achieve a reasonable sentence.After the imputation of Lun Shang and Heng Qing for the primary offence of homicide,the Qing dynasty included the secondary offence of homicide(failure to prevent a fight)as an object of imputation.As long as there was a subject in the case who had not fulfilled his duty to stop the dispute,Zhi Zheng would be imputed.The inclusion of both primary and secondary offences in the imputation of responsibility for murder cases was one of the characteristics of the imputation of responsibility in the trial of murder cases in the Qing Dynasty.In addition,a closer examination of Tou-sha trials in the Qing dynasty reveals an expansion in the application of special Tou-sha cases involving Not Ought.The Qing judicial officials realised that merely punishing Tou-sha murderers would not eliminate the occurrence of Tou-sha murders at the root.It was only through the imputation of responsibility that the vision of putting an end to the fighting could be realised,and the imputation of responsibility reflected the following five obligations of those involved in the evolution of the murder.Firstly,to act reasonably to avoid disputes;secondly,not to help the parties to the murder case to intensify the conflict;thirdly,to try to stop the fight and rescue the injured;fourthly,to report the murder case to Xiang yue and Bao zheng in a timely manner;and fifthly,to enforce the law impartially by grassroots judicial officers.The internal logic of the attribution of responsibility reflects the Qing dynasty judiciary’s understanding of the laws of crime and the social structure of the time.In the view of the Qing judges,death was the result of an initial dispute that led to a brawl and was caused by a ’non-murderous’ actor.At the same time,if the investigation and fair trial of a murder case is prevented by the responsible parties,it may result in the case not being closed and the grievances not being put to rest.Therefore,it is necessary to criminalise these failures to comply with the obligation to stop the dispute in order to educate the public.In order to achieve a balance between emotion,reason and law,the court has to combine the preventive measures of Zhi Zheng with the conviction and sentencing methods of Lun Shang and "balancing emotion".In order to achieve a balance between emotion,reason and law.