Restraining Criminal Law

With the civilization of criminal government of by law and the tendency to rationality of human value, the value of restraining criminal law has drawn increasing attention and advocate of experts of laws both from abroad and at home. It is also reflected in the criminal system. Under this circumstance, exploration and study of the theories concerning restraining criminal law are conducted and directions are given to practice of government of laws. The idea that criminal law is of instrument is transformed and the idea of human rights security is advocated so as to ensure that criminal law will become the grand charter for good citizens and offenders.The article is divided into six sections:Part Ⅰ: Introduction of restraining criminal law. In this part focus is put into the cause of restraining criminal law and some basic issues about it.Part Ⅱ: Elaboration on the legal principles for restraining criminal law. To begin with, this part argues for the unity of criminal law's function of social security and human rights security by carding the aforesaid two functions, basing on criminal law's protection of order and security and security of offenders, victims and general public. Secondly, it argues for compromise and mediation of retribution and prevention (justness and utility) of criminal penalty, thus requiring the realization of restraining criminal law.Part Ⅲ:The elementary meaning of restraining criminal law. This part reveals the connotation of restraining criminal law and demonstrates and three aspects in which restraining criminal law finds its expression, that is, the tightness of the regulatory scope of criminal legislation, the final means of criminal law and endurance of the mode for criminal penalty. This part demonstrates respectively the meaning of the tightness of criminal law and its condition for realization, the meaning of final means of criminal law and its inevitability and the meaning of endurance of the mode for criminal penalty and its limits.Part IV: The necessity of restraining criminal law. From the perspectives of protection of citizens' rights and the development of government by criminal law, this part expounds that the establishment of the value of restraining criminal law is the deep demand for self-development of criminal law and the objective requirement for the civilization of government by criminal law instead of artificial act.Part V: The ways to realize restraining criminal law in international society. This part believes that the realization of restraining criminal law includes non-criminal, non-punishment and light sentence and analyzes their idea, contents, theoretical basis and the ways to express themselves.Part VI: The way of the principle of restraining criminal law in China's current government by criminal law. This part mainly expresses that we should comply with the trend of restraining criminal law, build a firm idea of restraining criminal law in China. It also suggests that the principle of restraining criminal law should be carried out in China.