The Restriction Of "Serious Environmental Pollution" On The Crime Of Environmental Pollution

As a limitation of the scope of application of the crime of environmental pollution,the circumstances of "serious environmental pollution" appear in the prohibition provisions of the criminal law,which has obvious tension with the principle of legality in form.In judicial practice,the circumstances of "serious pollution of the environment" are constantly filled through the form of judicial interpretation,which opens the door for judicial interpreters to amend criminal law.It can change the scope of regulation of environmental pollution crime by introducing new judicial interpretation,which undoubtedly violates the principle of legality.Considering "serious pollution of the environment" as the constituent elements of crime,it violates the principle of clarity in criminal law because its expression is too vague.As a list of prohibited acts,vague regulations will lead to the expansion of the scope of criminal law regulation,and then social panic,because people do not know whether their own behavior will violate the criminal law and become timid.Therefore,there are many disadvantages in regard of "serious pollution of the environment" as a constitutive element of a crime.This paper discusses its nature and function from the deconstruction theory of behavioral norms and judicial norms.If it is a code of conduct,it can indicate the public behavior.In this context,it is unreasonable to expand its connotation through judicial interpretation and increase the public’s obligation to understand the law.On the contrary,if it is a judicial norm,it guides the judicial behavior of the judge.If the public does not need to have a clear understanding of it,it can be changed through judicial interpretation.The subject of environmental pollution crime should be distinguished and regulated in judicial practice.The criminal subject of this offence includes both ordinary natural persons and legal persons such as enterprises engaged in related production and business operations.The indiscriminate application of article 338 of the Criminal Code leads to injustice in judicial practice and deviates from the principle of liability.As the crime of environmental pollution takes the form of a blank count,and its code of conduct is based on a series of norms,such as environmental protection law,which puts forward higher requirements for the duty of attention of the perpetrator.Obviously,Enterprises or operators engaged in relevant business are more familiar with the relevant environmental protection regulations,and it is no problem to presume that they have known the relevant regulations and punish them.However,for ordinary natural persons,this violates the "principle of reasonable warning" in the criminal law,because the provisions of the crime of polluting the environment do not specify the specific pollutants and the results of pollution.In this case,it is very likely that the perpetrator does not know whether the substances he discharges are pollutants prohibited by the crime of polluting the environment,nor is it clear that his behavior will cause harm to the environment.Therefore,the specific nature of the circumstances of "serious pollution of the environment" also needs to be distinguished.However,this is not reflected in the current judicial practice,which deviates from the principle of adaptation to criminal responsibility.If it is a code of conduct," serious pollution of the environment " plays a role in guiding and restricting citizens’ behavior,but for ordinary citizens,What is " serious pollution of the environment " does not belong to the basic social provisions,it needs to be understood through other provisions such as judicial interpretation.If it is a judgment norm,it will undoubtedly expand the criminal circle of environmental pollution crime.As long as the perpetrator carries out the pollution discharge behavior,it is in line with the crime of environmental pollution.This is not only unfavorable to the development of social production,but also a waste of judicial resources.Therefore,this paper divides the criminal subject of environmental pollution crime,and interprets the function of "serious pollution of environment" differently according to different subjects.Through the discussion of this element,the other controversial issues of environmental pollution crime are solved,such as protection of legal interests and forms of responsibility.Through the discussion of this element,other controversial issues of the crime of environmental pollution are solved,such as the protection of legal interests and the form of responsibility,in order to clarify the constitutive elements of the crime of environmental pollution,and better apply the crime in the process of combating environmental crime.