论我国推进轻罪立法的正当性问题

On the Legitimacy of Promoting Minor Crime Legislation in China

摘要: 随着社会的发展，新型犯罪行为层出不穷，为回应社会治理的需求，我国自《刑法修正案(八)》以来逐渐开始推进轻罪立法。然而，针对推进轻罪立法的正当性问题，我国学界存在着严重分歧。在积极刑法观指导下，肯定说认为轻罪立法有利于促进我国刑法体系向“严而不厉”的构造转变，并且能够帮助行政处罚权的司法化改造，同时满足现代社会发展的需要。而在消极刑法观指导下，否定说认为轻罪立法中存在以下问题：一是象征性立法现象明显并伴有情绪性立法的嫌疑，二是持续犯罪化违背刑法谦抑性原则，三是将违法行为上升至犯罪行为是对法益保护原则的违背。然而，否定说的观点及理由存在明显的漏洞和偏差：推进轻罪立法，设立轻罪罪名并不意味着是无用的象征性立法，也并不一定违背刑法谦抑性和法益保护原则。为满足社会治理需求，我国推进轻罪立法在理论和实践中均具有正当性。

Abstract: With societal development, new forms of criminal conduct continue to emerge. To address the demands of social governance, China has progressively advanced minor crime legislation since the Amendment (VIII) to the Criminal Law. However, significant divergence exists within Chinese academia regarding the legitimacy of promoting such legislation. Guided by the affirmative view of criminal law, proponents argue that minor crime legislation facilitates the transformation of China’s criminal justice system toward a structure that is “strict yet not severe”. It also aids in the judicial oversight of administrative penalties and meets the needs of modern societal development. Conversely, under the negative view of criminal law, critics highlight several concerns: 1. A noticeable trend of symbolic legislation, often accompanied by suspicions of emotion-driven lawmaking; 2. Persistent criminalization contravenes the principle of moderation in criminal law; 3. Elevating administrative violations to criminal offenses violates the principle of protecting legal interests. Nevertheless, the criticisms and reasoning of the opposing view exhibit clear flaws and biases: Promoting minor crime legislation and establishing minor offenses does not inherently constitute useless symbolic lawmaking, nor does it necessarily breach the principles of moderation or legal interest protection. To fulfill the demands of social governance, China’s advancement of minor crime legislation holds legitimacy both theoretically and practically.