《刑法修正案(十一)》视野下我国未成年人刑事责任年龄下调问题研究

Study on the Reduction of Age for Criminal Responsibility of Juveniles in China from the Perspective of the Criminal Law Amendment XI

摘要: 近年来，随着我国经济发展进程加快，在科技和教育等因素共同推动下，我国未成年人心智更加成熟，这导致当前我国未成年人犯罪形式非常严峻。14周岁以下的青少年实施超出其年龄的暴力犯罪行为屡见不鲜，未成年犯罪逐渐呈现低龄化趋势、犯罪手段成人化、犯罪类型多样化等特点。为了更好应对当下未成年恶性犯罪案件频发，我国于2020年12月26日正式通过《刑法修正案(十一)》，对刑事责任年龄进行下调，最低刑事责任年龄从原来的14周岁下调至12周岁。对于刑事责任年龄是否应该下调在学界和社会上引起了争议，一些学者认为盲目降低我国未成年人刑事责任年龄是不合理的，本文认为法律应该顺应社会发展需要，对刑事责任年龄下调用以惩罚我国未成年人的恶性犯罪。本文将对刑事责任年龄下调的必要性和正当性进行分析并结合其司法适用进行研究。

Abstract: In recent years, with the acceleration of the economic development process, driven by the factors of science, technology and education, the juvenile minds of our country become increasingly mature, which results in the severe current juvenile crime. It is not uncommon for juveniles under the age of 14 to commit violent crimes beyond their age. Juvenile delinquency gradually presents a trend of younger age, adult criminal means, and diversified criminal types. In order to better cope with the current frequent juvenile delinquency cases, “Criminal Law Amendment XI”, officially adopted on December 26, 2020, makes provisions to reduce the age of criminal responsibility. The minimum age of criminal responsibility was lowered from 14 to 12. Whether the age of criminal responsibility should be lowered has aroused many controversies among the public. Some scholars believe that it is not reasonable to blindly reduce the age of criminal responsibility. This paper argues that the law should meet the needs of the development of society, and that the lowering of the age of criminal responsibility should be used to punish the vicious crime of minors. This paper analyzes the necessity and legitimacy of reducing the age of criminal responsibility and studies its judicial application.