Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No. 8, 2022

Constitutional Judgment in the Field of Criminal Justice and Criminal Law System Civilization

(Abstract)

Zhou Guangquan

In China, the power of constitutional examination to interpret and supervise the implementation of the Constitution is exercised by the National People’s Congress and its Standing Committee, but this does not prevent the people’s court from making necessary constitutional judgments in the judicial process. In recent years, the Supreme People’s Court has also made constitutional adjustments in a number of judicial interpretations involving guns, illegal lending, and criminal protection of wildlife. Criminal judicial activities are more in line with the requirements of the principle of legally prescribed punishment for crimes and responsibilities with constitutional rank, and with the constitutional principle of proportionality and equality, which also shows the sense of responsibility of the Supreme People’s Court in promoting the implementation of the Constitution. This constitutional adjustment is a new trend of constitutional judgment in the criminal field, which belongs to the unique constitutional practice in the process of the formation and development of Chinese-style institutional civilization. It is a positive direction that guides constitutional judgment in the field of criminal law. In the future, criminal judicial activities should continue to be carried out in accordance with the logic of constitutional interpretation, and attention should be paid to the restrictive effect of constitutional rights norms on the interpretation of criminal law when formulating or revising judicial interpretation. The case judgment should interpret the criminal law on the basis of the Constitution, and give priority to the scheme closest to the spirit of the Constitution when there are a variety of possible interpretations. When the defendant and his defender raise doubts about unconstitutionality, judicial personnel should try their best to make the conclusion more in line with the spirit of the Constitution, so as to achieve appropriate punishment and promote the civilization of the criminal law system.