论刑事责任年龄（On age of criminal responsibility）On age of criminal responsibilityRelease time: 2010-04-30 09:27:23The age of criminal responsibility [1] is an important subject in the theoretical system of criminal law in china. In recent years, with the continuous development of society, new social problems emerge at the same time, China criminal law theorists on this issue is more extensive and in-depth discussion, and puts forward a new theoretical perspective. This article only discusses the present situation of the criminal liability age in China's criminal law and discusses the topic with the social reality.I. an overview of the age of criminal responsibilityThe age of criminal responsibility is one of the general requisites to identify the subject of a natural person. [2] the age of responsibility has been stipulated in the criminal legislation at all times and in all countries. The modern world criminal legislation responsibility age is different, but generally according to the needs of the actual growth of their children and fight against crimes, a gradual development process according to a person from the part do not have to have, have the ability to recognize or control their own behavior, the criminal the age of responsibility is divided into several stages, the method of division is not exactly the same.(1) provisions on the age of criminal responsibility in Chinese and foreign criminal law;As early as in the criminal law of the slave society, there was a stipulation about the influence of age on the criminal responsibility. Such as "Zhou" in theft provisions "where there is a title, and seventy, and the urn, are not as slaves", at the same time, "Zhou Li" in the "three sins" system, there is two remission was established by age, therefore, in ancient China, people are very early understanding of the relationship between the age and the criminal responsibility ability.The Tang Dynasty is the peak period of China's feudal society, "Tang" on the age of criminal responsibility to answer detailed provisions and science, can be summed up as follows: (1) 15 to 70 years old is completely negative phase of the age of criminal responsibility. (2) 10 to 15 years of age and 70 to 80 years of age is an age of criminal responsibility reduction. (3) 7 to 10 to 80 to 90 years is relatively negative phase of the age of criminal responsibility, the age of people, only bear criminal responsibility for some serious criminal crimes such as murder, inverse, robbers, and can give quarter. (4) under 7 years of age and 90 years of age, there is no age for criminal responsibility. China's first modern criminal law "new criminal law" will be the age of criminal responsibility is divided into three stages (1) under 17 years of age for criminal responsibility is not age. (2) 12 years of age, under 16 years of age, or 80 years old, to reduce the age of criminal responsibility. (3) over 16 years of age and under 80 years of age, the age of full criminal responsibility.In foreign criminal law, there is a long time about the age of criminal responsibility. In 451-450 BC in ancient Rome's"Twelve copper watch law", for individual crimes, there is a preliminary provision on age. In 534 years of ancient Rome Empire "Justinian code" does not exist in the students' bad boy, also may not have the basis of hopeless children theory, established the requirements for children may not premeditated crime, and accordingly: male 14 years old, female 12 years old age for criminal responsibility." According to reports, the Rome law also distinguish several stages of liability age: under 7 years old children's behavior was not deemed a crime; has over 7 years of age under the age of 14, is regarded as the ability to discern whether reach the age of responsibility; has over 14 years of age for criminal adults.In modern times, in eighteenth Century, many countries established the age of responsibility for minors according to the law of the Rome. In 1810 the "French penal code" article sixty-sixth: "felony defendants under the age of sixteen, and the crime that happened to distinguish right from wrong, should be exempt from punishment." The code of sixty-seventh and sixty-ninth also stipulates that has the ability to distinguish right and wrong for the implementation of felony minors under the age of 16 and under the age of 16, the defendant should be sentenced, a misdemeanor, but should reduce the punishment. The provisions of the French Criminal Code have an important influence on the criminal law legislation in western countries in the early nineteenth Century and the early twentieth Century.In modern society, because of the history, culture, politics, economy and legal tradition and other aspects of the different countries, determined to minors age roughly the following: (1)the uncertainty bounds of minors age. Latin American countries such as Cuba, Columbia, Peru and so on. (2) the criminal law does not specify the boundaries of the age of minors, which are determined by the court in accordance with the Koran, based on the degree of physical and psychological maturity of the individual. Such as Saudi Arabia and Yemen. (3) the minimum limit for minors is stipulated as well as the minimum and minimum limits for minors from 7 to 16. The upper limit ranges from 15 to 21 years, which is stipulated in the criminal law of the vast majority of countries.Thus, the age of criminal responsibility is stipulated in the criminal legislation at all times and in all countries. There are different regulations on the age of criminal responsibility in criminal law legislation of modern countries all over the world,But generally according to the actual growth of their children and fight against crimes needs, a gradual development process according to a person from the part do not have to have, fully equipped with the ability to identify and control their behavior to divide the age of criminal responsibility in the same.(two) the present situation of criminal responsibility age in China's criminal law.The criminal law of our country according to our country always on children's harmful behavior to education, supplemented by punishment policy guidance, from the political, economic and cultural education in our country, the growth of children andall kinds of crimes such as reality, and draw lessons from the legislative experience of other countries, considering the development trend of the criminal law. In the current penal code of 17 to the age of responsibility provides more concentrated, the division of the age of criminal responsibility is totally not criminally responsible age, the relative age of criminal responsibility and completely negative period of the age of criminal responsibility.1, completely without criminal responsibility age stage.In accordance with the provisions of the seventeenth article of the criminal code, under 14 years of age is completely non criminal age stage. According to the current criminal law theory, people under the age of 14 are still in their infancy and have no ability to recognize and control their own actions, i.e., they are not capable of being able to do so. The law, the implementation of social harm for people under 14 years of age the behavior, no criminal responsibility; but when necessary, shall be ordered to parents or guardians to discipline, may also need to close to 14 years of age, as a person under the age of 12-13 taken in by the government.2, the relative age of criminal responsibility.In accordance with the provisions of the seventeenth paragraph of the current penal code, second, has full 14 years of age, less than 16 years of age, is a relatively negative age of criminal responsibility. At the age of the person, have a certain discrimination and their ability to control major major issues issues of right and wrong behavior, namely for someserious harm social behavior have the ability to identify and control the. Therefore, the law requires them to seriously harm the society to implement their own behavior that is "intentional homicide, intentional injury causing serious injury or death, rape, robbery, drug trafficking, arson, explosion, investment and application of the crime of dangerous substances" criminal responsibility. [3] of the National People's Congress Party Committee Law Committee in August 2002, made the reply of the Supreme People's Procuratorate on the scope, has reached the age of 14 people under 16 years of age of criminal responsibility problems pointed out: "the eight provisions of the second paragraph of article seventeenth of the criminal law crime, refers to the specific crime rather than specific charges."3, fully responsible for the age of criminal responsibility.In accordance with paragraph first of the current code seventeenth expressly, has reached the age of 16 people into a completely negative stage of the age of criminal responsibility, the current criminal law that has over 16 years of age minors physical and intellectual equal development, has certain social knowledge, is the concept and the legal concept of growth to achieve certain procedures, the general can according to national law and social moral requirements to restrain themselves, so they have the basic meaning of the current criminal law on the debate and the ability to control their own behaviour. Therefore, the current criminal law of our country confirms that people who have reached the age of 16 constitute all the crimes in the criminal law and require them to bear criminal responsibility for all harmful acts prohibitedby the criminal law.4, reduce the age of criminal responsibility.The third paragraph of the seventeenth article of the criminal law stipulates that "those who have reached the age of 14 and under 18 years of age shall be given a lighter or mitigated punishment."."The above is the history of Chinese and foreign criminal law and the current criminal code and the theory of criminal law on the age of criminal law division, then the theory of criminal law in China, the age of criminal responsibility is how to identify it? In practice, what types of evidence are used to determine the age of criminal responsibility?Two, the determination of the age of criminal responsibility and the main basis(1) the determination of the age of criminal responsibility;The provisions of the criminal law China age refers to the chronological age, but not to age. The chronological age, calculated on a daily basis, and calculated according to the Gregorian calendar year, month and day. After 14 years of age, 16 years of age, 18 years of age, from second days onwards, who are 14 years of age, 16 years of age, 18 years of age. For example: the actor was born in January 1, 1980, from January 2, 1994 onwards, only 14 years of age.The age of criminal responsibility shall be calculated from thedate of birth to the date of the act, not the date of the result. For example: the perpetrator in the implementation of homicide, less than 14 years of age, but when the death occurred at the age of 14 years of age, the perpetrator can not be held criminally responsible for intentional homicide. Because the crime is the ability to identify the criminal responsibility and control his own conduct, since the identification control, criminal responsibility must be the behavior that the age of criminal responsibility must also be "behavior" of the age; although behavior and results are closely related, but do not contain the results,The results also do not contain behavior.In the case of crimes involving the age of criminal responsibility, two cases should be paid attention to: (1) after the perpetrator has reached the age of 16, he has carried out some kind of crime and has completed the same act during the period under 14 years of age and under the age of 16. As for whether criminal responsibility must be investigated, it should be analyzed in detail. If you have reached the age of 14 by 16 years of age during the implementation of specific criminal provisions of the second paragraph of article seventeenth of the criminal law, should be held criminally responsible; otherwise, it only has made full criminal responsibility 16 years after the crime. (2) the behavior of people under the age of 16 during the full 14 years of age, the implementation of the specific criminal provisions of the second paragraph of article seventeenth of the criminal law, and under the age of 14 when the implementation of the same behavior, which must be held criminally responsible, specificcrime can only be investigated for the full 14 years of age after the implementation of the criminal responsibility.(two) the main types of evidence for the age of criminal responsibility;1, documentary evidenceIt mainly includes household registration certificate, birth certificate, epidemic prevention health care card, school roll card, mother's child-bearing age, women's fertility information and so on, which can be used as proof materials for the age of the perpetrator or directly as evidence.2, criminal suspect confession and witness testimonyIn some documentary evidence cannot be obtained or defective documentary evidence, determination of the age of the suspects can rely on the suspect's confession and testimony of witnesses identified. Which witness's testimony is objective and realistic, generally speaking, the testimony of the close relatives of the midwife and the suspect is reliable, and can be accepted if it is inconsistent with other evidence or has other evidence. The household registration records is a minor, the suspect or the parents of the minor, and can provide some relatives, neighbors, medical staff, the household registration agency staff testimony and other evidence, generally regarded as minors.3, expert conclusionWith the progress of modern advanced science and technology, it is possible to make accurate identification of a person's age according to the specific law of a person's growth and development. The common identification includes identification of skeletal age and identification of teeth. Therefore, the expert conclusion can be used as the basis for determining the age of criminal responsibility under certain circumstances. For example, the suspect does not tell the true name, address, age unknown, can be commissioned by bone age identification or other scientific identification, examination, appraisal conclusion can accurately determine the suspect to carry out criminal acts of age, can be used as a judgment of the suspect age evidence, if the identification conclusion cannot accurately determine the suspect to carry out criminal acts the age, and the appraisal conclusion and indicate that the suspect at the age of criminal law should be under the age of criminal responsibility, should be treated carefully. [4]Notes[1] age of criminal responsibility refers to the age required by the criminal law for the perpetrator (normal person) to commit crimes prohibited by the criminal law.[2] the general elements of the subject of the natural person are: to reach the age of criminal responsibility; to have criminal responsibility. Certain crimes, apart from requiring the perpetrator to have these two conditions, must also have special identities.[3] Hong Hong, juvenile suspects, age analysis, China rule of law network.[4] see the approval of the Supreme People's Procuratorate on whether bone age identification can be used as evidence for determining the age of criminal responsibility。