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China is establishing a system of cancellation of juvenile criminal records, and some places are piloting it.
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Xinhuanet Beijing August 10 (Reporter Zhao)
Xiao Zhang did not expect that the decision and consequences of dropping out of school made him fidgety for the past five years.
Xiao Zhang from rural Shandong was admitted to the experimental class of junior high school in the county with excellent results, but he was lost in the world of flowers and flowers in the city. After dropping out of school, he went to Internet cafes every day, played games, and sometimes fought with a group of "friends". One day in 2004, he and his "friends" passed by a residential area, and suddenly someone thought of "getting some money" and put it into action.
Xiao Zhang, 16 years old, was sentenced to 4 years in prison for this burglary.
"I regretted it as soon as I was caught." He said.
He was released on parole in April 2007 for active reform in prison. He broke off contact with his former "friends" and tried to make money to supplement his family. However, the "disgraceful" past has always been with me. "Relatives and friends look down on me, and I will hide if I have something to find. I feel isolated. "
But now, Xiao finally began to seriously plan the future.
In July this year, he received a certificate that his criminal record had been "eliminated". Because he didn't commit another crime within one year after serving his sentence, he was exempted from the obligation to declare his criminal record when looking for a job. As long as he doesn't do it again, his criminal record will only remain in the internal system of the public security organ and will never be made public.
"I want to be a mechanic in the factory, starting from the bottom and learning some skills in a down-to-earth manner. I hope to have my own patent in the future. "
He has been working in a private decoration team for the past two years. "I dare not go to a regular factory to find a job. They all want to see the files and don't want someone with a criminal record like me, "Xiao Zhang said. "I used to carry this burden and I couldn't do anything well. I think I have no future. Don't worry about it later. "
Xiao Zhang's hometown, the People's Court of Laoling City, Shandong Province, and other units 10 issued a document on February 1 day, announcing the establishment of a system of "eliminating criminal records" for juvenile delinquents.
The detailed rules for the implementation of this system stipulate that criminal minors who are sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of less than three years, criminal detention, public surveillance, single fine or exemption from punishment will naturally be permanently eliminated after the execution of the punishment.
In addition, minors sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than five years will no longer intentionally commit crimes within one year after the execution of the penalty; Minors sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of more than 5 years 10 years will not commit crimes intentionally within 3 years after the execution of the penalty; Minors who have been sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of 10 years or more will not commit crimes intentionally within 6 years after the execution of the penalty, and their criminal records will be permanently erased through application, investigation, approval and other procedures.
However, if the ringleaders and principals involved in crimes endangering national security, drug crimes, serious violent crimes and other crimes with deep subjective malignancy constitute recidivism, criminal record elimination is not applicable.
According to Jia, president of the juvenile comprehensive trial court of Leling Court, after the criminal record is eliminated, the criminal facts of criminal minors will not be stated in any public file, and the file materials will be encrypted and sealed by the relevant judicial departments and will not be made public. The rights of the parties such as employment, schooling and holding ordinary public office will not be restricted, and the reporting obligation stipulated in the criminal law will also be exempted.
Jia said that many minors committed crimes on impulse, and 99% of them did not commit crimes again. "It's unfair to let them carry a burden all their lives."
According to the judicial statistics of the Supreme People's Court, from 2000 to 2006, only 1.26% of the more than 430,000 juvenile criminals tried by national courts committed crimes again.
Yao, an associate professor at East China University of Political Science and Law, said that without the system of eliminating criminal records, the road for reformed people (ex-prisoners) to return to society is blocked, artificially creating a special group that is constantly expanding and cannot be eliminated, and the accumulated grievances will become heavier and heavier. "Most people actually seek jobs by hiding their criminal records."
He said that juvenile delinquency can be corrected, and the positive significance of the pilot exploration of Leling Court in helping the delinquent minors return to society is beyond doubt.
However, due to the limitations of the existing legal system, Leling's criminal record elimination system still has limitations: if the existing laws explicitly restrict people with criminal records from holding public office, the criminal record elimination system is not applicable.
Yao said that there are about 160 laws in China that restrict the employment of people after the reform, such as civil servants, teachers and lawyers.
Although the Criminal Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) promulgated by 1979 has been revised many times, it still retains the provision of 100 on the obligation to report criminal records: those who have been criminally punished according to law shall truthfully report to the relevant units that they have been criminally punished when they joined the army or were employed, and shall not conceal it.
However, the Law on the Protection of Minors, implemented by 1992, stipulates that minors who have been released from custody and have served their sentences shall not be discriminated against in terms of resumption of schooling, further studies and employment.
Jia said that Leling's "criminal record elimination" pilot was formulated and implemented according to this clause. "If you don't eliminate the criminal record, you can't really protect minors from discrimination."
In fact, the elimination of juvenile criminal record is a problem that has been concerned and studied by the legal and judicial circles in China in recent years. In the past two years, in addition to Leling, Licang District, Qingdao City, Shandong Province, Pengzhou City, Sichuan Province, Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province and other places are also conducting pilot projects.
From June 5, 2006 to1October 38, 2006, the criminal justice policy of combining leniency with severity was first written into the the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China document "the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China's Decision on Several Important Issues in Building a Harmonious Socialist Society", which was regarded as a criminal policy to accurately punish crimes according to the principles of a legally prescribed punishment for a crime, an appropriate punishment for a crime, and equal application of laws.
In March this year, the Outline of the Third Five-year Reform of the People's Courts issued by the Supreme People's Court proposed: cooperate with relevant departments to establish a system for eliminating minor misdemeanor criminal records, and clarify its conditions, time limit, procedures and legal consequences.
Fan Chongyi, a professor at China University of Political Science and Law, said that the criminal record elimination system conforms to the spirit of the central judicial reform, embodies the criminal policy of "tempering justice with mercy", and embodies the humanistic spirit and the concern of the whole society for minors.
He believes that the criminal record reporting system stipulated in Article 100 of the Criminal Law needs to be revised, not only for minors, but also for adults.
Yao said that in order to realize the real "elimination of criminal record", in addition to the obstacles of existing laws and regulations, it is also necessary to break through the conceptual obstacles and create a benign social environment. "Some people think that having sex with people with criminal records will threaten their own safety, and this social exclusion and open discrimination need to be changed."
Fan Chongyi said that if the "criminal record elimination" system is to be fully promoted, it will increase the workload of judicial organs, and it is necessary to find out past criminal records. In short, "it takes time and a process."