According to previous public reports, Jiang Ge, a China student, was killed at his home in Nakano, Japan, in the early morning of October 3, 20 1 16. After the incident, the Japanese police investigated the case. On the evening of 24th, Japanese police informed the public that Chen Shifeng, a male student studying in China, was issued an arrest warrant for murder, accusing him of killing Jiang Ge, a female student studying in China.
The suspect Chen Shifeng will be tried next month, and some legal issues related to this case are also worthy of attention. For example, since both parties to the case are from China, why should the case be tried in Japan? Once Chen Shifeng is convicted as a murderer by the court, is it possible for him to return to China to execute the death penalty? Can China judicial organs hold the murderer accountable? Several experts in international criminal law have analyzed these legal issues that attract attention.
1, why should the case be tried in Japan?
Huang Feng, a professor at the Institute of Criminal Sciences of Beijing Normal University and an expert in international criminal law, told reporters that the suspect Chen Shifeng has been criminally prosecuted in Japan. "If you want him back, you need to rely on judicial cooperation between China and Japan to extradite or repatriate him. However, there is no mention of this procedure at present, and generally speaking, China's extradition request can be rejected by Japan on the grounds that the case is under trial. Because the trial is to be held in Japan, the China judicial organs are actually unable to control the criminal suspects and are currently unable to exercise jurisdiction. "
As for why the case should be tried in Japan, the reporter learned that according to the principle of territorial jurisdiction, if a citizen of a country commits a criminal offence in another country, it should be handled according to the principle that the law of the country where the crime occurred takes precedence. Specific to this case, the suspect Chen Shifeng and the victim Jiang Ge are both from China, but according to the principle of territoriality, this case should be tried according to Japanese criminal law.
There is no extradition treaty between China and Japan at present. Does this mean that there is no hope for the suspect to be extradited? Huang Feng said that the Japanese extradition law is similar to that of China, and it does not require extradition to be based on extradition treaties or the principle of reciprocity, so it does not constitute a legal obstacle in this respect. The two countries have had successful extradition cases on the basis of the principle of reciprocity.
2. Does Jiangge's mother's meeting with Liu Xin affect her testimony?
In this case, the meeting between Jiangge's mother and Jiangge's best friend Liu Xin triggered a heated discussion. Some commentators said that their meeting may have an impact on Liu Xin's testimony in court. In this regard, Huang Feng said that at present, the case has entered the judicial process, and the contact between the two sides should be based on the premise of not damaging the judicial process, and should not affect the true testimony of relevant parties and witnesses. However, if the criminal suspect's defense lawyer communicates privately with the two during the trial, the authenticity of Liu Xin's testimony will be questioned. "There is evidence that the contact between the two people has caused behaviors that are unfavorable to the trial of the case."
3. Will Chen Shifeng be sentenced to death in Japan?
On June 1 1 next month, the suspect Chen Shifeng will step into the dock of the Japanese court. What kind of criminal proceedings will he face? Procedurally speaking, what is the difference between Japanese trial and China trial?
Zheng Zeshan, a professor at Nankai University Law School who studies Japanese criminal law, told reporters that the criminal procedure in Japan is almost the same as that in China, but "generally speaking, killing three talents in Japan may be sentenced to death. According to the usual practice, the murderer killed 1 person and generally sentenced to 13. " But this is for the case that the suspect is Japanese nationality. If the suspect is of non-Japanese nationality, the court's decision may be different.
Zheng Zeshan said that from the current situation, it is still difficult to judge whether the suspect Chen Shifeng will be sentenced to death. "Even if he is sentenced to death, it may take a long time. Japan is very cautious about the death penalty and needs completely conclusive evidence without any doubt. This depends on a full investigation. "
In the current discussion about Jiangge's case, there is another noteworthy question, that is, whether Liu Xin, Jiangge's best friend and Chen Shifeng's ex-girlfriend, will bear legal responsibility for her behavior, apart from the controversy of public opinion?
In Zheng Zeshan's view, more facts and evidence are needed to judge whether Liu Xin should come out to rescue Jiangge at that time. "This involves the issue of' as an obligation' and it is also a difficult issue in identification."
With the trial of Jiangge case approaching, Jiangge's mother went to Japan to hold a petition and sign a petition, asking the court to sentence the suspect Chen Shifeng to death.
For Jiang Mu's action, Huang Feng's point of view is that it belongs to the personal expression of the relatives of the parties involved in this case. Jiang Mu has the right to express her wishes, but the judicial trial of the court should remain independent, especially the criminal trial should be determined according to the law and facts. "It is generally not affected by public opinion."
Different from Huang Feng's point of view, Zheng Zeshan said that Japanese courts attach great importance to public opinion, and requesting people's support and signature may play a great role in future court decisions. "In some cases, if the murder is bad and the people demand that the murderer be severely punished, the court will have to take this into account when making a judgment."
4. If Chen Shifeng is repatriated, is it possible to be held accountable again?
Once the court finds that the suspect Chen Shifeng is the murderer after trial, can China judicial organs continue to pursue the murderer? According to Huang Feng, if the murderer is executed in Japan and repatriated, according to China's criminal law, China citizens who commit crimes abroad may face retrial at home.
According to the provisions of Article 10 of China's Criminal Law, anyone who commits a crime outside the territory of People's Republic of China (PRC) and should bear criminal responsibility according to this law, although tried in a foreign country, can still be investigated according to this law and can be exempted or mitigated.
There is another possibility of penalty execution. "For example, Chen Shifeng was sentenced to prison in Japan. Is it possible to return to China to serve his sentence? It is also possible. In international cooperation, one kind of cooperation is the transfer of sentenced persons. For example, if a suspect commits a crime in Japan and is sentenced in Japan, the sentenced person can be sent back to China for execution during his sentence. In this case, the China judiciary is equivalent to recognizing and enforcing Japanese judgments, but there is a premise for such cooperation, that is, the sentenced person himself is willing to return to China to serve his sentence. "
You should let the murderer get the severest punishment!