刑法之灵活性及其意义

Flexibility of Criminal Law and its Significance

与其他法律相比,刑法更加强调自身的确定性;然而,即便是最强调确定性的刑法,也不能总是以维护自身的确定性为由,全然无视变化的需要。从实质正义的要求出发,一定程度的灵活性同样也是实现刑法自身目的所不可或缺的方法原则。因此,在刑法的制度实践中,灵活性的机制不仅是必要的,而且始终都是存在的。灵活性最重要的意义在于,克服法律在寻求自身确定性过程中所带来的消极后果,使法律适用的结果更加符合正义要求。但是,基于对人权保障功能的重视,刑法的制度设计在总体上是以确定性来限制灵活性的,确定性虽然不是绝对的价值,但它一定是优先性的价值,因此,灵活性最终不能拆毁确定性。

Compared with other laws, criminal law stresses more on certainty per se. Even so, however, it cannot ignore demands of transformations by alleging maintenance of its certainty. From the perspective of substantial justice, some flexibility is also an indispensible principle to accomplish the purpose of criminal law. As such, in practice, flexibility is not only of necessity, but also is a reality. The most fundamental significance of flexibility lies in that the passive consequences resulted in the process of ascertaining certainty of law can be averted and justice can be further guaranteed. However, centering on human rights protection and designed in general to prevent flexibility, criminal law always considers certainty being of prior value, though not of absolute value. Therefore, flexibility can never destroy certainty.