犯罪记录是公共事务吗——美国和西班牙的比较法研究

Are Criminal Convictions Public Matter:The U.S. and Spain

如果被公开,犯罪记录将成为制约被定罪者的就业及其他机会的终生污名。包括西班牙在内的欧洲国家在承认个人信息隐私权和限制累犯的社会利益的同时,还严格控制个人犯罪前科信息的传播。相比之下,根据其对于审判程序公开、言论自由和个人自我防卫权的国家义务,美国则允许(甚至推动)广泛传播个人的犯罪前科信息。关于美国和西班牙在公众获取个人刑事犯罪前科信息政策上所体现出的深刻差异的比较研究,能揭示出两国所持政策背后的文化观和法律观,以及两国在试图调和此类政策同其他社会—政治理念和目标之间关系时所面临的冲突与分歧。

A criminal conviction,if widely known,constitutes a life-long stigma that limits the convicted person＇s employment and other opportunities. European countries,including Spain,recognize an individual right of informational privacy and a societal interest in limiting recidivism and sharply restrict the dissemination of individual criminal record information. By contrast,the USA,in accordance with its commitments to judicial transparency,freedom of speech and the right of self-protection,allows（ and even promotes） extensive dissemination of individual criminal record information. This paper compares the profoundly different policies on public access to individual criminal record information in Spain and the USA,illuminating the cultural and legal values behind policies and the conflicts both countries encounter in attempting to reconcile these policies with other socio-political values and goals.