宋代儿童犯罪治理析论

On the Treatment of Child Delinquency in the Song Dynasty

宋代规定儿童是指15周岁以下的人,他们在定罪量刑和接受惩罚时享有很大的受优待权,年龄越小的儿童享受的优待越大。宋代官府对一般犯罪人员的惩治举措包括徒、流、杖责、配隶和编管等,儿童由于生理和心理发育不完全,他们在被惩处时享有免杖刑、不戴枷杻、免服役和轻罪可量移的优待。宋代遵循前朝优待儿童的惯例,对犯死罪的儿童很少适用死刑,更多的是用罚铜代替。官府对儿童减免刑罚的相关举措是宋代法制文明建设中“轻刑化”的重要体现,反映了宋代士大夫阶层关注弱势群体的儒家仁爱思想。

In the Song Dynasty,children under the age of 15 enjoy a great right to preferential treatment when receiving conviction and punishment,and the younger the child is,the more preferential privileges he/she has.Due to their physical and mental immaturity,the punishment measures for the general criminals are inapplicable to children.Children are free from flogging,shackles,military service and from the punishment for misdemeanors.Following the principle of preferential treatment for children,the Song government seldom applies death penalty to children who committed capital crimes.The relevant measures of the government to reduce and exempt children’s crimes not only reflect the idea of light punishment in the construction of legal civilization in the Song Dynasty,but also the solicitude of the scholar bureaucrat class in the Song Dynasty for the disadvantaged groups.