《刑法》第37条免予刑事处罚条款的刑事一体化解读

Integrated Criminal Law Analysis of Article 37 of the Criminal Law on Exemptions from Criminal Penalties

围绕《刑法》第37条免予刑事处罚条款,理论上存在该条款是否是独立的免除刑罚事由、该条款与《刑法》其他免除处罚规定的关系、“犯罪情节轻微”与“不需要判处刑罚”的关系等争议;实务中,司法机关独立、广泛使用《刑法》第37条免予刑事处罚条款,但存在适用标准不统一、说理不明、沦为司法人员规避罪与非罪“和稀泥”式裁判工具等实践乱象。在轻罪立法大幅增加、犯罪结构发生深刻变化的国情背景下,《刑法》第37条免予刑事处罚条款不能作为独立的免除刑罚事由的观点不具有合理性,将其作为一般、兜底式免予刑事处罚规定的观点,具有理论和实践妥当性。具体适用路径上,应当从影响责任刑和预防必要性角度,划定“犯罪情节”范围,围绕影响犯罪人责任刑与预防刑的各类法定、酌定从轻情节,并遵循以责任刑为基础,再考虑影响预防刑情节的思路综合分析认定犯罪情节“轻微”;应当从刑事一体化视角考虑《刑法》第37条的适用,进一步规范免予刑事处罚条款的适用条件,明确酌定不起诉、定罪免刑判决的适用条件,增强免予刑事处罚条款适用的文书说理性。

There are a lot of theoretical debates on Article 37 of the Criminal Law,which provides for exemptions from criminal penalties.These debates include whether the article serves as an independent ground for exemption from punishment,its relationship with other penalty exemption provisions in the Criminal Law,and the distinctions between"minor criminal circumstances"and the"unnecessary imposition of penalties."In practice,judicial authorities independently and broadly apply Article 37,though issues arise such as inconsistent standards,unclear reasoning,and its use by judicial personnel to blur the lines between guilt and innocence as a form of judicial compromise.Given the significant increase in legislation for minor crimes and profound changes in the structure of crime in this national context,the view that Article 37 cannot serve as an independent ground for exempting from punishment is not reasonable.Viewing it as a general,catch-all provision for criminal penalty exemptions is theoretically sound and practically appropriate.In terms of specific application,the scope of"criminal circumstances"should be defined from the perspectives of retributive sentences and the necessity of deterrence.This involves considering both statutory and discretionary mitigating circumstances that affect the criminal's liability for retributive sentences and deterrent punishment,and conducting a comprehensive analysis based on liability for retributive sentences followed by deterrence circumstances to determine if the criminal circumstances are"minor."The application of Article 37 should be considered from an integrated criminal law perspective to further standardize the conditions for exempting from criminal penalties,clarifying the conditions for discretionary non-prosecution and conviction without penalty,and enhancing the reasoning in documentation for applying the exemption provisions.