Article丨云海
The first time I experienced the joy of legal speculation was brought about by "The Strange Case in the Cave". The murderer must pay for his life, which is our simplest view. However, in this fictional cave case, faced with the fact that one of the four surviving people was eaten in order to save their lives in a difficult situation, 14 tit-for-tat arguments can be put forward as to whether the four surviving people are guilty. The different viewpoints, the conclusions are enlightening, and the argumentation process is convincing. The book actually reflects the legal philosophy thoughts of various schools in the 20th century and reflects the diversity of legal philosophy thoughts.
Reading Zhang Mingkai's "Lecture Notes on Criminal Law by Zhang Mingkai", what you experience is a storm of thinking. Among legal subjects, criminal law can be said to be one of the subjects that most tests the sense of justice. Zhang Mingkai pointed out in the book that criminal law is the pinnacle of human wisdom. It is related to the most important issues in the world we live in, and behind it is a heavy social responsibility. The thinking model of criminal law is to use rigorous logic to solve complex problems and use wisdom to pursue justice. Therefore, Zhang Mingkai advocates that criminal law should be studied with the sentiment of pursuing justice with wisdom. At the same time, although the process of seeking the optimal solution for justice is extremely rigorous and complex, Zhang Mingkai believes that this is also the charm of studying criminal law. Criminal law is a storm of thinking for everyone, and it can bring Give us a happy experience of deep thinking.
Zhang Mingkai is a great master in the legal field and a very influential criminal lawyer in contemporary China. His book "Criminal Law" is a classic and a must-read textbook for countless law students. His "Criminal Law" "Private School" is an advanced work of intensive study of criminal law. This "Lecture Notes on Criminal Law by Zhang Mingkai" was transformed from the Get course. It adheres to the consistent style of the Get lecture series and is aimed at the general public. It focuses on the combination of theoretical introduction and specific case analysis, and is both theoretical and easy to read. . Even laymen in law can easily get started with this book.
According to the knowledge system of criminal law, this book is divided into two parts: a general introduction and a sub-theory. They introduce the basic issues of criminal law, the conditions for the establishment of crime, the form of crime, and the 6 most common crimes in life. Major categories of crimes. Zhang Mingkai pointed out that the basic method of learning criminal law is to first be as familiar as possible with the important provisions of the Criminal Law, and secondly to continuously train the ability to "judge cases", that is, to judge the correspondence and conformity between the facts of the case and the provisions, and finally and most importantly The most important thing is to always pursue the most appropriate and reasonable explanation and conclusion, that is, to be filled with a sense of justice.
Different from serious professional textbooks, this book is problem-oriented and is intended to stimulate readers' interest in criminal law issues. Each section of the book designs one of the most controversial specific issues in judicial practice. After introducing the knowledge points of criminal law, professional knowledge will be used to analyze and solve this specific issue, so that readers can truly apply what they have learned. , deepen understanding. This way of writing greatly increases the interest of the book.
For example, readers who are interested in the question "My mother and my girlfriend fell into the river at the same time, who should be saved first?" can directly turn to the "Omissions" section to seek information on criminal law. the answer above. This is an eternal problem that has stumped many good men for thousands of years. Fortunately, the criminal law solved this problem in one fell swoop. What this issue actually involves is the content of the crime of omission in the criminal law: omission may also constitute a crime, and the prerequisite for the establishment of the crime of omission is the obligation to act based on the status of the guarantor. In other words, legally speaking, you have an obligation to support your mother, but you only have a moral obligation to rescue your girlfriend, so you must save your mother first. Otherwise, you may be found guilty of intentional homicide or abandonment by omission.
It can be seen that the problems of criminal law originate from life, and the purpose of criminal law is also to solve difficult problems. In the book, there are many discussions on similar controversial issues, such as the trolley problem, whether the death penalty is useful, whether it is illegal for police to use violence against kidnappers to save hostages, etc.
Therefore, the life of law lies not only in logic, but also in life. Zhang Mingkai pointed out that criminal law needs explanation, but it cannot only consist of legal texts and Chinese dictionaries. The heart must always be filled with justice, and justice must be found and realized between criminal law norms and life facts. This is exactly the value of studying criminal law and paying attention to criminal law issues.