1 article 1 of the criminal law clearly stipulates the purpose of formulating the criminal law, that is, "in order to punish crimes and protect the people, this law is formulated in accordance with the constitution and in combination with China's specific experience and actual situation in fighting crime." According to this provision, the purpose of criminal law is to punish crimes and protect people. This is determined by the nature of China's criminal law and is consistent with the task of criminal law.

2. The real purpose of criminal law is to curb the abuse of state penalty power, or to punish crimes fairly. "A series of principles and systems determined by the criminal law, such as a legally prescribed punishment for a crime, the adaptation of crime and punishment, the constitution of a crime, the scope of punishment, and the limitation of prosecution, are actually static restrictions on state power. The biggest function of criminal procedure is to impose a series of procedural restrictions on the state's deprivation of citizens' basic rights and interests from a dynamic perspective. "

3. The purpose of criminal law is to realize the national penalty power fairly. A series of systems stipulated in criminal law, such as a legally prescribed punishment for a crime, the adaptation of crime and punishment, the constitution of a crime, the limitation of prosecution, etc., actually limit the function of criminal law in cracking down on crime. The purpose of criminal law is not to punish crimes, but to justly realize the state power of punishment. "These procedures (criminal proceedings) are designed to ensure that the defendant becomes the subject of litigation together with the state procuratorate, rather than passively waiting for the state to handle it, and the purpose is to provide equal opportunities and basic guarantees for individuals to rationally confront the state procuratorate."