Let's be more confident in stopping illegal infringements! The second reading of the revised draft of the Public Security Administration Punishment Law
The draft revision of the Public Security Administration Punishment Law was recently submitted to the 14th National People's Congress Standing Committee for a second review. Last August, the NPC Standing Committee held its first review of the draft revision. After the meeting, the NPC Constitution and Law Committee revised and improved the draft revision based on opinions from all parties.
In response to new situations and new problems that have emerged in the field of social security in recent years, the second draft of the revised Public Security Administration Punishment Law submitted for review this time adds provisions that citizens have the right to take stopgap actions to protect themselves from ongoing illegal infringements; improves the provisions on violations of public security management involving minors; and adds public security management penalties for the illegal sale and breeding of dangerous animals such as fierce dogs, and for causing animals to harm others.
Highlight 1: Make it more confident to stop illegal infringements
In recent years, a series of self-defense cases have "activated" the application of the self-defense system in the field of criminal justice, making the concept that "the law cannot give in to illegality" deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
Experts pointed out that in addition to the criminal justice field, in practice, the legal responsibilities for legitimate defense behaviors in the field of public security management and punishment should also be clarified, so as to encourage law enforcement agencies to dare to and be good at identifying legitimate defense behaviors, avoid simply identifying them as "mutual fighting" in conflicts between the two parties, and "whoever makes a noise is right, whoever gets hurt is right", "each of them should be given fifty lashes" and other "muddy" law enforcement, so as to promote social integrity.
In response to this, the second draft of the bill added a provision that "if the restraining actions taken to protect against ongoing illegal infringements cause damage, they do not constitute violations of public security management; if they clearly exceed the necessary limits and cause undue damage, the punishment should be mitigated or exempted."
Chen Tianhao, deputy director of the Government Legal Research Center of the School of Public Administration at Tsinghua University, said: "Such regulations, on the one hand, are conducive to building a normative system that connects public security management penalties with criminal penalties, and provide citizens with a complete legal basis for resisting illegal infringements; on the other hand, they are also helpful in deterring lawbreakers, promoting the spirit of courage, promoting social fairness and justice, promoting the construction of a rule of law society, and ensuring that people can live and work in peace and contentment."
Point 2: Linking with the correctional education measures stipulated in the Law on the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency
In recent years, some serious crimes committed by minors have attracted attention from all walks of life, triggering widespread discussion on the "younger age of crime". According to data from the Supreme People's Court, the number of minors committing crimes has generally been on the rise in the past three years, exposing the lack of early intervention by society in the misbehavior of minors.
The current Law on the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency details the juvenile delinquency prevention system, classifies the abnormal behaviors of minors into bad behaviors, serious bad behaviors, etc., and conducts graded intervention and correction. Some members of the Standing Committee, departments and the public have proposed that the current public security management punishment measures are not enough to educate and punish minors who violate the law, and suggest that the Public Security Management Punishment Law be well connected with the relevant correction and education measures stipulated in the Law on the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency.
my country adheres to the principle of "education first, punishment second" for juvenile delinquency, and the status of a minor cannot be a "shield" to evade legal responsibility. The second draft of the bill adds a provision that for minors who are not punished or administratively detained according to law, the public security organs shall take corresponding correctional education measures in accordance with the provisions of the Law on the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency.
Peng Xinlin, a professor at the Law School of Beijing Normal University, believes that this will help prevent minors from falling into the abyss of crime and correct minors' illegal and criminal activities in a way that is "most conducive to the healthy growth of minors." At the same time, it further clarifies the responsibilities of public security organs in special correctional education, which will help promote the legal operation of special correctional education.
"Scientifically applying specialized correctional education according to the different types of minors' bad behaviors is a necessary step to improve the legalization of specialized correctional education procedures, and is also an important aspect of implementing the graded treatment system for minors with bad behaviors," said Peng Xinlin.
Point 3: It is proposed to increase the penalty for not taking safety measures for animals and causing them to injure people
Many families keep dogs as companions, but some people lack awareness of civilized dog-raising and neglect to manage dogs, which causes dogs to affect the lives of others or even harm others.
In response to this, the second draft of the bill added provisions for public security management penalties for "violating relevant laws and regulations by selling or raising dangerous animals such as fierce dogs" and "causing animals to harm others."
Zhan Zhongle, a professor at the Law School of Peking University, believes that the relevant provisions in the Civil Code emphasize civil liability for consequences. This time, the illegal sale and breeding of dangerous animals such as fierce dogs will be included in the scope of the Public Security Administration Punishment Law, which means that citizens have the right to complain to the relevant departments and the public security departments have the right to take corresponding measures against the parties involved, reflecting the orientation of source control.
The second draft of the bill clearly states that those who violate relevant laws and regulations by selling or raising dangerous animals such as fierce dogs shall be given a warning; those who do not correct their behavior after the warning, or cause animals to harm others, shall be detained for no more than five days or fined no more than 1,000 yuan; in serious cases, they shall be detained for no less than five days but no more than ten days. Zhan Zhongle believes that the punishment has been gradually increased from warnings, fines to detention, which fully reflects the principle of "proportionate punishment".
"The key is to clarify the scope of 'vicious dogs'." Wang Xixin, a professor at the Law School of Peking University, said that at present, there are inconsistent regulations on the scope of "vicious dogs" in many places and departments across the country. It is recommended that relevant departments take the lead in scientifically and reasonably defining the scope of "vicious dogs."
Point 4: Modify and improve those that are difficult to define and difficult to enforce
The first draft of the bill, which was submitted to the fifth session of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress for deliberation in August last year, stipulates public security management penalties for such acts as "wearing or carrying clothing or symbols that are detrimental to the spirit of the Chinese nation or hurting the feelings of the Chinese nation in public places, or forcing others to wear or carry clothing or symbols that are detrimental to the spirit of the Chinese nation or hurting the feelings of the Chinese nation in public places" and "producing, disseminating, promoting, and disseminating items or remarks that are detrimental to the spirit of the Chinese nation or hurting the feelings of the Chinese nation."
Relevant parties and the general public have pointed out that expressions such as "damaging the spirit of the Chinese nation" and "hurting the feelings of the Chinese nation" are highly subjective and everyone has their own understanding. Their meanings are difficult to define in legislation and difficult to grasp in law enforcement. There is concern that law enforcement will damage the legitimate rights and interests of the public and their normal life.
Huang Haihua, spokesman for the Legislative Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, said that after extensive consultation and comprehensive consideration, the second draft of the bill is expected to make more targeted and specific revisions and improvements.
