Op-Ed Contributors

Debate: Death penalty

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-09-13 08:17

Should capital punishment be abolished for 13 economics-related non-violent crimes as proposed by an amendment to the Criminal Law? A legal practitioner says 'yes', while a lawyer says 'no'.

Meng Lin

Time we did away with such punishment

On Aug 23, China's top legislature began the first reading of an amendment to the Criminal Law, which proposes to drop the death penalty for 13 economics-related non-violent crimes.

If the National People's Congress approves the amendment it would signify a big step forward in the country's human rights development. The protection of citizens' fundamental rights, especially the right to life, should get priority over social interests and other rights. Irrespective of the economic order, neither public nor private property rights should take precedence over the right to life.

The first concern of legislators, however, should be to adjust social relations by means other than punishment (such as civil or administrative mediation). Criminal law should be used to protect people's legal interests only after all other measures have failed.

Therefore, the focus at present should be on improving the supervision mechanisms to prevent economic crimes rather than sentencing to death people committing economics-related crimes.

Though the number of criminals sentenced to death has increased in the past decade, the number of economic crimes, such as corruption and bribery, has remained high. The amount of money involved in economic crimes has been rising, too. This shows that the death penalty has not acted as a deterrent for people committing economics-related crimes.

More than 100 countries and regions across the world have abolished or virtually abolished the death penalty. The number of countries that still hand capital punishment to criminals is only about 70. And the laws of most of those 70 countries use the death penalty only against people who have endangered national security or committed murder. China is the only country that uses capital punishment for non-violent economics-related crimes.

China has signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The first paragraph of the covenant's Article 6 stipulates: "Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life." The second paragraph says: "In countries which have not abolished the death penalty, sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious crimes ", and an economics-related crime cannot be considered serious enough to invite the death penalty. So, as a signatory to the covenant, China should abide by its obligatory regulations.

Since such economics-related crimes can invite capital punishment in China, people committing them will continue trying to flee abroad. And once they do so, the Chinese government will find it hard - as experience shows - to get them back to face justice at home.

The problem is criminals who fail to flee the country could face death penalty and those who do will succeed in evading the law. This reduces the possibility of the government recovering the economic losses suffered by the country in economics-related criminal cases.

Capital punishment has become one of the biggest issues for which the West has been denouncing China. Though total abolition of the death penalty is not possible for lack of proper social conditions, it would be advisable to abolish it for economics-related criminal cases.

Such a move would reflect the country's social and legal development, as well as respect for life.

The author is a legal practitioner in Yangzhou, Jiangsu province.