Research on the Principles of Criminal Legislation: Comparative and Integrative Approach

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K13639
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Criminal law
• Research Institution: Waseda University
• Principal Investigator: Nakamichi Yuki 早稲田大学, 社会科学総合学術院, 教授 (80515255)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: 刑事立法学 / 比例原則 / 法益論 / 危害原理 / テロ等準備罪

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This research is designed to build a theoretical and practical framework for analyzing and evaluating criminal legislation. Through comparative studies between Japan, Germany and common law countries, I have reached to a conclusion that the framework should be divided at least into two layers: at the first layer it is evaluated whether the bill in question does not invade the constitutional outer limit. Passing this test, the bill goes to the second test, whether this bill is the best form to solve the problem to which the legislator will respond or the theoretically better version could have been drafted. This two layers structure helps legal academics, practitioners, and politicians to analyze and evaluate criminal legislation bills/drafts more effectively. To test the practical feasibility of the framework, I applied it to some problems like the Crime of Preparation of Acts of Terrorism and Other Organized Crimes and verified its feasibility.

Free Research Field

刑事法学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

体感治安の悪化や国内外でのテロ等をうけて、刑事立法活動が活性化している。それらの中には、市民の自由を強く制約しうるものが含まれうるところ、〈よい刑事立法〉でなければその自由制約を受け入れることはできないであろう。では〈刑事立法のよさ〉をどのように評価・分析するか。この点について先行研究は確固たる枠組を構築してこなかった。本研究が提示した刑事立法分析の２段階構造により、憲法に適合せず〈不合格となる法案〉を除外した上で、憲法に適合する法案に対して、「より良い立法とするためにはどうすればよいか」を集中的に議論することが可能となる。