Research on the cognitive factors of severity of punishment, including partial suspension of sentence, and its application to the operation of criminal justice

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K01230
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 05010:Legal theory and history-related
• Research Institution: Kansai University
• Principal Investigator: Fujita Masahiro 関西大学, 社会学部, 教授 (60377140)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 刑の一部執行猶予 / 量刑 / 刑の重さ / 主観的評価 / 一対比較法

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In the first year, I conducted literature surveys related to the partial suspension of execution of sentences and examined the framework of the questionnaire survey; in the second year, I collected data using crowdsourcing; in the third year, I planned to attend and complete an international conference, but due to the Corona disaster it was cancelled, so I translated a book related to the criminal justice system and published it in FY2021. In FY2022, due to travel restrictions, participation in the international conference was also cancelled. In FY2023, the final year of the program, I participated in the annual conference of the Law and Society Association as Corona infection was classed to the Class V and exchanged information on the practice and theory of sentencing decisions in the criminal justice system. On this basis, I published a paper arguing for the necessity of subjective evaluation in sentencing decisions and pointing out the effectiveness of psychological methods.

Free Research Field

法と心理学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

この研究は、刑の一部執行猶予制度に関する先行研究を基に、量刑判断の心理学的側面を探求し、刑の重さの主観的評価の必要性と、そのための心理学的手法の効果を明らかにした。学術的意義としては、刑の重さの測定を数値的に行うという量刑判断における新たな視点を提供した点にある。社会的意義では、従来、刑の一部執行猶予を含む刑の重さの理解が十分でなかった点に理解可能な枠組みを提案し、より公平で適切な量刑判断を可能とした。そうすることで、被告人が上訴した際に刑が重くなったかどうか判断したり、一審において公平な量刑のための基礎を築いたことで、法の下での平等の実現に貢献している。