Study on the Offence of Planning to Commit a Serious Crime that Entails an Act of Preparation by a Terrorism Group and Other Organized Criminal Groups

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K13543
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 05050:Criminal law-related
• Research Institution: Hiroshima Shudo University (2021-2022); Waseda University (2019-2020)
• Principal Investigator: ITO Yoshisuke 広島修道大学, 法学部, 准教授 (00837792)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: テロ等準備罪 / 共謀罪 / 共同正犯

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In general, we think that "conspiracy" in the offence of planning and preparation to commit a serious crime including terrorism is identical with conspiracy in co-principals (Article 60 Criminal Code). But the latter concept is inherently too ambiguous to compare them with each other.
Because the former one is the reason to punish such a planning and preparation, it should be similar to one in co-principals based on conspiracy, not to one in co-principals based on act of committing a crime. However, this concept is also ambiguous and therefore we should clarify what is the minimum element of the conspiracy establishing the punishment both the offence of planning and preparation to commit a serious crime including terrorism and the co-principals based on conspiracy.

Free Research Field

刑法

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

テロ等準備罪の共謀も、共同正犯の共謀も多義的な概念であり、関係者間の緊密な意思疎通を意味することもあれば、互いの行動を認識し合う程度の希薄な意思疎通を意味するに過ぎないこともある。近時、共同正犯の共謀をめぐっては、インターネットを通じた希薄な意思疎通でも共謀共同正犯は基礎づけられるとの理解が一般化しつつあるが、こうした解釈にはテロ等準備罪の成立範囲を拡張させてしまうリスクがある。テロ等準備罪を謙抑的に解釈し、その成立範囲を適切なものにとどめるには、まずもって共同正犯の共謀概念を解明し、どのレベルの共謀が本罪の成立に必要なのかを明らかにすべきであって、この問題意識を共有しなければならない。