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General Principles of Criminal Law cover

General Principles of Criminal Law

黄明儒Peking University Press · ChinaAug 2025

3.6
Word count
431K words
Chapters
100
ISBN
9787301237847
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Tags

Law Joint CrimeCriminal LiabilityCriminal Law PrinciplesLegal EducationCrime ElementsCriminal Law TextbookGeneral Theory SystemCollege Textbook

Summary

This volume, General Principles of Criminal Law, together with its companion volume, Specific Principles of Criminal Law, forms a complete set of criminal law textbooks. Its most distinctive feature is its structure: it is divided into four parts, which makes the content more detailed than the usual general principles/specific principles arrangement and gives the system a high degree of completeness. The contributing authors come from nine institutions: Renmin University of China, Hunan University, Central South University, Soochow University, Hunan University of Commerce, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Hunan University of Technology, Xiangtan University, and Yunnan University. The textbook mainly covers the following: 1. essence, tasks, basis for formulation, basic principles, and scope of application; 2. the concept and constituent elements of crime; 3. the basis of criminal responsibility; 4. the purpose and application of punishment; 5. forms of crime and criminal responsibility; 6. the constitution and criminal responsibility of various specific crimes; 7. provisions on criminal legislation and criminal justice.

Editor's review

Rather than following the common two-part framework of general principles plus specific principles, this volume divides the general principles into four parts, offering finer layers and a stronger sense of system. It suits readers who want to build a solid foundation in basic criminal law theory. The writing team comes from nine institutions, and the collision of different academic backgrounds makes the discussion relatively balanced rather than overly tilted toward any single interpretive approach. The textbook covers core general-principle topics such as the essence and basic principles of criminal law, the concept and constituent elements of crime, the basis of criminal responsibility, the purpose and application of punishment, and forms of crime and criminal responsibility, while also addressing the connection between criminal legislation and judicial provisions. For law students, it works well as supplementary reading outside the classroom to test their grasp of the general-principles system; for those preparing for exams or engaged in criminal practice, it can also serve as a reference for reviewing basic concepts. There is no need to aim for full mastery in one reading: first grasp the logical relationships among the four parts, then return to specific chapters for detailed study.

Who it's for

A good fit for

  • Upper-level undergraduate law students who need to systematically organize their knowledge framework of general criminal law
  • Readers preparing for the law examination or graduate entrance exams in law who want systematic understanding beyond textbooks
  • Criminal justice practitioners who wish to review basic concepts and theoretical controversies in general principles
  • Graduate students in criminal law who need a clearly structured reference textbook with perspectives from multiple institutions

Not a good fit for

  • Non-law readers with no foundation, as the book is dense with terminology and lacks introductory groundwork
  • Readers who only want to look up provisions on specific crimes, as the book focuses on general principles rather than specific offenses
  • Readers seeking case stories or accessible legal popularization, as the book centers on theoretical systems

Reading tips

  1. Read the table of contents first to clarify the logical progression among the four parts, then proceed chapter by chapter
  2. After finishing each part, restate its core questions and conclusions in your own words
  3. Read alongside Specific Principles of Criminal Law to understand how general principles apply to specific offenses
  4. Take brief notes where doctrinal controversies arise and mark differences in the discussions by authors from different institutions

About the publisher

Peking University Press China · Founded in 1979

Peking University Press is a comprehensive university press whose publishing areas cover classical literature, popular science, social culture, world history, Western philosophy, and culture. Its catalogue contains 6,031 titles, with representative books including A Dream of Red Mansions, Relativity: The Special and General Theory (15th Edition) (with Einstein's classic papers on unified field theory and other topics), Elements, Conics, The Aristocratic Families of the Eastern Jin, The Philosophy of Mythology (Volume I), The Philosophy of Mythology (Volume II), and The Origin of Continents and Oceans. Representative authors include Cao Xueqin, Zhou Ruchang, Albert Einstein, Euclid, Apollonius, Tian Yuqing, Schelling, and Xian Gang. The press has developed distinctive strengths in classical Chinese literature and in the translation of Western philosophical classics, while also covering scientific classics and social and cultural studies. As public information is limited, this description is based only on the books in the catalogue and offers no further extrapolation.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 序
  3. 导言
  4. 第一编 刑法绪论
  5. 第一章 刑法的基础概念
  6. 第一节 刑法的概念与性质
  7. 第二节 刑法的制定、完善与体系
  8. 第三节 刑法的规范与刑法解释
  9. 第四节 刑法的目的与机能
  10. 第五节 刑法理论流派
  11. 第二章 刑法的基本原则
  12. 第一节 刑法基本原则概说
  13. 第二节 罪刑法定原则
  14. 第三节 刑法适用平等原则
  15. 第四节 罪责刑相适应原则
  16. 第三章 刑法的效力范围
  17. 第一节 刑法的效力范围概说
  18. 第二节 刑法的空间效力
  19. 第三节 刑法的时间效力
  20. 第二编 犯罪论
  21. 第四章 犯罪概说
  22. 第一节 犯罪的概念
  23. 第二节 犯罪的特征
  24. 第三节 犯罪的类型
  25. 第五章 犯罪构成
  26. 第一节 犯罪构成的界定
  27. 第二节 犯罪构成的体系
  28. 第三节 犯罪构成的类型
  29. 第六章 法益
  30. 第一节 法益概说
  31. 第二节 法益的地位与功能
  32. 第七章 犯罪客观要件
  33. 第一节 犯罪客观要件概说
  34. 第二节 行为
  35. 第三节 行为对象
  36. 第四节 危害结果
  37. 第五节 刑法上的因果关系
  38. 第八章 犯罪主体要件
  39. 第一节 犯罪主体要件的概念和特征
  40. 第二节 自然人犯罪主体
  41. 第三节 单位犯罪主体
  42. 第九章 犯罪主观要件
  43. 第一节 犯罪主观要件概述
  44. 第二节 犯罪故意
  45. 第三节 犯罪过失
  46. 第四节 犯罪动机与犯罪目的
  47. 第五节 主观罪过的阻却
  48. 第六节 刑法上的认识错误
  49. 第十章 阻却犯罪性的行为
  50. 第一节 阻却犯罪性行为概说
  51. 第二节 正当防卫
  52. 第三节 紧急避险
  53. 第四节 其他阻却犯罪性的行为
  54. 第十一章 犯罪停止形态
  55. 第一节 犯罪停止形态概说
  56. 第二节 犯罪预备
  57. 第三节 犯罪未遂
  58. 第四节 犯罪中止
  59. 第十二章 共犯形态
  60. 第一节 共犯概说
  61. 第二节 共犯的形式
  62. 第三节 共犯的范围
  63. 第四节 共犯人的类型及其刑事责任
  64. 第五节 共犯的特殊问题
  65. 第十三章 罪数形态
  66. 第一节 罪数概说
  67. 第二节 实质的一罪
  68. 第三节 法定的一罪
  69. 第四节 并合的一罪
  70. 第五节 数罪的认定与类型
  71. 第三编 刑事责任论
  72. 第十四章 定罪与刑事责任概说
  73. 第一节 定罪
  74. 第二节 刑事责任
  75. 第十五章 刑罚的本体
  76. 第一节 刑罚的概念和本质
  77. 第二节 刑罚权
  78. 第三节 刑罚的目的
  79. 第四节 刑罚的功能
  80. 第十六章 刑罚与非刑罚刑事责任措施
  81. 第一节 刑罚体系
  82. 第二节 主刑
  83. 第三节 附加刑
  84. 第四节 非刑罚刑事责任措施
  85. 第十七章 刑罚的裁量
  86. 第一节 刑罚裁量概说
  87. 第二节 刑罚裁量情节
  88. 第三节 累犯
  89. 第四节 自首、坦白与立功
  90. 第五节 数罪并罚
  91. 第六节 缓刑
  92. 第十八章 刑罚的执行
  93. 第一节 刑罚执行概说
  94. 第二节 减刑
  95. 第三节 假释
  96. 第十九章 刑罚的消灭
  97. 第一节 刑罚消灭概说
  98. 第二节 时效
  99. 第三节 赦免
  100. 后记

FAQ

How does this book's structure differ from common textbooks on general criminal law?
Common textbooks are usually organized in two major blocks, general principles and specific principles, whereas this book divides the general principles into four parts, offering finer layers. The advantage is that each block has a more focused set of questions, so readers are less likely to get lost in vast content; the trade-off is that readers need to understand the overall logic among the four parts before going into details.
Can readers without a legal foundation read this textbook directly?
It is not recommended. The book is intended for readers who already have introductory knowledge of criminal law; it contains many terms and theoretical controversies and lacks groundwork starting from zero. If you have no foundation at all, it is advisable to read an introductory textbook first and then use this book as a supplement for systematic organization and deeper understanding.
Does the multi-institution authorship lead to inconsistent style?
Co-authored textbooks may indeed show stylistic differences across chapters, but this book's strength is that authors from different academic backgrounds bring diverse perspectives, making the discussion relatively balanced. When reading, pay attention to the expressive habits of each part and treat the differences as entry points for understanding different interpretive approaches rather than as obstacles.

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About the author

黄明儒 Author

Huang Mingru is an author in the field of law, about whom public information is limited; the works available so far are concentrated in criminal law. Two of his works are included here, namely General Principles of Criminal Law and Specific Provisions of Criminal Law, which together form the general and specific parts of the criminal law system and are commonly classified under law. Judging from the titles and classification, his writing offers a systematic exposition of the basic theories of criminal law and of particular offenses, in the genre of a textbook or systematic treatise; it emphasizes the definition of concepts and the organization of norms rather than scattered essays. The two works are presented as a matched pair, showing the author's grasp of the overall framework of criminal law knowledge: the general part deals with principles and general institutions, while the specific part sets out the elements and application of various crimes. As no record has been found of his dates, nationality, education or positions, no inferences are made here; the brief note is confined to the subject matter and manner of exposition of his works for readers' reference.

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