Knowledge and review of criminal laws to control terrorist crimes

Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of intentional violence and fear to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war against non-combatants (mostly civilians and neutral military personnel). Criminal law is only one of the devices by which organized societies protect the security of individual interests and ensure the survival of the group. There are, in addition, the standards of conduct instilled by family, school, and religion; the rules of the office and factory; the regulations of civil life enforced by ordinary police powers; and the sanctions available through tort actions. The distinction between criminal law and tort law is difficult to draw with real precision, but in general one may say that a tort is a private injury whereas a crime is conceived as an offense against the public, although the actual victim may be an individual. Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law is established by statute, which is to say that the laws are enacted by a legislature. Criminal law includes the punishment and rehabilitation of people who violate such laws. Criminal law varies according to jurisdiction, and differs from civil law, where emphasis is more on dispute resolution and victim compensation, rather than on punishment or rehabilitation. Criminal procedure is a formalized official activity that authenticates the fact of commission of a crime and authorizes punitive or rehabilitative treatment of the offender. Under the influence of religious extremism, terrorists in China have used crime and violence as a means of creating terror and spreading panic in order to achieve the goal of splitting China. While criminal law could be an effective instrument for fighting against terrorism, the essential characteristics of terrorism in China require a reconstruction of the criminal legal system around the Absichtsdelikte model by introducing terrorist motivation into the constitutive elements of terrorist crimes. This article argues that this rather innovative legislative model can help to align the crime with the punishment in the field of counter-terrorism legislation and would be helpful for crime prevention as well. The UN Security Council is the only body that has the legal authority to use force in international interactions, while expanding its powers and responsibilities in the fight against terrorism, yet no effort has been made by countries claiming responsibility.

Keywords:

Absichtsdelikte , China , Criminal law , Crime motivation , Terrorist crimes