Recently, the movie "Article 20" is being released, and when I first heard the name, I felt that it would be another imitation of the American legal film, this name reminds me of the previous "Twelve Citizens", which are all legal movies named after numbers, and I don't mean to belittle the movie "Twelve Citizens", or that there is any problem with his narrative and shooting techniques. I just feel that it has little to do with the actual situation of Chinese society, like a castle in the air. The jury system embodied in "Twelve Citizens" is not available in China! Don't say that it doesn't exist in China, it doesn't exist in all the countries that adopt the civil law system, it only exists in the countries of the law of the sea.
So what is the civil law system and what is the law of the sea?
Law of the Sea SystemAlso known as common law, common law, unwritten law system, it was spread to all parts of the world with the overseas colonization of Britain, such as today's India, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, and North America are all used in the law of the sea system, the law of the sea system in judicial trials follow precedents, that is, follow the cases of previous judges, the cases of predecessors will be legally binding! Later judges will judge the case as if it were law in their judgments! This is case law, in which the law does not need to go through the legislature, but is directly superimposed by individual cases! Found no! The law of the sea system has greater discretion over judges. Therefore, the common law system introduced the jury system in order to limit the rights of judges, and when we watch the game between judges, juries and lawyers in Anglo-American legal movies, it is extremely exciting! Why is it so exciting? Because once there is a precedent in a disputed case, it will exist like a legal provision!
Civil law systemAlso known as the European legal system, the Roman legal system, and the civil law system, it is characterized by detailed written law, which emphasizes that the law must be complete, and every detail of each legal category must be clearly stipulated in the legal code. That is to say, as the saying goes, "the law cannot be done without authorization, and the law is free without prohibition", so for a criminal matter, there must be all the legal reasoning of the rules and regulations, and the provisions in the code must be as detailed as possible. Judges in civil law countries are judged in full accordance with these statutes and supplementary rules! Judges have much less discretion, and to be fair and impartial, the law must be all-encompassing! It has its roots in Roman law, so it is widely adopted on the European continent, and the progress of the civil law system is marked by the emergence of new laws or legal provisions. Our country's legal system is learning from France and Germany! What is practiced is the civil law system!
What is Mouzi's movie "Article 20" about?
In fact, it refers to Article 20 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China - legitimate defense!
The movie is mainly two lines, the first line is about the rural couple played by Pan Binlong and Zhao Liying who have been bullied by the local village bully Liu Wenjing for a long time, and the deaf and dumb wife played by Zhao Liying was finally ** by him! In a conflict, Pan Binlong angrily killed the village tyrant with scissors and was sentenced to three years by the court for intentional injury! The second line is about Lei Jiayin and Ma Li's son who stopped others from bullying their classmates at school, but broke someone else's nose in the process, and was finally identified as a beating and assault!
There is also a branch line of the movie that the driver played by Yang Haoyu broke the other party's skull during the fight in order to prevent the lewd man from insulting the girl on the bus, and was convicted of intentional injury!
The producer of the film is the Film and Television Center of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and it is talking about the issue of legitimate defense and excessive defense. In reality, each of us will encounter it, and each of us is a participant in fairness and justice, and we are also executors, do you remember the Kunshan Longge anti-murder case that caused a sensation across the country in 2018?
Yu Haiming, a hotel employee who was riding a bicycle home from work, was hit by a BMW car for no reason on a non-motorized road, who knew that Brother Long, who got off the BMW, kicked Yu Haiming when he got out of the car, followed by punches and kicks! Brother Long of the society also felt unhappy and pulled out a 40-meter machete from the BMW car, and slashed at Yu Haiming's neck, fortunately, it was the back of the knife, otherwise Yu Haiming would have died on the spot, and finally the drunk Brother Long's machete fell off his hand and fell to the ground, only to be killed by Yu Haiming picking up the knife! The prototype character of Liu Wenjing in the movie is Brother Long, the society. This incident directly brought Article 20 of the Criminal Law into judicial practice and pushed forward the process of legitimate defense in our country for 10 years. Mouzi is worthy of being a national teacher, this movie reminds me of his Qiu Ju lawsuit, which also promotes the people's awareness of rights protection and the spirit of the rule of law!
Think about our ancestor Qin Fa within a hundred steps, and those who do not assist will be punished with two sets of armor, and the Qin Law 2000 years ago is still like this, not to mention the modern civilized society!
So what is the secret of Article 20? It's someone who can rush to stop bullying, it's when you encounter injustice, you are no longer looked at coldly, and it's when others are in trouble, you have the courage to help. It is you who have the courage to defend yourself when you are in trouble! It is to ask for the lives of the common people and avenge the weak! It's about each and every one of us!
As Mr. Luo Xiang said, "The essence of legitimate defense is to authorize the people, encourage the people to fight against illegal infringements, and never be too strict with the defenders!" Fairness and justice have long been in the hearts of the people, and they only need to be activated, not taught! ”
In closing, I would like to say that justice may be late, but it will never be absent! Fairness and justice are there, and so are the hearts of the people!