Since its opening in 2022, the big drama "The World" has achieved record ratings, leading the multi-platform popularity rankings, and has also received rave reviews. As a time series that showcases the tremendous changes in family and society since the 1970s, it reflects the vicissitudes and ups and downs of human life from multiple perspectives, directions, and levels. It also provides sufficient discussion topics and emotional resonance, attracting audiences of all ages.

The protagonist in the play, Zhou Bingkun, has had a difficult life, which is impressive. Especially in middle age, due to the stepson's fault, a case of his death was triggered, and he was sentenced to nine years in prison for manslaughter, which made the audience sigh and sigh. As a legal person, based on the motivation of learning and thinking, I will briefly analyze the legal issues in this scene. Of course, a play is ultimately a play, and there are some issues that don't need to be taken seriously.

1、 The judgment in the play is basically appropriate in nature, but the sentencing is obviously arbitrary and disproportionate

"The plot in the play was set in 1993, so, without constituting justifiable defense, the provisions of Article 133 of the Criminal Law of 1979 on negligent homicide naturally apply to the conviction and sentencing of criminal acts.". The content of the law is as follows:

Article 133: Whoever negligently kills a person shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years; "If the circumstances are especially flagrant, they shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years.". "If there are other provisions in this Law, those provisions shall prevail.".

According to the legal provisions at that time, the crime was charged with negligent homicide. "If the circumstances are ordinary, they shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years, and if the circumstances are particularly flagrant, the range of punishment shall be from five to fifteen years of fixed-term imprisonment.". From the plot shown in this drama, Zhou Bingkun's behavior does not belong to a particularly harsh plot, but rather has a lenient plot. There are three reasons: (1) The cause can be said to be entirely due to the victim, Luo Shibin, who suffered an unbearable insult and abuse due to his loss of moral bottom line, and Zhou Bingkun fought back hard; (2) Zhou Bingkun did not use tools or other bad behaviors, and the moment he kicked Luo Shibin away was purely a reflection of instinct, as he happened to be knocked down by Luo Shibin and attacked; (3) Zhou Bingkun confessed from the beginning and had a good attitude of confession and repentance. Moreover, judging from the court verdict, it was not said that the circumstances were particularly flagrant. Therefore, Zhou Bingkun's behavior can only be subject to the sentencing range of fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years, and the sentence of nine-year imprisonment is clearly a random breakthrough in the law.

Some people may say that at that time, it was during the period of "severe punishment", and it was entirely possible to break through the legal penalty and sentenced. This is actually a misunderstanding of the "severe strike" policy. Although the criminal law of 1979 did not explicitly stipulate the principle of legality for crimes and punishments, there were clear provisions regarding the scope of "severe punishment". Judging from the provisions of relevant documents such as the "Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Severe Cracking down on Criminal Activities" and the "Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Severe Punishment of Criminals Who Seriously Endanger Public Security" in 1983, those who cause death through negligence are not the objects of severe punishment.

2、 The Evolution of the Crimes from "Negligent Murder" to "Negligent Death"

Legislation emphasizes scientificity and rationality. The so-called killing refers to the act of illegally depriving others of their lives. From the textual meaning and the understanding of normal people, the word "killing" originally implies intentional meaning, representing a tendency to actively pursue the results of death. For negligent crimes, subjectively, they do not want or allow the consequences to occur. Therefore, combining the words "negligence" and "homicide" together appears to be irrelevant, which means that there are logical contradictions in the description of the crime in Article 133 of the Criminal Law of 1979.

With the development of legal research and the improvement of legislative technology, in order to correct the shortcomings in the expression of this crime, Article 233 of the new Criminal Law in 1997 was revised to read: "Whoever causes death through negligence shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years; if the circumstances are relatively minor, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years. If there are other provisions in this Law, such provisions shall apply." Thereafter, the crime of causing death through negligence was also determined as the crime of causing death through negligence. ". The maximum penalty for this crime has also been reduced to seven years' imprisonment, which has undergone fundamental changes compared to the old criminal law of 1979.

3、 Whether justifiable defense can be implemented against acts of degrading personality requires specific and differentiated treatment

Some viewers also questioned whether Zhou Bingkun's actions in the play constituted justifiable defense. Given that the main reason for Zhou Bingkun's attack in the play lies in the verbal insults and provocations of the other party, as a subject of study and reflection, we may wish to make a brief discussion on "whether justifiable defense can be implemented against insults".

The provisions of Article 20 of the current Criminal Law on justifiable defense are as follows: An act taken to stop an unlawful infringement in order to protect the interests of the state, the public, or the person, property, or other rights of oneself or others from ongoing unlawful infringement, which causes harm to the unlawful infringer, is justifiable defense and is not subject to criminal responsibility. "If justifiable defense clearly exceeds the necessary limit and causes significant harm, criminal responsibility shall be borne, but the punishment shall be mitigated or exempted.". Therefore, to constitute legitimate defense, it is necessary to comply with the characteristics of illegality, urgency, and necessary limits.

（1） An insulting act is considered unlawful

The so-called illegal infringement includes both criminal acts and other illegal violations. Whether it is the Constitution, the Criminal Law, the Law on Administrative Penalties for Public Security, or the Civil Law, it is stipulated that the personal dignity of citizens of the People's Republic of China is inviolable. It is prohibited to insult, slander, falsely accuse or frame up citizens by any means. Although the discussion of the illegality of justifiable defense in practice is almost limited to physical and violent attacks such as physical and property violations, the provisions of Article 20 of the Criminal Law do not exclude spiritual rights such as human dignity. Therefore, an act of degrading one's personality naturally belongs to unlawful infringement.

（2） It is also necessary to judge the "urgency" of justifiable defense against insults

For a long time, judicial practice has applied "fear of hands and feet" to justifiable defense, and the applicable conditions are too strict. The justifiable defense clause in the criminal law is also known as the "sleeping clause.". Taking major cases such as the Yu Huan case in 2017 and the Kunshan "Long Ge" case in 2018 as opportunities, the justifiable defense clause has also been awakened. Subsequently, the "Guiding Opinions on the Application of the Legitimate Defense System in accordance with the Law" issued by the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and the Ministry of Public Security also emerged on February 28, 2020, highlighting the spirit of the rule of law that "the law cannot make concessions to illegality.". At the same time, it should also be noted that while loosening the ties in a big step, it is necessary to effectively prevent the abuse of defense rights and prevent them from moving from one extreme to the other.

In terms of legitimate defense, it is not only required that illegal infringement is occurring, but also required to be conditional on "urgency". Because there are indeed some illegal acts that can be resolved through peaceful means. Based on the urgency of justifiable defense, it is necessary to make a necessary and appropriate restrictive interpretation of the defense object, that is, to determine whether the illegal act is offensive, destructive, and urgent, so as to determine whether there is a need for defense.

Therefore, for insulting behavior, if it is limited to verbal abuse, the degree of violation of human dignity is relatively low, and only involves infringement of rights at the spiritual level, it should not be the object of defense; Physical insults, accompanied by illegal detention, minor beatings, and violations of others' rights to personality, reputation, personal freedom, and health, can of course be the object of defense.

This is also consistent with the spirit of the Guiding Opinions on the Application of the Justifiable Defense System in accordance with the Law, Article 14 states that "For acts of excessive defense caused by the perpetrator's perpetration of illegal violations that seriously degrade the human dignity of others, seriously violate ethics, or multiple or long-term illegal violations, full consideration should be given in sentencing to ensure that the handling of the case not only withstands the legal test, but also conforms to the concept of social fairness and justice."

epilogue

"The World" has ended, and people and things in the world will continue. Although life sometimes cannot be perfect, it is still necessary to be full of hope and look far away! Law is the bottom line of morality, on which the moral belongs to morality and the legal returns to law. Living in the era of the rule of law, we should believe in and respect the law. We can also strive to seek the help of the law for grievances, hardships, and misfortunes in life!