Abstract:The principle of unity of law and order, which has sufficient theoretical and legal basis, not only binds legislators, but also applies to judges or interpreters. The principle of unity of law and order cannot provide support for the appeal of conceptual consistency, nor can it effectively coordinate the evaluation of “legality” or “illegality”. The unity pursued by this principle is negative. Namely, it does not play a positive role in the interrelationship between two specific norms, but strives to maintain the diversity of evaluation differences without departing from the overall value goal. The so-called non-contradiction should be a permissible subsumption result, allowing for the existence of “harmony without uniformity”. The principle of unity of law and order cannot be simply understood as a system interpretation or a purpose interpretation. The minimum requirement of this principle, as a systematic way of thinking, lies in the coherence of good values, that is, the unity of value judgments based on the exchange of good values under the same constitutional order. This principle is not directly related to the issue of subordination in criminal law, and its main value lies in limiting the conclusion of illegality judgment. If a certain behavior is actively advocated by other norms and can be evaluated as conforming to the good value, the criminal law cannot negatively evaluate it.

Keywords: the principle of unity of law and order, system interpretation, unity of concepts, unity of legitimacy, good value

 

Author:Zou Yuxiang, assistant research fellow, CASS Institute of Law;

Source: 5 (41) Journal of University of Science and Technology Beijing (Social Sciences Edition).