親屬容隱考

Abstract

In the history of Chinese law the origins of the law concerning the concealment of crimes by family members, according to which, those who conceal the crimes of their relatives are either exempted from criminal prosecution, or charged with minor offenses, are very ancient. For example, they are detectable in the Analects. Also in the legal codes of the Tang dynasty this law is set forth in detail. Later dynasties, including the Qing, also recognized this law. While many previous studies of this topic have been made, they have not systematically ordered the various provisions of these laws. This paper will attempt to fill that gap in the research surrounding this topic. While leaving discussions of these laws to other studies, this paper particularly will focus on an examination of various provisions of the Qing dynasty laws, taking up a few decisions from collections of judicial precedents. The paper will try to introduce systematically the legal status of laws pertaining to the concealing of crimes by family members. Since this traditional law also influenced the Japanese legal system, this paper will also briefly discuss the particulars of that influence.