Reassessing the Dilemmas of Misdemeanor Governance and Exploring a Systematic Pathway—A Restorative-Measure Perspective

Yixin Ma

doi:10.54097/xmmb1375

Authors

Yixin Ma

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54097/xmmb1375

Keywords:

misdemeanor governance, systematic construction, restorative dispositional measures.

Abstract

With the expansion of criminal legislation and shifts in crime patterns, China has entered an “era of minor offenses.” However, the prevailing governance model—centered on serious crimes—has struggled to meet the practical demands of misdemeanor governance. At its core lies an inadequate supply of systematic institutions that are adaptable to contemporary conditions. As a result, this field still largely relies on lay moral intuitions as the basis for judgment, leaving it in a loosely regulated and disorderly state. In response, and with due regard to national policy orientations, a systematic governance framework should be established that balances the protection of legal interests with the safeguarding of human rights. On the basis of clarifying standards for defining minor offenses, such a framework should promote the effective operation of substantive decriminalization mechanisms at the adjudication stage, and comprehensively improve measures for handling minor offenses. It should also address the blurred boundaries in the application of discretionary non-prosecution, activate mechanisms of conviction without punishment, and regulate the application of collateral consequences of crime. By strengthening the coherence and chain-like linkage among institutional modules, misdemeanor governance can be steered toward a more holistic and collaborative modern governance paradigm, thereby achieving an organic integration of crime prevention and social restoration.

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