Mingkai, Zhang --- "On confiscation of property under PRC criminal law" [2014] ELECD 352; in Shi, Jichun (ed), "Renmin Chinese Law Review" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2014) 82

Book Title: Renmin Chinese Law Review

Editor(s): Shi, Jichun

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781783473786

Section: Chapter 4

Section Title: On confiscation of property under PRC criminal law

Author(s): Mingkai, Zhang

Number of pages: 34

Abstract/Description:

Generally speaking, confiscation refers to nationalizing property items that do not belong to the nation through compulsory and gratuitous measures and turning them over to the national treasury. Confiscation under international criminal law can be divided into two categories by and large: general confiscation and special confiscation. The term general confiscation refers to depriving the criminal of his legitimate ownership of property, nationalizing properties owned by the criminal and turning them over to the national treasury without questioning whether such properties are connected to crime or not. The special confiscation refers to only nationalizing specific properties that are substantially relevant to crime; therefore, it is categorized as specific confiscation or restrictive confiscation. In modern times, confiscation under international criminal laws is mostly limited to special confiscation. In Western countries, there are usually no regulations regarding the regime of general confiscation. Even special confiscation is exclusively limited to express regulations under criminal law. In Japan, 'a judicial precedent sentences confiscation of five match-wood logs used for setting fire'.