On December 6, the 10th session of the series of introductory lectures on law of Wuhan University hosted by law school was held in Room 201, teaching building 4, Ministry of Arts and Science. The theme of the lecture was "Basic concept of criminal law". The lecturer was professor Chen Jialin. All 2019 undergraduate students from Wuhan University Law School attended the lecture.

At the beginning, Prof. Chen pointed out that the relations between the judiciary and individuals were strained and an important function of criminal law was to regulate and deal with the tensions. Then, he raised two questions: what kind of concept should we use to interpret criminal law? Was the purpose of criminal law to protect national interests or civil rights?

At first, Prof. Chen explained what was criminal law for us. He pointed out that criminal law was the law that stipulated crime, criminal liabilities and punishment. A man who committed a crime shall be prosecuted for criminal liabilities. Penalty was a coercive method to realize the criminal liabilities.

Then, Prof. Chen started the speech from three key words: crime, criminal liabilities and punishment. From the perspective of Criminal Law, crime referred to the behavior that doing a disservice to the society and should be punished. He concluded that there was no precedent for a leader to successfully govern the country by penalty. It was unwise to rely too much on penalty.

In the second part of the lecture. Prof. Chen talked about the reasons why the country needed criminal law. Criminal law was the Great Charter of good citizens, criminals and prisoners. It not only punished crimes, but also guaranteed human rights.

Then, Prof. Chen explained the three principles of criminal law. The first one was the principle of a legally prescribed punishment for a specified crime, the second one was the principle of adaptability of crime and punishment, the third one was the principle of modesty and restraint in criminal law, which meant that criminal law should not be too aggressive, and criminal law had the characteristics of incompleteness and tolerance.

The last part of the lecture was "criminal law and the science of criminal law in China". Prof. Chen first introduced to us the development of criminal law since the founding of new China. Finally, Prof. Chen put forward his opinions about the possible subjects of criminal law in the future.

Finally, the students actively raised questions, Li Xishu asked Prof. Chen about his opinions on the abolition of the death penalty. Prof. Chen replied that the abolition of the death penalty was a trend, but it could not be achieved at present in China. Liu Xingyue asked how to improve the public recognition of criminal judgments. Prof. Chen proposed to constantly improve the rules and try to avoid different judgments in the same case. The students asked questions enthusiastically, showing a strong interest in criminal law.

In the lecture, professor Chen Jialin not only narrated the basic knowledge of criminal law to the students, but also conveyed the legal feelings to the students. The lecture stimulated the students' enthusiasm for the study of criminal law, and also responded to the students' doubts about criminal law. At last, the lecture ended successfully in the warm applause of all the students.

Edited by Su Yi & Wu Liuqing