actio libera in causa

• Main Authors: Sih-Jie Hsu, 許絲捷
• Other Authors: Dong-mao Lin
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2007
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/24559378922072996769

碩士 === 東吳大學 === 法律學系 === 95 === If one day, an offender has already planed und intended to attack his foe under the cover of being drunk. After drinking lots of alcoholic beverages, he turns drunk und did strike his foe. How could we judge this case? This is the basic problem in the discussion of voluntary intoxication (Actio libera in causa). The issue is that, in above mentioned situation, the offender may use insanity defenses and stress that his behavior was in the state of drunkenness. Therefore, although there are diverse theories provided by academics and legal practice to solve this dilemma, it is still unable to solve this problem perfectly and without being criticized, due to the challenges from the principle of No Punishment without Law (nulla poena sine lege) and the principle of culpability. Is it really possible to deal with all the phenomena of voluntary intoxications (Actio libera in causa) by using the theories at hand? After discussing the foundation of punishment, the following issue is how to identify the time when criminal attempt begins and how to tackle the problem of withdrawal from criminal attempt? Moreover, how should an offender, who voluntarily loses capacity for actions or is in the feeble-minded state (he is not fully responsible for his criminal act), be judged? After discussing the problems concerning the principles in criminal law, this master-degree thesis then gives attention to different types of actio libera in causa, including intentional actio libera in causa, negligent actio libera in causa, and actio libera in causa by omission. However, based on our imagination and knowledge, does actio libera in causa either just resolve the conflict caused by the fact, that criminal behavior does not coincide with criminal culpability, or only describe the types of crime actually? Ultimately, I review the latest Amendment in Taiwanese Criminal Act (2005), namely Article 19 Section 3, and examine the relationship between the latest amendment and actio libera in causa in another chapter. For example, is this amendment capable of handling the disputes in actio libera in causa? In addition, is this amendment include the issue in regard to “illegal behavior in a drunken stupor” (Vollrausch)? If not, does the phenomenon “illegal behavior in a drunken stupor” (Vollrausch) need to be legislated in Taiwan, like German and Swiss Criminal Act? Consequently, I hope, from these succeeding discussions, this master-degree thesis could provide some new perspectives on the problems of actio libera in causa.