The Relationship Between the Crime of Offering Bribes and the Crime of Taking Bribes
Under Chinese criminal law,a state functionary who solicits or accepts prop-erty for the legitimate interests of others(simply taking bribes)is guilty of accepting bribes,but a person who offers property to a state functionary for legitimate interests(simply offering bribes)is not guilty of the crime of offering bribes.Thus,the relationship between the crime of offering bribes and the crime of taking bribes has a dual attribute,that is,they may be symmet-rical crimes or independent crimes,but they are not joint crimes in a general way.In cases where a state functionary has accepted bribes offered by a trustee or the two parties have formed an agreement on how to accept bribes,the crime of offering bribes and the crime of taking bribes are symmetrical crimes.Under these circumstances,the acts of both parties are based on the premise that the other party carries out symmetrical acts of bribery crimes.However,this symmetrical structure does not mean that both parties'acts constitute a crime.In cases where a state functionary solicits but does not receive bribes and has not reached an agreement with the other party and in cases where a trustee simply promises to give bribes or offers bribes objective-ly,but the state functionary does not take or agree to accept such bribes,the crime of offering bribes and the crime of taking bribes are separate and independent crimes,rather than symmet-rical crimes.The establishment of symmetrical crimes only requires the existence of two or more actors'symmetrical acts,rather than that all acts involved constitute a crime,nor does it mean that symmetrical crimes are joint crimes.Therefore,as long as a state functionary receives im-proper remuneration for his act of duty,his act constitutes the crime of taking bribes,even if a real business relationship exists between the involved parties.Even if the other party who offers the property does not have the intention to bribe,or the other party is tricked into offering the property,or the offered property falls within the other party's legitimate expenditure,or the other party even profits from this expenditure,or the other party does not have the intention to bribe,the symmetrical act of the state functionary can still constitute the crime of taking bribes.Since there are circumstances in which the crime of offering bribes and the crime of taking bribes may be independent of each other,neither the establishment of the crime of taking bribes is premised on the giving of property by the other party,nor the establishment of the crime of of-fering bribes is premised on the acceptance of the concerned property by the state functionary.Since the relationship between the crime of offering bribes and the crime of taking bribes is not that of general joint crimes,the criteria for the accomplishment of each crime involved are dif-ferent.Therefore,the fact that one party has accomplished his crime does not necessarily mean that the other party has also accomplished his crime.
万方数据
维普
