Abstract：

There have been many criminal law scholars at home and abroad, who have questioned the constitutionality of life imprisonment on the basis of the principle of respecting human dignity and accurately interpreting the principle of proportionality. However, even for the absolute form of life imprisonment, commonly referred to as "serving the full sentence without the possibility of parole," it can be argued in theory that it is more lenient than the death penalty, and has reasonable justification behind the institutional design. Therefore, it should not be deemed unconstitutional. The constitutionality of such punitive measures has also been affirmed through constitutional practices in foreign jurisdictions. In China, the Criminal Law Amendment IX stipulates life imprisonment exclusively for individuals convicted of corruption and bribery crimes who were originally sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve. Although this provision prohibits commutation and parole, it is not easy to draw the conclusion that it is unconstitutional. Nevertheless, there is room for improvement in this provision, which is considered to have "overall constitutionality." Consequently, it is crucial to seek harmonious balance between punishment and constitutional values and make appropriate adjustment to the current regulations on life imprisonment within the framework of the criminal law. In future revisions of the Criminal Law, it is advisable not to include life imprisonment in the general provisions. Instead, life imprisonment should remain limited to an extremely narrow scope of application. Additionally, the phrase "no parole" should be removed from the expression "life imprisonment, no commutation or parole," retaining only the prohibition of commutation. This adjustment would allow for parole for offenders who have served more than 26 years of their sentence. By aligning life imprisonment without parole for those originally sentenced to death with the restriction on commutation for death row inmates as stated in Article 50(2) of the Criminal Law, it ensures that life imprisonment is a more severe criminal policy than the restriction on commutation, thereby eliminating the absolute nature of life imprisonment.

Keyword：

life imprisonment; human dignity; principle of proportionality; overall constitutionality; parole