A Legal Study of the Crime─Sexual Intercourse and Obscene Behaviors with Children─as an Abstract Dangerous Crime

Article 227 of the R.O.C. Criminal Law regulates that people who have sexual intercourse or obscene behaviors with Children and Juveniles under 16 years old should be punished by criminal sentences, notwithstanding the intent of the victim (but the sentences is different according to the ages of the victim). Article 176 and 176a of the German Criminal Law have the similar regulations. The formality of the sentences of the criminal law seems to set a strict line on the legality of the sexual behaviors of people—it is not allowed to have sexual relationships with people under certain age, which means children or teenagers. This regulation restricts not only the freedom of choosing the subjects to whom have sexual behaviors, but also has the effects that people under certain age shall not perform sexual behaviors with other people. There are always different theories on the protected interest of this strictly prohibited regulation. From the protection of sexual customs or sexual morality at first, to the sexual self-determination, or the sexual development, or the integral development of children and teenagers of the modern times, this issue is still unsettled. The different theories of the protected interest could lead to different explanations of whether there should be an element of actual damages or dangerous results in the application of the criminal regulation. This thesis is aimed to discuss the protected interest of this regulation, analyze whether it is an abstract dangerous criminal regulation, the legality of this regulation itself, and how to interpret this regulation in a more narrow way.