《中英對照讀新聞》Chinese court introduces computer system to decide prison sentences 中國法院用電腦系統量刑

◎陳成良

A Chinese court has been criticized for using a computer program to help judges decide prison sentences.

中國一個法院因利用電腦程式協助法官判刑，而受到抨擊。

The Zichuan District Court in Zibo, east China's Shandong Province, has reportedly used the software in more than 1,500 criminal cases.

據報導，中國東部山東省淄博市淄川區法院已經在1,500多宗刑事案件中使用這套軟體。

The program, created by a Beijing-based company, covers about 100 different crimes including robbery, rape, murder and crimes against the state.

這套軟體由北京一家公司製作，涵蓋約100種不同罪行，包括搶劫、強姦、謀殺及反國家罪。

The judge enters details of a case and the system produces a sentence, reports the South China Morning Post.

南華早報報導，法官輸入案情細節，這套系統就會作出判決。

Chief Judge Wang Hongmei said the software can avoid abuse of discretionary power of judges as a result of corruption or insufficient training.

法院刑庭庭長王紅梅稱，這套軟體能避免因貪瀆或受訓不足，導致法官濫用自由裁量權。

But the move has been criticized by a section of the Chinese media as a farce that highlighted the laziness of the court.

不過，中國有一派媒體批評此舉荒唐可笑，凸顯法院怠惰。

Some experts argued that trials were very complicated, requiring a good grasp of legal knowledge and plenty of practical experience. Therefore only decisions of judges are trustful.

一些專家認為，審判相當複雜，需要精通法律常識及豐富的實務經驗才能勝任。因此，唯有法官的裁決才可以信任。

新聞辭典

criminal：犯罪的；犯法的。Robbery is a criminal act.（搶劫是犯罪行為）。criminal在法律上是指「刑事的」，criminal law 刑法，criminal court 刑事法庭。criminal當名詞，則指「罪犯」。

discretionary：自由裁量的；可隨意使用的。名詞為discretion，指斟酌（或行動）的自由、處理權。It is within your discretion to settle the matter.（這件事你可以自行處理）。

farce：可笑的行為；滑稽荒唐的事。The prisoner's trial was a farce. （對該犯的審訊是一場鬧劇）。