Research on the Legal Characterization of “Advance Payment of Fine”

"Advance Payment of Fine" is the amount of money that is paid by the accused and their relatives so as to get a lenient treatment to the defendant after they have an objective estimate in the prospective penalty of the defendant. The money is usually submitted before the judgment of the court has been made and it will be treated as fine for the later judgment. "Advance Payment of Fine" is essentially a combination of the two systems of deposit in security and statutory. Based on theories of debt of future and debt of public law which are originated from private and public laws, the legal nature of "Advance Payment of Fine" can be reasonab1y positioned, which is actually the guarantee for the future debt in public law——the deposit of the future fine.