Daily NK Serious concerns with Article 24 of the Amendment to the Development of Inter-Korean Relations Act 2020.12.24 4:24pm “‘The principle of clarity,’ an expression of the principle of a constitutional state, is required for all legislation restricting basic rights. If a criminal cannot know what is prohibited and what is allowed in accordance with the meaning of norms, this will lead to weakened legal stability and predictability and enable arbitrary enforcement by law enforcement authorities.” — Compilation of Judicial Reports 14-1, 1, 8., 2000hun-ga8, Jan. 31, 2002, Constitutional Court The “principle of clarity” mentioned above means that people must be able to clearly understand what is illegal or legal from what is said in laws. As an example of the principle of clarity, the UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) pointed out the ambiguity present in the North Korean Criminal Code. The COI’s report, which was released in February 2014, says that “those who illegally cross the border are regularly considered to have committed ‘treason against the Fatherland by defection’ under article 62 of the Criminal Code. This crime is punishable by a minimum of five years of ‘reform through labor.’ Illegal border crossers are alternatively charged under another of the vaguely defined ‘anti-state or anti-people crimes.’” The Ministry of People’s Security (MPS, now called the Ministry of Social Security) reportedly issued a decree in 2010 making the crime of defection a “crime of treachery against the nation.” Therefore, the COI recommended that North Korean authorities “reform the Criminal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure to abolish vaguely worded ‘anti-state and anti-people crimes.’” Thus, there is a serious concern that the lack of the “principle of clarity” in North Korea’s Criminal Code frequently leads to “arbitrary detention,” which is considered a crime against humanity.