Criminal record expungement and resocialisation: German experience and reflections for China

Abstract

Criminal record expungement is essential to the resocialisation of former offenders, as it removes long-term barriers to education, employment, and equal civic participation. Germany offers one of the most mature models in this regard, grounded in a historical, constitutional and legislative commitment to resocialisation, and operationalised through age-differentiated treatment, a phased sealing-expungement system, a nuanced balance of public interests and individual reintegration, and strong safeguards for privacy and data protection. Drawing on these insights and the longstanding jurisprudential ties between Germany and China, the paper reflects on China's experience with juvenile record sealing and record inquiry mechanisms. Despite their contributions, the practices reveal structural weaknesses—marked by fragmentation, risk-driven orientation and weak legal effect—while the application of collateral consequences across employment, education and social welfare continues to undermine resocialisation. Against the backdrop of rising minor offences and large numbers of offenders re-entering society, this paper argues that a rights-oriented sealing regime is both normatively necessary and institutionally feasible. It rests on embedding resocialisation as a guiding principle, structuring the regime through staged legislative pathways and phased design, and reinforcing legal effects through differentiated consequences and procedural safeguards.