Offence of Scalping Train and Ship Tickets: Necessity and Legislative Improvement

The offence of scalping train and ship tickets" in China's criminal law has effectively regulated the act of scalping tickets. However, with the development of the times, the type of scalping has also change, triggering the academic community to discuss about the necessity of the existence of the offence of scalping train and ship tickets. This paper takes the necessity of the offence of scalping train and ship tickets as the research object, adopts case analysis, historical analysis and other methods, combines the background of real-name system and the development of network ticketing technology. It argues that, although the form of scalping is becoming newer, it still infringes on the "travelers' right to free ticketing options" and "passenger's right to fair ticketing" and undermines the fairness of public resource allocation. The article refutes the theory of "civil agency" and "non-circulation", and emphasizes that the public welfare nature of train tickets requires criminal law protection. Finally, it suggests limiting the extension of "ticket" to train tickets, refining the incrimination amount standard, distinguishing between labour service type and opportunity monopoly type substitute purchases, and strictly regulating the ticket snatching software, so as to achieve the unity of precisely combating the crime and safeguarding the rights and interests of the citizens.