Abstract: There have been controversies over formal interpretation and substantial interpretation concerning China's criminal law interpretation, which originated from the formal criminal theory and the substantial criminal theory in Germany and Japan. Although Chinese scholars emphasized that formal interpretation and substantial interpretation in China are different from those in Germany and Japan in the core elements. In the context of introducing the class criminal theory system, the discussion on the formal interpretation and substantial interpretation should be focused on the elements that constitute a crime. From the perspective of legality principle, and considering different functions of legislation and law enforcement in the criminal law, and human rights protection, the formal interpretation is more reasonable. Besides, based on objective interpretation, we should amend the emphasis by formal interpretation on excluding all incriminating functions of substantial interpretation, and recognize the incriminating significance of "likelihood of national forecast possibility". Of course, the position relationship of formal interpretation or form judgment anterior to substantial judgment is based on class criminal theory system. Therefore, the adoption of formal interpretation must be based on three-class criminal theory system.

Key words: formal interpretation theory, substantial interpretation theory, legally prescribed punishment, the national forecast possibility, class criminal theory