在實質法治國裡，法益保護是刑法正當性的起點，法益侵害是實質犯罪概念之首位且必要元素。詳言之：刑法每個罪都可以分為行為規範與制裁規範兩部分，以這區分為基礎來觀察──形式上，法益是會受行為在因果關係上侵害的、因此被以行為規範保護的客體，而行為規範本身受到制裁規範的保護；實質上，憲法定義的法益，是社會和平生活中，人格自由發展的外在、真實（即可受因果侵害的）、基本條件。這個定義的功能不在於表列出特定的法益清單，因為人格發展的條件與時俱變，它的功能是供作憲法上的審查步驟與學術批判的施力點。正確認識憲法對各種基本自由的保護意旨，是正確建構法益理論的前提，而以法益理論為基礎的犯罪理論精緻化，提供法治國一個自我檢討、深化的契機。 / In a state under the rule of law, the very beginning of legitimation of criminal law is protection of legal-good (in German: “Rechtsgut”). Infringing legally-protected-good constitutes the first and necessary element of substantial concept of crime. In detail: Every criminal article can be separated into two parts, behavior norm and sanction norm, and can be observed under this distinction. – Formally, legal-good is protected by behavior norm, because it is causal damageable by human conducts, whereas behavior norm itself is protected by sanction norm. Substantially, legal-good as a concept defined by the Constitution implicates the external, real (i.e. causally damageable) and basic requirements for personality development in a peaceful social life. The function of this conceptual definition is not aim at listing a specific catalog of legal-good, because requirements for personality development change with time. Its very function is to serve as constitutional reviewing procedures of criminal law and pivot for academic criticism. Proper comprehension of the objective of constitutionally guaranteed fundamental freedoms is the premise of proper construction of legal-good theory. On the other hand, refinement of criminal doctrines based on legal-good theory provides an opportunity for a state under the rule of law to self examine and thoughts deepen.