Asylum Claims and Drug Offences: the Seriousness Threshold of Article 1F(b) of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the UN Drug Conventions

Asylum claims lodged by individuals who were involved in drugactivities prior to their entry into the country of asylum raisecomplex questions as to whether they have committed a seriousnon-political crime under Article 1F(b) of the 1951 Conventionand thus shall be excluded from refugee protection. The 1988 UN Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugsand Psychotropic Substances (Trafficking Convention) —which is the relevant international framework for drugs in thefield of international criminal law — indiscriminatelyconsiders all forms of supply related drug offences as ‘seriouscriminal offences’, irrespective of individual criminalresponsibility. This conflicts with the complex nature of thedrug industry particularly in countries affected by armed conflictand proportionality considerations inherent to Article 1F(b). Articles 31 and 32 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treatiesprovide a possibility to reconcile the ambiguous wording ofthe Trafficking convention with Article 1F(b) by means of interpretation.Offences for personal consumption as the least serious drugoffences do not reach the seriousness threshold of Article 1F(b).Trafficking offences in turn attain the seriousness thresholdonly if aggravating circumstances prevail over mitigating circumstances,and if there are no grounds for rejecting individual responsibilityor defenses to criminal liability. International, large-scaleactivities carried out by transnational organized criminal groupsare factors that make drug offences most serious.     

国际刑法的国内立法研究

在国内刑法中确认和体现国际刑法规范是缔约国应尽的国际义务,也是有效打击国际犯罪的需要。国际刑法公约中有关国际犯罪的实体法规定、程序和证据规则的规定、刑事合作的规定、预防性措施的规定等,应当成为国内立法体现国际刑法规范的主要内容。在中国,国内立法确认和体现国际刑法公约的主要途径有制定单行刑事法律、修改补充现有法律条款、立法解释和司法解释等。     

国际航空犯罪法人刑事责任及其国内立法转化研究

2010年《北京公约》和《北京议定书》首次规定了国际航空犯罪法人责任,法人责任以法人的高级管理人员代表法人实施劫持航空器等国际航空犯罪为要件,法人为此承担刑事、民事或行政责任。公约对法人犯罪及其责任的立法需要转化为国内法才能适用。世界各国国内法对法人犯罪及其责任的态度差别较大,英国、加拿大、法国等国刑法规定有航空犯罪的法人刑事责任,德国国内法规定有航空犯罪的法人行政责任,意大利刑法规定有航空犯罪的法人民事责任,我国仅在个别航空犯罪中规定有法人犯罪及其刑事责任。我国法人犯罪及其刑事责任的立法和理论具有较强的包容性,可在我国刑法中取消法人犯罪法定化限制,全面规定包括航空犯罪在内的法人犯罪及其刑事责任。     

The Case for a Rational Reconstruction of Consent in Criminal Law

This article argues for consistency in criminal law and the need for 'rational reconstruction' of the law where necessary to achieve this. It focuses Parliament's failure to respect the need for consistency by passing a statutory definition of consent in the Sexual Offences Act 2003 which appears to apply only to sexual offences. As a result, the law on consent risks being a patchwork of statute and ad hoc case law, without any overarching principle to deal with new situations and different offences. The consequent lack of certainty, accessibility, predictability and fairness is compared to the standards of the European Convention on Human Rights. The statutory definition of consent in the context of the sexual offences is assessed critically as a model which could be used in offences against the person and property offences. The article concludes that until Parliament responds to the need for certainty and consistency by legislating on consent, there can be no rational reconstruction of consent under the Sexual Offences Act 2003.     

China’s Implementation of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime

Seven years since signing and four years into its implementation, how well is China living up to the terms and spirit of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC)? This paper reviews China’s compliance with UNTOC’s requirements concerning domestic criminal law and concludes that current P.R.C. law is substantially in conformity with UNTOC, though further legislative action is necessary to achieve full compliance. Looking beyond the law on the books, China continues to be a staunch supporter of international cooperation, as called for by UNTOC. Yet UNTOC has received scant attention in China compared with other multilateral instruments in the criminal justice realm. The timeline of reform begs the question whether UNTOC is responsible for goading China into taking any concrete legislative action. This paper posits that, in the absence of UNTOC, China’s domestic law would look exactly the same today.     

The European Convention as an Invigorator of Domestic Law in the Netherlands

This article examines the impact of the European Convention on Human Rights on domestic law in the Netherlands, with special regard to criminal procedure. The Convention has contributed to slow but profound transformations in the structure of criminal proceedings and to making these proceedings more adversarial and more rights oriented. It has opened up the Dutch system of criminal justice to the world and forced it to adapt itself to international standards of fairness. As a result, this system has become less naïve, more sophisticated, and more mature. Moreover, the case of the Netherlands illustrates how the Convention acts as a motor of convergence between civil law and common law systems of criminal justice.     

The Concept of a Joint Criminal Enterprise and Domestic Modes of Liability for Parties to a Crime: A Comparison of German and English Law

The concept of a Joint Criminal Enterprise (JCE) has becomea useful tool in international criminal law. It allows courtsto hold individuals criminally liable for group activities towhich they have contributed in a criminally relevant way. Theconcept allows for an attribution of criminal responsibilityof unforeseen consequences of such group activities, and itseems to enable the prosecution and the courts to extend criminalliability to high-level perpetrators that use subordinated personsfor their criminal aims. The advantages of such a tool are obvioussince the crimes under international criminal law are mostlyof a systematic, large-scale and collective character, whiledomestic criminal law mainly deals with less complex crimesthat are normally committed by individuals who can easily belinked to the crime. Due to this empirical or criminologicalfact, it seems logical that the normal modes of liability forparties to a crime used in domestic criminal law need to beadapted, and that a rather extensive assignment of criminalliability for secondary parties is justified in internationalcriminal law. This article seeks to question this assumptionby undertaking a comparative analysis of domestic modes of liability.The author aims to show, on the one hand, to what extent theconcept of JCE is in line with the general concept of partiesto a crime in domestic criminal law. On the other hand, theauthor argues that abandoning the idea of JCE as an independentmode of liability may lead to better compliance with the principlesof legality and individual criminal responsibility and therebyincrease the legitimacy of international criminal law.     

《网络犯罪公约》中的证据调查制度与我国相关刑事程序法比较

20 0 1年 11月 8日欧洲委员会《网络犯罪公约》是国际社会合作打击网络犯罪的第一个国际公约 ,其主要目标是在缔约方之间建立打击网络犯罪的共同的刑事政策、一致的法律体系和国际协助。该公约第二章“国家层面上的措施”的第二部分“程序法”规定了有关电子证据调查的特殊程序 ,为各国制定电子证据刑事调查制度提供了一套具有开创价值的立法模型。本文对《网络犯罪公约》中的程序法规定和我国相关立法进行了比较 ,并提出了完善我国电子证据刑事调查措施的立法建议     

战争罪的国内立法研究

战争罪是在战争或者武装冲突中发生的违反战争法规、严重侵犯人权的罪行。战争罪主要是国际法上的罪行,但国内法院也承担着追究战争罪罪犯刑事责任的重要任务。将我国缔结的国际公约里规定的战争罪转化为国内刑法上的犯罪,是我国作为缔约国应当履行的条约义务。但我国《刑法》只有第446条和第448条规定的两个犯罪才基本符合国际法对于战争罪的定义。我国《刑法》应当专章设立“危害人类和平与安全罪”,使其包括战争罪等核心罪行,这样可以更好地维护我国的刑事管辖权,有效地避免我国公民受到国际刑事法庭的审判,以便享受《国际刑事法院规约》补充管辖原则提供的益处。     

Data Theft? Cybercrime and the Increasing Criminalization of Access to Data

The use of computers in the commission of crime, so-called ??cybercrime??, presents a considerable challenge to law enforcement. Central to the prosecution of cybercrime is the offence of unauthorised access to a computer, or ??hacking??. Originally conceived of as analogous to trespass, the trend in some jurisdictions has been toward punishing access to computer data per se. This issue also arises under the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime which criminalizes ??offences against the confidentiality, integrity and availability of computer data and systems??. As the criminal law traditionally provides protection only to limited forms of information, the increasing use of the criminal law to protect computer data therefore confers on it a status not enjoyed by information stored in other forms. Drawing upon the laws of Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, this article explores the increasing criminalization of access to computer data. It describes the evolution of cybercrime laws and considers ways in which problems of over breadth may be avoided. Questions will also be raised as to the appropriate role of the criminal law in protecting information.     

论国际刑法中的 “大国一致” 原则

在国内学术界,关于国际刑法基本原则的研究,一般以传统国内刑法的基本原则为基本框架展开,很少有学者论及＂大国一致＂原则。在国际政治及联合国机制的共同作用下,国际刑法中罪名的形成可以不受国内刑法中罪刑法定主义、罪刑等价主义、法律不溯及既往、一事不二理等原则的限制,某行为是否入罪、是否审判、管辖权如何分配的依据只是国际社会尤其大国对特定行为的态度表示。本文分析并论述了＂大国一致＂这一特有原则作为国际刑法基本原则的基本依据、演进脉络及具体作用。     

论国际航空私法条约适用的强制性

条约的适用是国际法上一个重大的理论问题,也是国内法院在司法审判中必须面对的实践问题。1929年《华沙公约》建立了强制性适用原则,只要是公约定义的国际运输,必须适用公约。这一原则被其后包括1999年《蒙特利尔公约》在内的国际航空私法条约予以继承和保留,成为国际航空私法条约的鲜明特色。以《华沙公约》为代表的国际航空私法条约,其适用并未完全遵循国际法传统的条约适用理论,当事人国籍国是否批准条约并不是适用的前提条件,而是取决于航空运输合同所确定的始发地点和目的地点所在的国家是不是公约的缔约国或当事国,并以此为基础,建立起国际航空私法条约自身不同于其他国际法条约的适用理论和规则体系。"地点标准"是《华沙公约》适用的核心标准,其在一定程度上突破了条约适用的一般理论,是对条约适用一般理论的发展,是条约适用上的重要创新。司法实践中,应抛弃固有思维,从条约文本规定出发,才可避免法律适用上的错误。     

On the Use of Criminal Law Notions in Determining State Responsibility for Genocide

On the face of it the 1948 Convention on Genocide appears tobe a treaty that on the one hand obliges contracting statesto criminalize and punish genocide in their domestic legal systemsand, on the other, arranges for interstate judicial cooperationfor the repression of genocide. The International Court of Justice(ICJ), in the Bosnia v. Serbia judgment, has instead held thatthe Convention, in addition to providing for the criminal liabilityof individuals, also imposes on contracting states as internationalsubjects a set of obligations (to refrain from engaging in genocide,to prevent and punish the crime, and also to refrain for allthose categories of conduct enumerated in Article III: conspiracy,incitement, attempt, complicity). This approach raises two questions:(i) is it warranted so to broaden states' responsibility? (ii)when applying such Article III categories to state responsibility,should an international court such as the ICJ that pronounceson interstate disputes rely upon criminal law categories toestablish whether a state incurs responsibility for conspiracy,complicity, and so on? Or should it instead forge autonomouslegal categories better suited to state responsibility? Theauthor sets forth doubts about whether it is appropriate totranspose criminal law categories to the corpus of internationallaw of state responsibility. In particular, his misgivings relateto the category of ‘state complicity in genocide’as set out by the Court: once the Court decided to transplantthis criminal law category to state responsibility, arguablyit should have relied upon the rigorous concept of complicity,as derived by international criminal courts from case law andthe relevant practice of states, rather than apply a notionthat finds no basis in international criminal law, in comparativecriminal law or in state practice.     

我国反腐败刑事立法之犯罪化与轻刑化问题研究

在国际刑事法律公约的订立和各国刑事立法过程中，犯罪化和非犯罪化一直是刑事政策和刑事立法的基本问题。腐败行为犯罪化的意义还在于，随着国际和国内反腐败斗争的不断深入，对公职人员的廉洁性、廉政性的要求越来越高，不廉洁和不廉政行为范围更加扩大，那些原来属于职业道德规范规制的对象，随着人们对这些腐败行为的犯罪化的立法要求和呼声的高涨，这些行为便有可能上升为刑事法律规制的对象。而轻刑化是指对于犯罪的处罚倾向于用较轻的刑罚取代较重刑罚处罚的刑：事政策措施，它表现为用较轻的刑种（如监禁或有期徒刑）取代较重的刑种（如死刑或无期徒刑），或者在同一刑种中用较轻的处罚（如3年以下轻的刑期）取代较重的处罚（如10年以上重的刑期），甚至包括本应用剥夺自由的刑罚取而代之用剥夺财产刑（如没收财产或罚金）和资格刑（如剥夺政治权利）的刑罚措施惩治腐败犯罪。在国际上，轻刑化作为国际刑事立法和司法的趋势，正日益引起各国的重视。从表面上看，犯罪化和轻刑化是两种的对立的刑事政策，但实际上，这两者是可以兼容并蓄的。因此，对腐败犯罪行为的犯罪化与对该行为在处罚上的轻刑化并不矛盾，两者在理论与实践上都可以达到高度的统一。     

Fighting Corruption: The Peruvian Experience

In Peru the power system put in place by the former PresidentAlberto Fujimori created a network of illegality in which manycrimes were committed (e.g. various forms of human rights violations,including torture, murders, arms and drug trafficking and corruption).These offences were brought to light simultaneously by distinctbut intertwined investigations. In order to prosecute and punishthese crimes a special Anti-corruption System was established,which consisted of both special investigative authorities aswell as specialized anti-corruption courts. In addition, a specialsystem of Benefits for Effective Collaboration with the Prosecutionhas been put in place covering organized crime, as well as customand terrorist offences. In this respect, negotiated justiceconstitutes a very important instrument in the hands of thestate to fight organized crime. However, the prioritizationof the principles of expeditiousness and effectiveness, togetherwith very broad powers conferred on the prosecutors, impliesthe risk of undermining other equally important principles,such as the legality of evidence (legalidad de la prueba), respectfor the rights of the defence and the principle of equalitybefore the law. Finally, the author emphasizes the role thatcould be played by public international law to facilitate internationalcooperation for securing evidence and the arrest of accusedpersons, as well as to enable Peruvian authorities to identifyand seize the proceeds of crimes.     

荷兰刑事诉讼权利保障的法律基石

荷兰刑事司法受到了现代人权法律的深刻影响。在荷兰刑事诉讼过程中,诉讼权利保障主要依据国际性和地区性的人权条约以及相关国内法。荷兰刑事诉讼程序运作体现了对人权的真切关怀：荷兰签署加入了多部国际公约和欧洲区域公约,国际条约、欧洲人权法院的判例法都对荷兰刑事诉讼中的人权保障起到了重要作用。在国内法体系中,荷兰的《宪法》、《刑事诉讼法》以及其他法律也规定了刑事诉讼程序权利保障。荷兰的法院、检察机关组织运作体制和诉讼制度设计较为完备,保障了诉讼参与者在刑事诉讼程序中的权利。在刑事审前程序中,检察机关发挥了主导作用,但参与其问的侦查法官则对检察官和警察的侦查权形成了有效制衡。从刑事诉讼权利保障法律体系的整体而言,荷兰审前程序权利保障的体制属于适度的职权主义诉讼模式,而审判程序中的权利保障体制则兼采当事人主义和职权主义的混合式诉讼模式。     

国际商事仲裁中当事人意思自治领域的新发展——以《纽约公约》第5、6、7条的修改为中心

《纽约公约》是当今承认与执行外国仲裁裁决领域最具影响力的国际公约,自1958年生效以来,已经得到约140个国家的承认。《纽约公约》对促进国际经贸的发展作出了巨大的贡献,但在近半个世纪的适用实践中,它也暴露出一些不足,在某些方面还引起了较大的争议。本文从仲裁的本质出发,论述如何通过对《纽约公约》的修改,扩大当事人意思自治的范围,营造一个更有利于国际商事仲裁的环境。     

Social Policy and Sexual Offenders: Contrasting United States' and European Policies

This article contrasts US and European social policies with regard to sexual offending. The three waves of social policy which are discernible in the United States' history (sexual psychopath laws, the focus on the domestic sex crimes under the influence of feminism, and a renewed attention towards sexual predators) are first described. The most significant policy trend at present concerning sex offences focuses on government controls after release. The broad overview of European countries' solutions to the same problems, concentrates on the contrasts and similarities between Europe and the United States. At present, the United States and parts of Europe are both focused on ways to increase public protection from sex offenders, particularly in ways outside the context of the criminal law. The harm caused by sex offences, in combination with the persistent nature of some patterns of sex offending, has caused citizens and governments to push for specialised remedies and powers.     

Ignorance of the Criminal Law,and Duties to Avoid it

‘Ignorance of the law is no defence,’ so we are told from an early stage in our legal studies. Or, to be more accurate, ‘ignorance of the criminal law is no defence to a criminal charge.’ That appears to be the rule in this country, apart from a couple of well‐established exceptions and another possible one. I will argue that it is a preposterous doctrine, resting on insecure foundations within the criminal law and on questionable propositions about the political obligations of individuals and of the State. In developing these arguments, I will draw attention to the differing problems of ignorance of the criminal law in three broad areas – regulatory offences, serious crime, and offences of omission – with a view to suggesting that there is a great deal more that the State needs to do if the issue of ignorance of the criminal law is to be dealt with adequately and fairly. I begin by scrutinising the relevant rule of English criminal law and the justifications offered for it. I then go on to situate the ‘ignorance‐of‐law’ doctrine in the context of the principle of legality and the rule of law, those bastions of liberal criminal law theory. Part three then explores the three broad areas of the criminal law, and parts four and five carry the debate into the political obligations of individuals and of the State in these matters.     

关于我国网络犯罪刑事管辖权立法的思考

在确定网络犯罪刑事管辖权时,适用传统的刑事管辖权理论面临诸多困境。许多国家的立法以及《网络犯罪公约》都在尝试解决这一问题,而我国关于网络犯罪管辖权的立法明显滞后。为了惩治和打击网络犯罪,我国应根据可能、公正、方便及国际协调原则,分别确立网络犯罪的国内管辖权和国际管辖权。对网络犯罪的国内管辖,可适用刑法中的地域管辖理论,借鉴民事网络案件的管辖权规则,以网络犯罪的IP地址作为确定管辖权的依据。在网络犯罪的国际管辖权方面,建议确立以属地管辖为基础、以法益受到损害的关联性为补充的有限扩张原则;同时,应通过参加或缔结网络犯罪刑事管辖的多边或双边国际条约来解决网络犯罪刑事管辖权的冲突问题。