改造权力——法律职业阶层在中国的兴起

统一司法考试有利于法律职业者素质的提高和法律职业阶层的形成。世界各国都注重通过法律职业的建构来保证司法产品的高品质。中国传统社会权力结构的二元冲突体现在司法上 ,即是司法政党化、行政化和地方化。法律职业阶层的兴起是中国向现代社会转型的结构力学 ,是司法独立的保障。     

当代中国法律职业化路径选择——一个比较法社会学的研究

我国现代司法制度尚处在建立和发展过程中,法律职业化的目标不仅需要依赖法律职业自身的努力,也取决于社会条件及公众认同。基于我国司法体制的特殊性和历史背景,西方社会法律职业及其共同体的历史作用及高度自治不可能在我国重现。针对多层次的法律需求与法律职业单一化、同质化目标的矛盾,需要重新审视我国法律职业化的目标,选择一种接近于大陆法系但具有中国特色的模式与路径。法律职业在接受国家及社会的监督与规制的同时,应积极回应社会与公众的诉求,注重司法独立与司法民主的共同推进,并不断提高自治与自律程度。     

优化律师业的法制环境——周院生副司长在全国司法厅（局）长座谈会上的发言（摘要）

从律师职业产生和发展的历史看,在法律领域内形成独立并相互制约的审判制度、公诉制度、律师制度等,是司法民主制度的共同特征。律师的职业使命,与其说是为了当事人的利益,倒不如说是为了对抗司法机关的不当行为。因此,律师职业的出现与发展是司法民主的奠基石。但是,世界各国特别是大陆法系国家如日本、法国等,早期律师的地位不高,作用也是有限的,随着各国司法改革的不断推进,特别是法律职业共同体的形成和诉讼程序的改革,律师在司法制度中的地位才得以不断提高。目前,大陆法系国家普遍借鉴英美法系国家的做法,实行控辩式的诉讼模式。为了…     

司法现代化进程中的法律职业伦理

在某种程度上 ,法律职业群体的伦理素质状况决定着司法现代化的成败 ,进而决定着司法改革的成败 ,甚至决定着法治国家宏伟目标的实现程度。法律职业群体伦理的现代化是司法现代化的先导 ,是权力制约机制的必然要求 ,是防治司法腐败 ,重塑司法权威的现实需要。就当前中国的司法现状而言 ,司法现代化进程中的法律职业伦理建设应特别注重以下内容 :关注人性 ;崇尚正义 ;忠于法律 ;珍视荣誉。     

从逻辑角度谈法学教育的设计问题

当前 ,中国法制改革从司法改革着手 ,司法改革以法律职业改革为突破口 ,而法律职业改革引出司法统一考试制度 ,这为我们的法学教育提出了许多新课题 ,其中如何把法学教育制度与法律职业制度衔接起来 ,就成为国家的一大新问题。①王泽鉴先生说 ,“法学教育的基本目的 ,在于使法律人能够认识法律 ,具有法律思维、解决争议的能力。”②法学教育关系到法律职业素养 ,直接影响一国司法活动的质量和法治程度的高低。所以西方有人称法学院是法律职业的守护者 (Lawschoolsarethegatekeepersforthelegalprofession) ,对那些获准进入法学院者而言 ,法…     

司法改革与法律职业激励环境的变化

改善我国当前的法律职业激励环境应该成为司法改革的一个重要目标。基于在31个省级地区对法律职业群体的问卷调查,可以从职业待遇、职业晋升前景、职业安全保障、职业压力等多个方面系统展现我国法律职业群体当前所处的职业激励环境状态。调查问卷统计显示,我国法律职业群体对于所处的激励环境因不同年度、入额与否、职业群体、年龄层次等方面呈现出差异化的基本格局。通过对比2015-2017三年的数据可以看到,司法改革对于不同职业群体的法律职业激励环境产生了非均衡性的影响。进一步深化司法改革过程中必须兼顾我国法律职业激励环境的差异化格局,针对存在的短板来相应地调整政策。     

司法道德教化功能的探析

近来一些严重冲击传统道德的司法裁决引起公众的普遍质疑。司法活动的示范作用引领着公众的道德价值取向。探讨司法的道德教化功能具有现实的意义。司法者适法裁决、恰当行使自由裁量权、规范司法职业道德和正确选择司法政策是司法道德教化功能实现的主要途径。保持司法独立、提高司法者的法律素养和形成法律职业共同体是司法道德教化功能实现的保障。     

似水流年初心不改

岁月匆匆,一晃我到法院工作25年了.支撑我一路走来的是对法律的信仰、对法律职业不变的初心.我热爱法官职业、敬畏审判岗位,并在日复一日、年复一年的工作中享受着快乐. 不管在什么时候、不管在什么岗位,我始终把提高司法能力素质作为司法为民之基,把提升审判质效作为司法价值之尺,不懈追求、不断进取.经过艰苦努力,我过了国家司法考...     

法治与艺术:论职业法律家显贵的理由

本文初步归纳了职业法律家的出现及其地位提升的原因和意义,认为这一趋势是社会法制化的客观结果;司法的特性决定了只有职业法律家的学识化、精英化与专门化,才能在纷繁多变的现代社会里实现司法的独立与公正;而法律职业在法治中的关键作用与人的能动性特征,则使职业法律家在法治秩序建构中起到一种决定性的作用,这恰是职业法律家显出与贵要这一趋势在现代社会的本质意义所在。     

法为悦己者闻——由“彭宇”案想到的

本文以“彭宇”案岛引，对司法结论的可接受性的主体进行了一些探讨。对于几个可能成为可接受性的主体的群体——当事人、社会公众、上诉法院法官以及法律职业共同体逐一进行分析、排除，并得出了可接受性的主体应该是法律职业共同体的结论，同时指出？司法过程本身就是一个充满了权衡和判断的过程，法律职业共同体是司法结论的可接受性的主体并不排斥司法结论在某些情况下也为其他主体所接受。     

The Legal Profession as Gatekeeper to the Judiciary: Design Faults in Measures to Enhance Diversity

The gate‐keeping role played by the legal profession in the judicial appointments process gives rise to the translation of entrenched group‐based identity hierarchies from legal practice into the judiciary. The relationship between the composition of the legal profession and the judiciary has been almost completely unaffected by recent reforms designed to increase diversity in the composition of the judiciary. This article identifies legal and institutional defects which help to explain the failure to disrupt the reproduction of these patterns of appointment. We identify two particular defects which we call ‘soft target radicalism’ and ‘regulatory bind’ as important factors inhibiting change. We conclude that if the legal profession is to retain its gate‐keeping role, equality law which directly regulates legal practice should be strengthened and the regulatory binds in which the Judicial Appointments Commission and other public entities are caught should be loosened.     

Problems in the pathways to judicial success: women in the legal profession in Northern Ireland

ABSTRACT

This paper considers women’s representation in the under-explored context of the judiciary in Northern Ireland. Previous research into the experiences of women practitioners in the legal profession in Northern Ireland has indicated that women are discouraged from pursuing judicial careers for a variety of reasons associated with their gender. Further research into the gendered barriers these women practitioners face is required in order to assess the extent to which the same may impede their career progression. This paper uses a critical, social constructionist feminist approach to explore some of the gendered barriers influencing women’s under-representation in Northern Ireland’s judiciary. It is contended that representation can only be improved when women’s retention and progression through the ranks of the legal profession is addressed. Employing gender as a lens, this paper will analyse potential difficulties faced by the women solicitors and barristers in Northern Ireland in order to assess future judicial gender parity prospects in this jurisdiction as it is these women solicitors and barristers who form the female “talent pool” from which future members of the judiciary will be selected.     

Law-making functions of the Chinese courts: Judicial activism in a country of rapid social changes

The judicial production of law and the legislative production of law make a striking distinction between the two legal traditions. Despite of these differences, judges in both legal traditions in adjudicating cases have a common task, which is the application of legal rules to the facts of cases pending for judgments. The tension between the certainty and the “discretion” is universal for any legal system and, to a certain extent, it poses a hard dilemma for the rhetoric of rule of law. In the transitional countries such as China where rapid social changes and transformations take place, the judiciary and judges can not escape from taking more active roles in interpreting or even law making process. It arouses much controversy, particularly in continental legal traditions, for the judiciary is deemed to perform a mechanical role in adjudicating cases. This article intends to analyze the needs for judicial law-making function in China and its reasons. It reveals that judicial interpretation constitutes an important source of law despite its ambiguous legislative position. The article argues that judicial activism is inevitable against the transitional nature of current Chinese society.     

论作为"制度"的法学院

法律职业为限制性的职业,目前两大法系主要国家都在制度上将法学院教育作为进入法律职业的第一道门槛;法律的技艺性、智识性和一定的神秘性及其规范特征决定了法律职业必须具备共同的职业素养,凭借法学教授、法学图书资科和法学院的社区生活三要件,制度性法学院而非仅仅作为场所的法学院培育这些素养并促使法律职业共同体形成。我国现实呼唤在制度上确立法学院教育的门槛地位,建设胜任于培育法律人的制度性法学院。     

英国二元化律师制度的近期发展与融合之争

英国实行独特的二元化律师制度,事务律师与出庭律师共同为社会提供法律服务,但二者在执业资格取得、出庭权、行业组织、晋升法官的机会等方面有着传统区分。自二十世纪六十年代末期以来,政府开始介入一直自律发展的律师业,制定和推行了一系列打破传统分界的立法与改革举措,由此引发了人们关于律师业是否应当融合以及最终能否融合的争议。或许是否融合只是表面现象,律师分立的传统行业规则带来的弊端才是促使政府推行改革的真正动力。     

Demography of the Legal Profession and Racial Disparities in Sentencing

The demography of the legal profession has changed rather dramatically in recent decades, yet the consequences of a more racially and ethnically diverse pool of lawyers for the administration of justice have not received significant attention. The present research examines how the racial composition of the local legal profession affects one facet of criminal law: the sentencing of convicted defendants. Building on prior work in the fields of law, stratification, and mobility, we hypothesize that racial and ethnic disparities in sentencing are mitigated where the legal profession is more diverse. In line with this hypothesis, analysis of data from a sample of large urban counties taken between 1990 and 2002 shows that the black-white racial disparity in sentencing attenuates as the number of black attorneys in the county increases, net of the percent black in the county and other possible confounding variables. Comparable results are found for Hispanics. The findings are discussed in the context of a demographically changing legal profession and prior work on racial disparities in the justice system.     

It’s a man’s world: barriers to gender transformation in the South African judiciary. Perspectives from women advocates and attorneys

The judiciary in South Africa has made great strides in creating a diverse bench. However challenges continue as regards the appointment of women, some of which are attributable to the nature of the legal profession. Currently, there are 86 women judges in the Superior Courts nationally out of a total of 243. Judges are drawn from the professions of advocates, attorneys, magistracy and academia. Women in these areas of law are confronted with issues that have a bearing on any aspirations of future accession to the judicial bench. The aim of this article is to analyse two specific challenges faced by women advocates and attorneys that were identified over the course of the last three years through legal sector meetings. These are the unequal distribution of work and discriminatory perceptions of women’s abilities. I argue that the two factors are directly related to the inadequate representation of women on the bench. My argument will be informed by, amongst others, dialogues from the legal sector meetings, observations of the judicial appointments process and desktop research. I conclude that failing to engage with the identified obstacles will negate any efforts to further increase the number of women judges.     

It is the worst time in living history to be a law graduate: or is it? Does Australia have too many law graduates?

According to the Australian legal profession and media, law schools are producing too many graduates relative to the number of vacancies within the profession. This claim, however, is hardly new. This paper identifies a number of junctions at which there has been concern about the overproduction of law graduates, showing that this discourse appears during periods of major economic stress. It also shows that until the most recent episode of concern, the perception that there are too many law graduates relative to employment opportunities has not been supported by empirical evidence. In the past, the increasing supply of law graduates has been met with increasing demand. However, the legal profession is now facing unprecedented market competition and restructure, and opportunities in the profession for new graduates have declined. This still does not mean that the law schools are producing too many graduates. The current cohort of graduates is likely to continue into a professional occupation, although not necessarily in private legal practice, and there is a lack of lawyers working in disadvantaged communities.     

治外法权与中国司法近代化之关系——调查法权委员会个案研究

中国司法近代化与治外法权问题紧密相关,调查法权委员会及其报告书是近代中国撤废治外法权的一个阶段性标志。通过考证调查法权委员会组织的前后经过,对作为调查结论的报告书内容进行分析,可以认为该事件强化了近代中国自学习西方法律和司法制度以来一直存在的为废除治外法权而改良法律和司法的论证逻辑;导致了在此之后发动民众,以运动的方式参与法律和司法事务的先河,从而对中国法律和司法近代化产生了深远影响。     

论法律形式与法律渊源的界分

法律形式与法律渊源的关系比较复杂,但是我国学者一般将之作为等同的概念使用。这种观点导致了某些学术上的混乱,也导致法律形式和法律渊源各自的作用没能够充分发挥。正确界定法律渊源和法律形式,是实现二者区分的逻辑起点。法律形式是法律文本的表现方式;法律渊源是裁判规范的集合体,法官从中发现裁决案件所需要的裁判依据和裁判理由。由此可以得出二者之区分:从实践来看,法律渊源之法是指司法之法,法律形式之法是指立法之法;从内容来看,法律渊源之法是具有一定开放性的规则体系,而法律形式则是具有一定封闭性的规则体系;从路径来看,法律渊源之法是在司法适用过程发现和寻找的,法律形式之法是立法中形成的。司法适用之法完全局限于制定法之时,二者会出现种属统一,但是其概念内涵依然有着重大区别。