New laws but few cases: understanding the challenges to the investigation and prosecution of human trafficking cases

All fifty states and the federal government have passed laws to combat human trafficking, but we know little about their effectiveness. Using data from investigative case records and court files for 140 human trafficking cases in 12 U.S. counties and qualitative interviews with law enforcement, prosecutors, and victim service providers, we examined the characteristics of and challenges to investigation and prosecution of human trafficking cases under new state and federal laws. We found that few human trafficking cases are identified by local law enforcement, most cases forwarded to state prosecution are sex trafficking cases involving U.S. citizens, and state prosecutors overwhelmingly charge human trafficking offenders with other, lesser crimes. The legal, institutional, and attitudinal challenges that constrain prosecution of human trafficking are similar across study sites despite varying types of state antitrafficking legislation. Study results suggest prosecution of human trafficking cases is challenging. If new laws are to be effective, then local law enforcement and prosecutors should work collaboratively and adopt proactive human trafficking investigative strategies to identify both labor and sex trafficking cases. There is social benefit to holding traffickers accountable, but more emphasis should be placed on policies that identify and serve victims.     

欺诈:一种竞争法的理论诠释——兼论《消费者权益保护法》第49条的适用与完善

欺诈在合同法中是一种意思瑕疵 ,在信息社会里 ,欺诈作为误导公众的行为 ,是一种典型的不正当竞争行为。《消费者权益保护法》不能简单地视为合同法的特别法 ,欺诈的研究不应拘泥于意思表示的狭隘范围 ,反欺诈的消费者权益保护应纳入反不正当竞争法的范畴来考察。从竞争法的角度来看 ,欺诈不要求行为人具有主观故意 ,一种行为只要在客观上有误导消费者的效果 ,就足以构成欺诈。欺诈的救济措施 ,在主体设计、补救措施和赔偿责任上均有区别于传统合同欺诈的制度设计。     

Sociolegal change in consumer fraud: From victim-offender interactions to global networks

Advances in technology have transformed fraud against consumers from face-to-face, victim-offender interactions to a crime that now transcends international boundaries. Although consumer protection issues have been of interest to investigative journalists and literary scholars for centuries, the topic has only recently been subject to serious criminological inquiry. Employing the American consumer protection movement as an historical framework, we examine the evolution of consumer fraud. Our review documents that progressive social and legal changes in consumer protection and corporate regulation, as well as developments in criminological research, correspond to prominent literary exposés of the time. In today's technological age, such a reactive response to consumer fraud is neither efficient nor effective. Contemporary criminologists need to simultaneously address the questions of ‘how’ fraud is perpetrated and ‘why’ it occurs. Toward this end, we identify methodological strategies and data sources to promote empirical and theoretical understanding of consumer fraud, and to ultimately contribute to multi-national crime control policy.     

论侦查权配置的内在原理

刑事侦查权的配置应当围绕检察官为中心而进行.作为侦查权的法定主体,检察官具有控制警察活动的合法性,负有防止警察国家重现的重要使命.我国目前一定程度上存在着警察权恣意、失范,侦查程序缺乏监督、制约的情况,在这样的背景下,强化检察机关的权限和地位,将其塑造成为审前程序的主导者和警察权力的控制者,就成为必然的路径选择.     

Public‐Private Arbitration and the Public Interest under English Law

Together with the increase in the number of public‐private contracts, recent years have seen a marked proliferation in public‐private arbitrations. This article explores the public interest implications which may arise in such arbitrations and examines how public‐private arbitration is treated under English law. We argue that, due to the lack of a developed administrative law sphere in England and the historical development of arbitration as an exclusively private mode of dispute resolution, the current legal framework of arbitration in England has developed around the private law paradigm of a commercial dispute involving private actors. This private law paradigm results in a conceptual and legal void in respect of how public interest is accounted for, and protected, in arbitrations involving public bodies under English law. Therefore, we suggest that English arbitration law needs to be amended to adequately protect the private interest in public‐private arbitration.     

Equal before the law?

This article reviews empirically the relationship between politicians and decisions to prosecute or not to prosecute businesspeople who are suspected of fraud and of complicity in the supply of arms to Iraq, within the context of (a) conventional ideas about impartiality of the administration of law; and (b) the politics of bureaucratic survival. It discusses some key difficulties in ascertaining “what happened” and relative culpability in serious fraud trials, and the personal interest-inspired factors that can influence testimony. It concludes that in the UK, there is relative autonomy in decision-making in serious fraud cases, but that in “politically sensitive areas” such as the supply of arms to Iraq, there has been overt interference on purported “public interest” grounds with the information made available to the defence and even to the prosecution itself. It notes that without access to the grounds for decisionsnot to prosecute, their “purely legal” justification is difficult to challenge, and this is of most social significance where members of social elites are concerned. It concludes by addressing some difficulties in producing procedural models which provide genuine accountability for white-collar prosecutions and non-prosecutions in different countries.     

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.     

Citizenship and justice: public prosecutors in social contexts in Portugal

All over the world judicial systems are under tremendous pressure as the instruments used by citizens to access their full rights. The erosion of other state powers has transferred expectations of social intervention or, at least, protection for the rights of the weak and vulnerable, to the sphere of justice. Hence, in some countries the social role of judges or public prosecutors has become more important and their work is publicly scrutinised to ensure that their duties are performed correctly and fairly. In addition to criminal law, social areas of justice (concerning workers and children) have become more central to judicial systems, conferring a new public responsibility on these professionals.

In several countries, including Portugal, public prosecutors are unusual within the legal profession given that they have equal status in both social and criminal areas of law. In certain systems, public prosecutors may act as a party, defending the rights of powerless citizens and leading them through the judicial process. Such powers offer great potential for fairness and justice but at the same time can lead to dangerous professional controversies. Through an analysis of the Portuguese model, one of the more advanced of its kind (in terms of intervention), some of the main features will be described and identified.

Public prosecutors in Portugal have, for many years, been in charge of a set of very varied responsibilities within the context of the Family and Juvenile and Labour Courts which far exceed what is publicly acknowledged, particularly in criminal matters. However, their functions are not limited to those of the ‘public prosecutor’ or ‘coordinator of the investigation’ typically associated with responsibilities in criminal matters.

Within the context of these two major and socially sensitive areas, public prosecutors act as intermediaries between the different parties and entities involved in litigation, a fact which, in professional terms, endows them with features which are atypical of magistrates and places them in close contact with citizens. Thus, taking a case study based on the Coimbra Family and Juvenile and Labour Courts as its starting point, this paper aims to map out these formal and informal functions, which create a level of importance that is probably much higher than would have been expected, particularly given the lack of truly credible and effective alternatives that enable citizens to access law and justice.     

A Study on Improvement of Criminal Sentencing in Korea: Determinants in Fraud Cases

The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the process of judges' sentencing in Korea. Drawing on an empirical data set of the fraud cases, the study proposes (1) to identify the determinants of judges' sentences (2) to contribute to the development of a methodology for the study of sentencing by showing how to conceptualize abstract research questions and finally (3) to identify the scope of an individual judge's discretion. The results of data analysis reveal several interesting points. First, there exists considerable discrepancy in sentencing among individual judges. Such a problem strongly suggests that it is necessary to reform and renovate the current sentencing system so as to guarantee more reasonable sentences. Second, the most important factor determining sentencing is the quantity of prosecution that prosecutors demand. Based on this result, it might appears that Korean prosecutors faithfully execute their jobs to defend the public good. However, it is also quite possible that the defendant is not able to challenge the prosecutor effectively in the trial process. If this is the case, it deserves serious attention, especially in Korea where a publically-sponsored defending attorney is provided only on very limited occasions. Because this study is being based on a limited number of cases (313 fraud cases), the findings should not be over-generalized. To make sound and proper generalizations, more cases need to be analyzed.     

Quarantined judicial expansion: The environmental legal entrepreneurship of Chinese courts,procuratorates, and NGOs

Although judicial empowerment has become increasingly common worldwide, the expansion of judicial powers in authoritarian countries faces persistent obstacles, such as institutional dependence, lack of political clout, and the repression of civil society. Through empirically examining three cases of environmental legal entrepreneurship under China's new public interest litigation (PIL) system, this study aims to reevaluate the patterns and limits of judicial expansion under authoritarianism. It finds that Chinese judges, prosecutors, and NGOs have been able to leverage the PIL system and their respective institutional advantages to substantially expand judicial oversight on eco-environmental protection. However, the state has established boundaries for such legal entrepreneurship in terms of subject matter, institutional autonomy, and geographic reach, effectively confining them within political spheres considered unthreatening to the regime. Such quarantined judicial expansion shields relevant actors from authoritarian governments' tendency to suppress legal mobilization and thus may be a more viable form of judicial expansion in nondemocratic settings.     

Precursor Crimes to Terrorism and the Local Prosecutor's Role in Disruption

Much of the discussion of terrorism prosecution focuses on the federal judicial system or the use of military tribunals. The passage of state anti‐terrorism legislation in response to September 11, 2001, raises the issue of what role local prosecutors might play in responding to terrorism. Of particular interest is the role that local prosecutors have in identifying offenders who have committed crimes that may be precursors to terrorism and how they gather and share information. Using data from a survey of the 112 largest prosecutors’ offices in the country and information gained from case studies, this study explores the local prosecutor's role in responding to terrorism, how they are involved in the identification and prosecution of precursor crimes, and the overlap between federal and state prosecution.     

美国企业犯罪的审前转处协议研究

美国针对企业犯罪建立了特殊的审前转处程序,办案检察官可以与涉罪企业签署暂缓起诉协议和不起诉协议,如果企业能够在考察期限内完成协议下的义务,则不会被审判和定罪。在美国经济危机时期,该制度较好地为企业的生存和社会公共利益的维护提供了保障。该制度以美国司法部内部的政策性文件为依据,赋予了办案检察官较大的自由裁量权,法院基本无权干预。美国理论界的争论主要围绕三对冲突关系:社会公共利益维护与企业“大到不用判刑”特权的冲突、检察官的转处裁量权与程序正义的冲突、司法部内部行为与立法/司法管辖权的冲突。在我国面临企业犯罪处理困境的当下,该制度及其相关理论能够为我国“司法行政部门帮扶企业”政策的践行提供经验借鉴。     

证券欺诈民事责任法律性质之争议在法学方法论上的检讨

从类型分析法入手,全面阐述了证券欺诈的各种类型:证券发行、交易欺诈,证券收购欺诈,第三人证券欺诈,代理人欺诈,操纵市场,内幕交易,欺诈客户,并深刻分析了上述证券欺诈应由合同法予以规制的必要性。其次,运用目的分析法,立足于证券法的立法目的,保护投资者的合法权益,证券欺诈导致了契约责任和侵权责任的产生,为维护投资者的合法权益,应赋予受损害的投资者选择权,而非单一的侵权损害赔偿请求权。     

Fair Trial Rights and the European Community's Fight Against Fraud

The article surveys action taken by the European Community to combat fraud affecting its financial interests, focusing on the development of investigative authority granted to OLAF, the European‘Office Pour La Lutte Anti Fraude’ and its impact on the procedural rights of the alleged defrauder. It shows that the involvement of OLAF can be crucial for a national fraud investigation and subsequent criminal prosecution and that it meets the criteria set out by the Strasbourg organs for the applicability of Article 6 ECH. The article explores whether the legal sources governing the activities of OLAF or national—or rather, Community—law guarantee sufficient protection for the alleged defrauder and thus pay respect to principles arising from the rule of law in law enforcement. It is shown that general principles of Community law, which were mostly established in antitrust law, may provide a certain protection for the suspect, but may not protect him in all regards. It is thus argued that, in the long run, it will be necessary to provide special fair‐trial rights which offer protection to alleged defrauders from those infringements arising out of the specific features of a Community investigation.     

企业刑事合规的程序应对

在刑事合规的制度设计中,程序法承载了治理犯罪、保护权利、提升经济效率等多项重要职能。当前,全球范围内企业合规的刑事程序运行呈现出如下发展态势:立案管辖范围扩张,侦(调)查措施更加灵活多样,检察官主导实现多样化的诉讼激励,刑事合规的司法审查逐步加强,律师充分参与刑事合规得到保障。我国刑事合规的理论研究逐步兴起,实践中企业合规试点单位进行了相应的刑事程序改革与探索。随着刑事合规的全面深入发展,我国刑事诉讼程序应从立案、侦查、起诉、审判、辩护等多个环节进行系统、科学改造,以满足企业合规对刑事程序的实质需求。     

以刑罚威吓诽谤、诋毁、谣言?——论刑罚权对网络有害信息传播的干预程度

网络有害信息传播行为,应根据法治精神进行规制。对于不同类型的传播行为,应根据针对对象及其利益的不同加以区分对待。运用刑罚权来惩罚传播网络有害信息的行为人,应充分考虑刑罚权出现的正当性问题。只有给客观的、受法律确认或者为公序良俗所认可的利益造成损害或者可能造成损害的情况下,刑罚权出现才可能具有正当性。遏制网络有害信息传播,应特别注意与保障言论自由的平衡。     

Addressing identity crime in crime management information systems: Definitions,classification, and empirics

Identity fraud as a term and concept in its formative stages was often presumed to be identity theft and visa versa. However, identity theft is caused by the identities (or tokens) of individuals or organisations being stolen is an enabling precursor to identity fraud. The boundaries of identity fraud and identity theft are now better defined. The absence of specific identity crime legislation could be a cause of perpetrators not classified as breaching identity crimes but under other specific entrenched law such as benefit fraud, or credit card fraud. This metrics overlap can cause bias in crime management information systems. This study uses a multi-method approach where data was collected in both a quantitative and qualitative manner. These approaches are used as a lens for defining different classes of online identity crimes in a crime management (IS) security context. In doing so, we contribute to a deeper understanding of identity crime by specifically examining its hierarchical classes and definitions; to aid clearer structure in crime management IS. We seek to answer the questions: should current law around identity fraud continue to be reinforced and measures introduced to prevent identity crime; should laws be amended; or should new identity crime laws be constructed? We conclude and recommend a solution incorporating elements of all three.     

Insurers, Claims and the Boundaries of Good Faith

This article examines the refusal of the English courts to award damages for consequential losses following unreasonable delay on the part of insurers in settling a claim. This has the potential to give rise to dire consequences for insureds. These difficulties have been addressed in North American jurisdictions where the concept of good faith has been developed and applied as a means of both compensating insureds and regulating the conduct of insurers. However, a hallmark of English law is that it fails to draw a bright line between the law of contract and the law of contracts. As a result, the policy issues that should inform insurance contracts are excluded by virtue of the notion, imported from the law of contract, that the contractual relationship is a matter of private law and is not, therefore, a means for public regulation of insurers.     

重构欺诈制度:一个实用主义的分析

纵观欺诈的制度史,经过基督教的道德化改造,对欺诈的规范更强调其主观意图,最终呈现为总则中的欺诈规范,针对法律行为(合同)的效力。这一进路未能看到欺诈制度背后作为加速机制的国家权力。国家和市场在打击欺诈时,可以是同路人,但也可能存在紧张关系。尽管传统民法将欺诈行为与胁迫行为并列加以规范,但就行为模式来看,二者差异明显,欺诈制度与胁迫制度的现代决裂势在必行。欺诈应摆脱合同与侵权的人为区隔,进而充当一种法律救济的触发装置:一方面,应当借鉴刑法上受害人教条学的观念,骗局过于明显且有悖俗内容,而受害人自己却积极参与,不应获得补偿(但不排除引发对加害人的公法制裁);另一方面,在当事人信赖受到影响时,应具体化、个案化和客观化地考察当事人的具体状况从而提出解决方案。欺诈应当重返罗马法的模式:对欺诈的规范优先由特别法进行。