衡平法外的受信义务——析董事于新《公司法》下之“忠实义务”

修订后的《中华人民共和国公司法》于2006年1月开始实施,其目的在于给投资者营造更为有利的法治环境,并进一步落实相关法律责任的追究与相关法律执行的透明度。新《公司法》将董事受信忠实的概念第一次引入到中国法中。受信概念源于普通法系中的衡平法系统,但普通法系统与衡平法系统在法学与管辖上并存之双轨制度在中国大陆法系中却不存在。本文将由此探究以单纯书面立法的方式引入衡平法中受信概念的可行性。本文认为,只要在这个概念被转化为一个法律概念前对其作出详尽的定义,受信理论的衡平法特性并不会真正阻碍其转化为我国的法律概念。为对上述观点作出阐释,文章以新《公司法》中禁止董事与公司进行自我交易这一具体规定为参照,结合案例讨论了通过对境外司法实践的借鉴、立法机关衡平法技巧的培养,以及更仔细地考察现行的国内法则,来帮助弥补单单引入一个空洞的受信概念不足的可能性。     

The cognitive interview: Inexperienced police officers' perceptions of their witness/victim interviewing practices

Purpose. The primary objectives of the study reported here were twofold. First, to investigate less experienced frontline police officers' perceptions of their witness interviewing practices with specific reference to their use of the ten cognitive interview components taught during initial PEACE (a mnemonic for the stages of the interview; Planning and preparation, Engage and explain, Account, Closure and Evaluation) interview training. Second, to investigate this group of officers' practical experiences of interviewing witnesses. Method. A sample of 221 young, in‐service, non‐specialist police officers from five UK police forces completed a self‐report questionnaire concerning their perceived witness interviewing practices. Respondents were surveyed about their use of the PEACE cognitive interview components, their practical experiences of interviewing witnesses and victims, and their views on investigative interviewing training. Results. There was a consensus among these officers that they perceived using some of the PEACE cognitive interview components more frequently and perceived some of them to be more effective than others. Conclusion. This study provides a unique insight into the perceived interviewing practices of some of the least experienced and the least trained investigative interviewers who conduct the majority of frontline witness interviews. These officers report feeling inadequately trained, under pressure and generally ill equipped to conduct a PEACE cognitive interview.     

Insecure Attachment Mediates Effects of Partners’ Emotional Abuse and Violence on Women’s Relationship Quality

Men’s emotional abuse and violence have a broad and pervasive impact on women that may include long-term effects on women’s attachment and relationship quality. In this longitudinal study, women’s Wave 6 ratings of their insecure attachment were hypothesized to mediate the relationship between partners’ Wave 5 abuse (emotional and physical) and Wave 6 relationship quality, with differences in associations by women’s Wave 5 self-classification as secure or insecure. Mediation was tested with data from a sample of 574 African American, Euro-American, and Mexican American community women who had completed at least three waves of a six wave study. Differences occurred in the final structural equation models by women’s Wave 5 attachment style, with direct paths from emotional abuse to insecure attachment and from violence to relationship quality for both groups, but direct effects of violence on relationship quality only for insecurely attached women.     

Inclusive National Governance and Trafficked Women in Australia: Otherness and Local Demand

Trafficked women are used and consumed in different ways and by different users in Australia. They are used by the traffickers and by the consumer of the destination country. They are used as prosecutorial tools by the national criminal justice agents. They are used by the national politicians to pursue border control policy objectives and to be seen as abiding by international protocols. In all these uses, the identity of the trafficked woman is formed and shaped to fit the users’ need. However, these women’s otherness and abjection is constantly maintained and reinforced. They are used as a commodity. Meanwhile, the discussion on the demand side, and the consequent responsibility of the destination country, is virtually omitted. This paper will raise the question of how the socio-legal analysis and discourse would evolve if a literal interpretation of trafficking women as a commodity was taken into account, exploring an international trade approach. The social construction of trafficked women as a commodity has been identified and criticised by academic scholars, NGOs’ and UN’s rapporteurs. By pursuing this line of approach, the destination country is forced to take more responsibility for how the woman is demanded within its territory. As a consequence of this international trade approach, the State should deliver equality and non-discrimination. Rather than being a cynical application of a trade framework to trafficked women, this approach aims to highlight the paradox of such a situation in legal terms. It is highlighted that approaching trafficked women from this legal and jurisprudential way may offer more possibilities to expand their claims against the State. Currently, in Australia, when a trafficked woman is located by the State, she would attract limited and temporal rights, her being the ‘other’ as well as an abject entity remains, notwithstanding the fact the she was imported because there is a demand within the territory.