Identification of acepromazine in hair: an illustration of the difficulties encountered in investigating drug-facilitated crimes

After a drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA), a woman was found in a drowsy state at home. She remembered having drunk an unknown beverage by the accused. Blood samples (collected 8 hours after the DFSA), two glasses, and a teaspoon seized by the police were analyzed. Acepromazine, a phenothiazine tranquilizer used in human and veterinary medicine, was detected in the residue of one of the glasses. In spite of acepromazine absence in the victim's blood, the possible use of acepromazine in the DFSA was reported to the police. Two weeks later, a suspect admitted having orally administered acepromazine to the victim. Using a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method, this compound was subsequently detected (31 pg/mg) in a sample of the victim's hair collected a month and a half after the DFSA. A potential short elimination half-life in humans and/or the well-known in vitro degradation of acepromazine could explain the negative blood result. DFSA toxicological investigations are challenging and can be complicated when a rather unusual substance is concerned. In particular, special care should be taken when interpreting the results, taking into account elimination and/or instability data, when available.     

The ‘Perils’ of an Identity Politics Approach to the Legal Recognition of Harm

In the past, and it still remains the case, people with learning difficulties who are victims of violence have been cast as being in need of protection rather than rights and justice. Such an approach belies an institutionalised perspective of harm that does not readily engage with criminal justice structures or solutions. At the same time, Sect. 146 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 gives the court the power to pass enhanced sentences where it can be proven that a crime was motivated by hostility towards someone because s/he is disabled. However, this provision may simply remain a symbolic pledge to equality that fails to tackle the complex and deep rooted causes of violence and oppression in modern society. The consequences of automatically turning to hate crime ‘solutions’ have yet to be explored. This article will draw from the ideas of a number of thinkers in the context of diverse activism to construct a bridge between current debates about how to theorise and tackle violence and oppression in the modern world and the campaigns fought by people with learning difficulties and their supporters. The hope is that this exercise will not only help people with learning difficulties to access the current debate but will further develop current thinking about how to understand and tackle violence in the modern world.

Organized Crime in Asia: A Review of Problems and Progress

This paper provides a preliminary overview of research on organized crime in Asia drawing on selected papers from a symposium held at the National University of Singapore in June 2007. We draw on these contributions to emphasize the enterprise nature of organized crime and the common problems encountered by law enforcement in controlling and preventing the many harms inflicted by serious criminal activity. Recent attempts to address the changing character and forms of transnational organized crime, especially through the strengthening of mutual legal assistance by regional bodies such as ASEAN, are noted. These measures have yet to develop into the cross-border institutional frameworks now found in Europe, and the level of effective co-operation can only continue to improve. Countering organized crime in Asia also faces additional difficulties arising from the cultural diversity, relative weakness of law enforcement in some states and the lack of common strategies in respect to illicit markets.

刍议结果加重犯中的若干问题

结果加重犯的基本犯罪既可以是结果犯也可以是行为犯;基本犯主观方面只能是故意;加重结果的客体与基本犯的客体可以不同;加重结果的罪过形式应结合刑法条文具体认定;认定必须依据因果关系的一般理论结合案件的具体情况来确定。     

对假冒专利罪的澄清

《专利法》对假冒他人专利行为与侵犯专利实施权的行为作了严格区分 ,然而有关假冒专利罪的刑法学通说割裂了《刑法》与《专利法》之间的联系 ,混淆了假冒他人专利行为与侵犯专利实施权的行为的界线 ,从而得出了错误的结论。对假冒专利罪应当采用系统解释方法 ,根据假冒他人专利行为在《专利法》中的固有含义予以解释。     

人身危险性理论评析

人身危险性源于犯罪学对犯罪原因的研究 ,后进入刑法学领域 ,在刑法学领域对人身危险性涵义的理解应该立足于定罪量刑。同时在评价人身危险性时 ,也要与行为的社会危害性评价相区别 ,既要避免把人身危险性归于社会危害性 ,又要避免重复评价。     

论合同诈骗犯罪案件主观方面证据调查的实现

合同诈骗犯罪案件侦查中,犯罪主观方面证据,特别是非法占有目的的证据调查是重点和难点。侦查人员需全面查证行为人的履约能力或担保,签订和履行合同中行为的真实性,履行合同的实际行动,以及事后行为人承担责任的态度,对合同标的物的处置情况等等方面的客观事实因素,来推定非法占有目的的存在,以实现合同诈骗犯罪案件主观方面证据调查。     

刑事责任能力新论

我国刑事责任能力理论认为刑事责任能力不仅是犯罪主体的构成要素,也是判断行为人的行为是否构成犯罪的重要因素,从概念、构成要素和影响因素等方面对刑事责任能力进行重新建构,认为刑事责任能力是刑事责任主体的构成要素,也是判断犯罪主体是否能够承担刑事责任的必要条件。     

徇私舞弊不移交刑事案件罪主体的认定

徇私舞弊不移交刑事案件罪的主体是行政执法人员 ,但如何确定行政执法人员的范围法学界却存在分歧。笔者认为行政执法人员应该包括根据法律、法规授权或者受行政机关委托从事行政执法工作的个人和组织中的有关人员 ;其次 ,对公安机关工作人员行为性质的认定要根据具体情况综合各种学说予以判断 ;再次 ,监察人员应属于行政执法人员 ,而单纯的纪检人员不具有行政执法人员的身份     

受贿罪“为他人谋取利益”要件取消论

在我国 ,刑法规定非索取性受贿罪的成立要求有“为他人谋取利益”这一要素 ,而刑法理论上对这一要素在犯罪构成中的地位存在着种种不同的主张 ,文章在对这种种主张进行分析后认为 ,无论采用那一种主张 ,都会造成一些利用职务上的便利非法收受他人财物者逃脱受贿罪的刑事责任 ,应从刑法的规定中去除这一要素。