Hierarchy, Bureaucracy, and Ideology in French Criminal Justice: Some Empirical Observations

Using observational and interview data from my own empirical study of the investigation and prosecution of crime in France, this article examines critically the extent to which three features generally considered central to inquisitorial procedure – hierarchy, bureaucracy, and ideology – exist within the structures and procedures of the French criminal process and the constraining impact they have upon the decision-making of the procureur, the judicial officer responsible for supervising the majority of criminal investigations. A broad degree of discretion is found to exist at the local and individual level and the unavailability of resources further increases disparities in practice. Nevertheless, the conventional 'ideals' retain a continuing force and relevance for procureurs, who describe their work (both as they understand it to be and as they would wish it to be) in these terms and whose crime control orientation is shielded by redefining it in terms of 'representing the public interest'.     

Economic voting in Britain, 1857–1914

Despite limited government control over the pre-1914 economy, opposition politicians were enthusiastic in blaming bad economic news on the incumbent. In a study of 458 by-elections between 1857 and 1914, we find that voters typically gave new governments a 'honeymoon' but thereafter held them responsible for high unemployment and high prices. Each 1% rise in the price level, on average, brought about a 0.21% swing against the government of the day, while each one-point rise in the percentage unemployed had double this effect. However, when we split the electorate into borough and county constituencies, economic voting appears to be confined to the former.     

How to Make a Terrorist Out of Nothing

R v G concerns the controversial offence of collecting or recording information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism. We comment on a number of deficiencies in that judgment and investigate the proper approach that ought to be taken to that offence under the Human Rights Act 1998.     

The impact of minority government on the senior civil servant

Abstract. This paper explores the effects that minority government has upon the work of the senior civil servant. Most of the material is drawn from the Canadian federal scene but the conclusions are believed to be applicable to most political systems based on the principle of responsible government. The paper is concerned with the position of scrupulously non-partisan officials whose duties require them to offer policy advice or to manage sizable organizations. Generalization about minority governments is difficult because many different scenarios are possible. However, where the government perceives itself as relatively secure, the official life of a senior civil servant is likely to be more or less normal. Where the government is a doomed minority, the official is likely to face a number of pressures and uncertainties. The intermediate minority scenario is of the greatest interest. At such times an official's policy proposals are especially likely to be judged in a tactical context rather than on their intrinsic merit. Because of delays in the decision-making or legislative processes, he may be required to operate a program without benefit of a policy decision. The budgeting of necessary but humdrum items becomes a special problem. Uncertainty affects the whole policy and administrative area in which he works. There is little ground for the belief that the bureaucrats are necessarily stronger when the political regime is weaker, but certainly their life is more harried than in more normal times. Sommaire. Le présent article étudie l'influence que l'avènement d'un gouvernement minoritaire peut avoir sur la tâche des fonctionnaires supérieurs. A cette fin, nous nous sommes inspirés de la scène fédérale canadienne mais nous croyons que nos conclusions peuvent s'appliquer à tout système politique régi par le principe de la responsabilité ministèrielle. L'article étudie k situation de fonctionnaires scrupuleusement non partisans qui doivent, de par leurs functions, donner des conseils quant aux politiques àétablir ou qui doivent diriger de grandes organisations. II est difficile de généraliser à propos du gouvernement minoritaire puisque différentes situations peuvent se présenter. Bien sûr, lorsqu'un gouvernement se sent relativement sûr, la vie professionnelle du fonctionnaire supérieur se déroulera vraisemblablement de façon normale. Lorsqu'un gouvernement est minoritaire et vouéà la défaite, le fonctionnaire devra subir de nombreuses pressions et affronter de multiples incertitudes. La situation d'un gouvernement minoritaire se situant entre ces deux extrêmesest des plus intéressantes. Dans un tel cas, les mesures que proposera le fonctionnaire ont de fortes chances d'être évaluées sur un plan tactique plutôt que d'etre jugées au mérite. Par suite de retards apportés au processus de prise de décision ou au processus législatif, le fonctionnaire peut être obligé de mettre en application un programme sans bénéficier d'une décision de principe. La budgétisation d'articles nécessaires mais banaux devient un problème particulier. L'incertitude se répercute sur tout le secteur placé sous sa responsabilité. Il est difficile d'infirmer la croyance voulant que les bureaucrates soient nécessairement plus puissants lorsque le régime politique est plus faible, mais il est sûr qu'on leur fait la vie plus difficile qu'en temps normal.     

Letters to the editor

The Future of India. Part III of the Report on the Constitutional Problem in India submitted to the Warden and Fellows of Nuffield College, Oxford. By R. Coupland, C.I.E., M.A., Hony. D.Litt. (Durham), Fellow of All Souls and Nuffield College, Beit Professor of Colonial History in the University of Oxford. 8/1/2>” x 5/1/2>”. Pp. 207. 6 Maps. Oxford University Press. Price 6s. 6d.

Allenby in Egypt. Being Volume II of Allenby: A Study in Greatness. By Field‐Marshal Viscount Wavell of Cyrenaica and Winchester, G.C.B., C.M.G., M.C., Viceroy of India, Ios. 6d.

Generals and Geographers : the Twilight of Geopolitics. By Hans W. Weigert. Pp. 259. Oxford University Press (New York). $3.00.

Judæa Lives Again. By Norman Bentwich. Pp. 189. Gollancz. 8s. 6d.

Desert. Journey. By George Rodgers. Pp. 151. 44 photographs. Cresset Press. 15s.

Jordan's Tunis Diary. By Philip Jordan. Pp. 256. London: Collins. 1943. 10s. 6d.

Persia in the Early Days of the Pahlavi Régime. By D. Bourke‐Borrowes.

Return to Happiness. By Jonas Lied. Pp. xi+217. 8/3/4>” x 6”. Macmillan. 18s.

Jenghiz Khan. By Squadron‐Leader C. C. Walker. 10” x 6/1/2>”. Pp.216. 7 Maps. Published by Luzac, London. 1940. 17s. 6d.

Tibetan Sentences. By Sir Basil Gould and H. E. Richardson.

India Today and Tomorrow. By Sir Geoffrey de Montmorency. Signpost Booklet. Price 6d.

The Burmese Scene. By Maurice Collis. 7” x 5”. Pp. 60. John Crowther. 5s.

Government by Assassination. By Hugh Byas. George Allen and Unwin. 10s. 6d.

Survey of the Anglo‐Egyptian Sudan, 1898–1941. By K. D. D. Henderson. Kassala at War. By B. Kennedy‐Cooke.

Advisory council for the Northern Sudan: a broadcast     

The Role of Youth’s Ratings of the Importance of Socially Supportive Behaviors in the Relationship Between Social Support and Self-Concept

The goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between the perceived frequency and perceived importance of social support with youth’s self-concept. Data from a large representative sample of 921 children and adolescents in grades 3 through 12 were analyzed. Results indicated that the relationships between the frequency of social support from parents, teachers, classmates, and close friends with self-concept were significant. However, only the perceived importance of social support from teachers was significantly related to self-concept. Finally, an interaction was found between the frequency of social support and the importance of social support from classmates and close friends on self-concept. These results suggest that self-evaluations of the importance of teacher support may be especially influential for youths’ self-concept, and that the ability to discount the value of support from classmates and friends, when it is lacking, may be protective to the self-concept of children and adolescents.