回归法律规范:刑事值班律师制度适用问题再反思

目前我国刑事值班律师制度规范背后折射出有权机关抑制辩方权利的倾向。根据法律规范意旨,只要被追诉人没有辩护人,国家就应“强制指派”值班律师介入案件。将“约见”解读为国家指派值班律师需以被追诉人申请为前提,这混淆了律师会见与介入案件的关系,且将国家责任转嫁给个人,弱化了对被追诉人获得最低限度法律援助权利的保障。相关规范性文件将值班律师阅卷权能限定为“查阅”,但基于法律援助法第37条的文义、控辩平等之程序公正底线要求等因素,值班律师阅卷权能还应包括“摘抄”“复制”。《法律援助值班律师工作办法》第10条第2款规定,值班律师有量刑异议时,只要其认可犯罪嫌疑人认罪认罚的自愿性,就应在具结书上签字。这是对值班律师功能“见证化”的公开宣示,与2018年刑事诉讼法第201条的意旨以及值班律师实质性参与量刑协商的改革要求相矛盾。值班律师应被赋予拒绝签字的权利。“实质性参与”应是目前完善值班律师制度的基本方向。     

论纳税人诚实推定权的入法途径

诚实推定权由纳税人财产权与人格尊严权衍生而来,在立法中加以确认有助于落实税收法定、践行量能课税和提高纳税人遵从度。诚实推定权借鉴了刑法上的无罪推定和民法上的善意推定,其基本内涵是税务机关认为纳税人有少缴税款嫌疑时,应由该机关承担举证责任,证明强度应达到优势证据标准。我国应在修改《税收征收管理法》时,明确表达纳税人享有诚实推定权,同时准确界分纳税人的协力义务和税务机关的举证责任,强调逃税行为必须具备主观故意的要件,合理限定税收检查权。诚实推定权入法将对税收征纳实践产生影响,提高现有“计税依据明显偏低”的认定标准,使纳税人的正当理由诉求更有可能被认可,对逃税行为的界定也将更为精确。     

论互联网时代诽谤罪的公诉范围

我国刑法对诽谤罪采取自诉为主、公诉为补充的双轨制模式。由于刑法但书“严重危害社会秩序和国家利益”的公诉依据具有模糊性,同时司法解释本身缺乏解释力和可操作性,存在同义解释、近义解释等问题,加剧了公诉诽谤罪和其他罪名之间的冲突和竞合,特别是当被害人为地方领导干部时,诽谤罪的公诉权在实务中存在被滥用风险,部分限制公诉权的要件在实务中被淡化甚至忽略。从相对狭义的角度看,“严重危害社会秩序和国家利益”只有在行为人对侵犯个体法益具备主观故意,但对侵犯社会法益或国家法益不具备主观故意(或无法证明其具备故意)的情形下,才有其独特的法律适用价值并不与刑法其他罪名相冲突。为妥善处理和平衡诽谤犯罪中惩治犯罪和保障人权的关系,适应互联网时代的内外部变化,建议通过修改我国刑法,将诽谤罪区分为情节不严重、情节严重、情节特别严重的三种形态,为充分保障宪法权利,情节不严重的不作为犯罪处罚;为充分保障自诉权,情节严重的为绝对告诉乃论;为依法惩治犯罪,对符合特定形式要件和实质要件,情节特别严重的诽谤犯罪可以依法公诉,以维护网络信息秩序。     

民法典视野下担保合同效力的制度变迁

从担保行为历史、担保合同效力立法、司法实践的角度考查,担保制度经历了从人格向契约、再由契约向政策的变迁,各阶段的效力规定均体现了特定的社会背景并具有时代适应性。民法典对保证及物权担保合同中主从合同的效力关系进行了统一规定,其法定主义立场重申了对担保秩序稳定性的价值追求,反映了立法者在面对日新月异的担保现实时追求公平的整体目标,而在回应诸多新型担保方式的现实层面,司法则必将承担更宏大的历史重任。     

新时代推进全球治理法治化的中国方案

国际法治是全球治理在国际法规、制度层面的重要方法和路径,推动国际法治建设对完善国际秩序和全球治理体系的意义重大。党的十八大以来,以习近平同志为核心的党中央先后提出了一系列国际法治建设的新理念,致力于为不断解决全球性问题、完善全球治理体系贡献中国智慧和中国方案。在理论层面,中国主张强调以《联合国宪章》、和平共处五项原则等公认的国际法规为准则,倡导创设民主、科学、公正的国际良法,统筹推动国内法治与国际法治、国际硬法与国际软法的共同发展,为实现全球良法善治提供方向指引。在实践层面,中国不断提升推进国际法治建设的能力和水平,不仅在国际立法方面,而且在解决国际争端、国际人权保护和共建“一带一路”等领域都积极贡献自己的力量,推动了国际法治体系的完善和法治合作机制的创新,成为国际法治建设和全球治理变革的积极参与者和推动者。习近平关于国际法治立场观点的提出,构成国际法治建设中国方案的主要内容,其对于中国提升解决国际问题和维护国家利益的能力、促进国际秩序和全球治理体系的民主化发展、推动构建人类命运共同体,具有深远影响。     

刑法现代化理论的续造

根据党的十九届四中全会决议,在国家治理体系和治理能力现代化的背景下,刑法现代化需要继续发展。反观我国刑法学领域,现代化刑法的追求还占据着当代刑法学人的思维,遮蔽了中国刑法现代化之未来图景的真实面貌,妨碍了中国刑法现代化的进一步发展。为此,我们有必要从现代性的一般特征出发,尝试着以现代之后的视角看待刑法现代化发展及其遭遇的“陷阱”。在对现代性中的基础主义、表象主义,以及普遍主义的批判基础上,实现现代刑法经由自由刑法向风险刑法、单一法典化向立法多样化和实践理性向交往理性三个维度的转化,并为中国刑法的现代化事业提供更为充足的理论动力。     

正确处理党的领导与依法独立办案的关系

坚持党的领导是贯穿习近平法治思想的一条主线。正确处理党的领导与依法独立办案的关系,既是贯彻落实习近平法治思想的重要内容,也是司法理论与实践必须回答的重大问题。中国共产党对司法工作的领导具有坚实的历史基础、法理基础和宪法依据。党的领导是依法独立办案的根本保障,坚持依法独立办案本身就是体现党的领导。正确把握党的领导与依法独立办案的关系,必须首先弄清楚党的领导是指党中央的集中统一领导,地方党委对司法工作的领导主要是管方向、管政策、管原则、管干部。各级司法机关党组织必须确保党的领导在司法机关内部得到贯彻落实,依规依法管人管事管案,发挥整体性的引领、管理、监督、保障作用,确保法律统一正确实施。     

Sociocultural Determinants of Policewomen–Taxi Drivers’ Interactions on the Major Highways in Ibadan Metropolis,Nigeria

This study investigated the sociocultural determinants of policewomen–taxi drivers’ interactions on the major highways in Ibadan metropolis. Purposive sampling technique was utilized for the selection of 11 policewomen and 35 taxi drivers. Data were generated through key informant interview and focus group discussion methods. Findings revealed that gender had no impact on the ability of policewomen to enforce traffic law. Policewomen were adjudged to be strict on traffic law enforcement. However, the size of the accolade generated by this feat has been slightly attenuated by the action of officers who habitually demand for bribe from apprehended taxi drivers.     

Theoretically,yes, but also empirically? How the corruption-turnout link is marginally explained by civic duty to vote

Corruption is generally associated with low electoral participation. A recurrent explanation of the negative correlation between corruption and electoral turnout involves the rational calculus of the costs and benefits of voting. More specifically, in a context of high corruption, citizens do not vote because they think that doing so will hardly affect policy decisions. A number of influential studies has argued that corruption affects citizens' electoral engagement in a different and more fundamental way as well: It erodes their sense of civic duty to vote in elections. Yet, a relation between corruption and civic duty and a mediation effect of the attitude remains empirically untested. This article examines empirically whether perceived corruption and sense of civic duty are correlated, as well as whether civic duty mediates the relation between perceived corruption and turnout. It does so with the pooled Making Electoral Democracy Work data, as these data contain measures on individuals’ sense of civic duty to vote in four election levels, namely, national, regional, European, and municipal elections, as well as on their perception of corruption in each of these government levels, and on their participation in these four election levels as well. I find a weak relation between perceived corruption and civic duty, and a low mediation effect of the attitude (compared with rational factors), irrespective of the election level.     

Buyer and Seller Differences in Business‐to‐Business Negotiations

The purpose of this article is twofold: first, to examine the differences between buyers' and sellers' use of negotiation tactics in face‐to‐face business‐to‐business (B2B) negotiations and second, to explore how negotiators' professed negotiation styles influence buyers' and sellers' use of tactics. The methodology is a multiple case study analysis of eighteen negotiators representing twelve companies in six real‐life buyer–seller negotiations in B2B settings analyzed using qualitative research methods, including both comparative analysis and frequency analysis. We found some difference between buyers' and sellers' use of negotiation tactics, which suggests this question deserves further empirical study. Buyers' and sellers' use of specific tactics differs according to which overall strategy the negotiators chose, and sellers generally use a greater number of negotiation tactics than buyers. The findings challenge previous findings that suggest that B2B negotiations are collaborative and that negotiators communicate in a collaborative manner. The findings also increase our understanding of buyers' and sellers' variable use of tactics in the course of everyday practice as well as the interplay between negotiation tactics and strategies.