The United Kingdom's Immunity from Seizure Legislation

The UK's Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) has introduced legislation to provide immunity from seizure for cultural objects on temporary loan from other countries to approved museums and galleries in the UK. The legislation is aimed at facilitating the cross-border lending of objects and bringing the UK into line with other countries such as the United States, France and Germany, that already afford such legal immunity. In the absence of immunity legislation in the UK, many museums and private lenders had been reluctant to loan their objects because of the risk that they might be seized by creditors seeking to settle financial disputes or by claimants contesting ownership of the works. This article examines whether the new law will be effective to provide museums and lenders with the protection they have been hoping for and asks whether it goes too far in depriving claimants of legal rights and remedies.     

中国如何以法治应对全球金融风暴

当前，由美国次贷危机引起的金融风暴正在全球范围内不断蔓延和扩散．虽然中国并非此次金融风暴的重灾区，但其对中国经济的影响已不可忽视。本文主要从法治视角阐述中国应如何应对此次金融危机，以及提出如何防范今後类似金融危机的若干建议。     

Cross-Jurisdictional Differences in Punitive Public Attitudes?

With more information the Dutch public becomes less punitive. However, recent studies showed a remaining punitiveness gap between the general public and judges, despite the provision of detailed case information. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that the Dutch public overestimates the courts’ punitiveness. This is not in line with studies abroad. These contradictions raise questions, on the one hand, about the possibility of actual cross jurisdictional differences, on the other hand, about methodological explanations. A limited set of survey questions from studies abroad was therefore replicated with a new Dutch public sample. It focused on questions and methodologies that produced findings most directly at odds with earlier studies in the Netherlands. Using the same measurement approach, findings abroad were reproduced with the new Dutch sample for perceptions of punitiveness of judges and the courts. Thus using a different methodology new findings support conclusions that are opposite to our earlier conclusions. On the other hand, also with methodologies that have produced opposite conclusions abroad, the Dutch public does remain more punitive than judges. In the discussion it is argued that some of the remaining contradictions may be perfectly reconcilable, as long as conclusions are stated in a qualified manner.     

Monetary transmission and the financial sector in the Czech Republic

In this paper, we (1) examine the interactions of financial variables and the macroeconomy within the block-restriction vector autoregression model and (2) evaluate to what extent the financial variables improve the forecasts of GDP growth and inflation. For this reason, various financial variables are examined, including those unexplored in previous literature, such as the share of liquid assets in the banking industry and the loan loss provision rate. Our results suggest that financial variables have a systematic and statistically significant effect on macroeconomic fluctuations. In terms of forecast evaluation, financial variables in general seem to improve the forecast of macroeconomic variables, but the predictive performance of individual financial variables varies over time, even though it strengthens during the 2008?C2009 crisis. The results give some support for the risk-taking channel of monetary policy, as the level of the monetary policy rate is positively associated with the loan loss provision rate of commercial banks. Finally, a more stable financial system is found to contribute to faster economic growth.     

论委托贷款的法律价值和政策取向

在从紧货币政策和后国际金融危机影响下,委托贷款成为企业间借贷的重要工具,尤其上市公司利用融资优势和自有资金充足,面对暴利的房地产企业大量发放委托贷款,但是出现了问题。不由我们不重新审视委托贷款的形成背景、法律政策依据、法律属性、法律关系风险,从而提出委托贷款的法律和政策选择。     

The emperor's cloths of disclosure: Hot money and suspect disclosures

This paper describes the results of the analysis of the Dutch database of suspect financial transactions for the years 1994-1996. It provides a detailed insight into the money volume at risk, the reasons for disclosure and the persons and corporations involved. The results show that from the start 48% of the disclosed money reports had to be discarded as there was either no money involved or there was no crime-money. The remaining database showed that all the distributions were very skewed resulting in the conclusion that “few move little money and few move much” or 179 persons were responsible for 89% of the disclosed money movements. The paper raises some questions about the assumptions underlying the anti-money laundering policy and the requirements for designing an adequate disclosure system at a European level. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Impacts of increasing volume of digital forensic data: A survey and future research challenges

A major challenge to digital forensic analysis is the ongoing growth in the volume of data seized and presented for analysis. This is a result of the continuing development of storage technology, including increased storage capacity in consumer devices and cloud storage services, and an increase in the number of devices seized per case. Consequently, this has led to increasing backlogs of evidence awaiting analysis, often many months to years, affecting even the largest digital forensic laboratories. Over the preceding years, there has been a variety of research undertaken in relation to the volume challenge. Solutions posed range from data mining, data reduction, increased processing power, distributed processing, artificial intelligence, and other innovative methods. This paper surveys the published research and the proposed solutions. It is concluded that there remains a need for further research with a focus on real world applicability of a method or methods to address the digital forensic data volume challenge.     

The affect of tissue depth variation on craniofacial reconstructions

The consumption of synthetic drugs, generally known as designer drugs, has increased drastically in all parts of the world. Typical constituents of designer synthetic drugs are chemical substances derived from amphetamine but significant differences in effects caused and duration may result. In May, 2005, the civil state police of Sao Paulo seized thirty-one gelatinous capsules containing a very small quantity of a white powder inside (approximately 1.5 mg per capsule). This paper describes the analytical assays that were used to identify the seized material. Preliminary assays using colorimetric tests and high performance thin-layer chromatography indicated that the capsules content could be an amphetamine derivative. In the capillary zone electrophoresis assay, it was possible to observe that the analyzed material had basic characteristics. Mass spectrometry analysis revealed that the compound had the same molecular mass as 2,5-dimethoxy-4-bromoamphetamine (DOB) and its identity was confirmed through collision-induced dissociation (CID) experiments. Finally, the comparison of infrared sample spectrum with a spectra library provided further evidence of the DOB presence in the seized material. Although a reference standard material was not available, the information gathered from the different assays allowed the conclusion that the substance was, in fact, DOB, a substance with a powerful hallucinogenic action of proscribed use in the country and which was seized and identified for the first time in Brazil.     

Yield of illicit indoor cannabis cultivation in the Netherlands

To obtain a reliable estimation on the yield of illicit indoor cannabis cultivation in The Netherlands, cannabis plants confiscated by the police were used to determine the yield of dried female flower buds. The developmental stage of flower buds of the seized plants was described on a scale from 1 to 10 where the value of 10 indicates a fully developed flower bud ready for harvesting. Using eight additional characteristics describing the grow room and cultivation parameters, regression analysis with subset selection was carried out to develop two models for the yield of indoor cannabis cultivation. The median Dutch illicit grow room consists of 259 cannabis plants, has a plant density of 15 plants/m(2), and 510 W of growth lamps per m(2). For the median Dutch grow room, the predicted yield of female flower buds at the harvestable developmental stage (stage 10) was 33.7 g/plant or 505 g/m(2).     

Environmental Insurance and Financial Institutions

Abstract

Environmental insurance transfers to an Insurer all or part of a financial institutions loss resulting from legal liability for pollution conditions, or loss resulting from a borrower loan default and the discovery of a pollution condition on property that serves as collateral for a loan. Today, several major environmental insurers offer diverse, broad and flexible insurance policy terms and conditions. The placement of environmental insurance can add positive value to the financial institution’s balance sheet by providing more protection to the financial institution than the traditional environmental due diligence methods and loan underwriting process affords.     

美国次按危机对中国法律的启示

美国“次按”危机於2007年7月爆发．形成环球金融市场震荡．至今为止．市场对是次危机的成因仍是众说纷纭。然而，相对於欧州，这次美国“次按”危机对中国金融市场只是带来有限度的冲击，但我们可从中探求这次金融危机对中国日後制定相关法规时．作为启示作用。 首先，我们必须清楚了解“次按”危机的起源，可以肯定的是，在各种成因背後。都是有一个因素引致出来的，造就是“监管不足”。 简而言之，“次按”就是美国的银行向缺乏良好信贷纪录或收入的人作出物业按揭次级贷款，其含意是须要藉所购买的物业陞值。来使该等次级贷款得以偿还。而“次按”借款人的信贷纪录不良，为什麽银行仍乐意放贷给他们呢？     

我国农户小额贷款发展问题及对策研究

农户小额贷款作为农村金融的重要组成部分,其能否有效运行在一定程度上影响了农村金融对“三农”的支持力度.本文结合我国的实际情况,从制度和政策支持、增加农户小额贷款资金供给、优化农村金融环境、完善农户小额贷款担保体系等方面提出解决我国农户小额贷款问题的对策和建议.     

骗取贷款、信用罪之立法解析

骗取贷款、信用罪是刑法修正案(六)增设的罪名。对骗取贷款、信用行为犯罪化,是金融活动的诚信原则的要求,是惩治金融犯罪的诉讼活动的客观需要,也符合域外刑事立法的趋势。作为新增的罪名,要注意把握本罪的构成特征,划清罪与非罪、此罪与彼罪的界限,这对于正确认定和处理骗取贷款、信用案件具有重要意义。     

中外新约与民国涉外司法审判制度的变革

1840年鸦片战争以后,列强通过不平等条约攫取在华领事裁判权,严重破坏了中国独立的的司法主权。自清末以降,政府和民众为争取国家司法主权的完整进行了不懈的努力。南京国民政府时期,尤其是在第二次世界大战中,中国加大了维护司法主权的外交斗争力度。以1943年与美英两国订立新约为标志,最终实现了百年来废除中外不平等条约的愿望,终结了外国人在华领事裁判权及相关特权。以此为契机,我国涉外司法审判制度也发生了重大变革。对于中国而言,这无疑是分享世界反法西斯战争胜利成果,融入战后国际新秩序的开端。     

Written records of police interrogation: differential registration as determinant of statement credibility and interrogation quality

Abstract

The backbone of Dutch criminal procedure is the case file including a large number of written records. In Dutch courts the focus is primarily on evaluation of written records. The written record of police interrogation is a mediated account of the interrogation itself. In this study we explore how individual differences in the production of written records by police officers affect the jurists' evaluation of the suspect's story and of the quality of the interrogation itself. In the first study, five police officers produced written records of one and the same interrogation on video of a denying suspect. In the second study, three of those written records are evaluated by jurists. They are asked to determine story acceptability of the suspect and procedural fairness of the interrogation. Findings show that a short and simple interrogation of a suspect results in written records that are quite different (Study I). It is further shown that these differences affect the jurists' evaluation of some of the core issues addressed in a criminal process (Study II). Implications of these findings are discussed as well as a number of possible ways to improve the current state of affairs.     

非法证据排除审理程序的困境与完善

我国非法证据排除规则在审判实践中极少运用，基本处于休眠状态，其中一个重要原因是非法证据排除的审理程序设计不尽完善。新修订的《刑事诉讼法》虽然明确了有关非法证据排除的审理程序，但仍未有明显改观。本文通过抽取某中级人民法院审理的百件刑事案件为样本，辅之以对法官的问卷调查，以实证研究的进路检视法律设计困境，提出从确立衡平裁判观、补强非法证据排除庭前程序、细化法庭调查程序、明确救济方式、规范法官自由裁量权等方面完善该规则的审判适用程序。     

场外衍生品市场监管制度改革:英国的经验与启示

2008年金融危机暴露出全球场外衍生品市场监管制度的缺陷;金融危机后,全球各个国家和经济体都加强了场外衍生品市场监管制度改革。英国是全球最大的场外衍生品交易中心,英国场外衍生品市场监管制度改革措施一定程度上代表或影响着全球场外衍生品市场监管制度改革的趋势。通过分析金融危机前英国场外衍生品市场监管制度的缺陷以及金融危机后英国场外衍生品市场监管制度改革的主要措施,在此基础上提出完善我国场外衍生品市场立法和监管制度的建议。     

Disclosure of medical data to relatives after the patient's death: recent legal developments with respect to relatives' entitlements in the Netherlands

In the Netherlands the physician is still bound to professional confidentiality after the patient's death. However, in the legal doctrine and in case law some exceptions have been recognized, especially for circumstances where the relatives have a legitimate interest in the inspection of medical records of the deceased. Today developments as regards the Dutch proposal to new legislation on patients' rights, notably the proposed insertion of a provision stipulating the conditions under which the relatives have a right of access to medical records of the deceased, give cause for renewed consideration of this issue related to legal protection after death. This article explores whether the proposed provision corresponds to the prevailing principles regarding disclosure of medical data after death. It is concluded that there is a need to reconsider the provision's wording or to adhere to self-regulation of the Royal Dutch Medical Association in order to strike an appropriate balance between the various interests concerned.     

A demented world: Politics without politics,state without state

Johann Huizinga, the great Dutch historian, wrote: ‘We are living in a demented world. And we know it’, pointing to the Schmittian nationalist irrationalism. Nevertheless, this expression might be accommodated to stress a contemporary form of dementia: the dementia of marketing. We are obsessed, made demented, by consumption, and we know it because we go and hunt for it. Classical economics in its neoliberal shift becomes, now, bio‐economics. The institutional venue where this kind of bio‐political commitment has been strongest is that provided by the European Union. The European Union has failed to halt the process of depoliticisation underway in the government of public affairs, contributing, on the contrary, to its encouragement and acceleration. The picture that emerges seems to have thrown us back 100 years, overrunning the defences of the Welfare State against the excesses of the free market and financial capitalism.     

从ICE看缴获毒品检验的发展趋势

当今世界缴获毒品检验使用的技术发展迅速,为促进各国相关实验室间的技术交流,国际合作测试项目(ICE)已开展多次,本文通过对ICE缴获毒品组测试结果和总体评估报告进行分析,针对国际上缴获毒品检验常用技术方法及发展趋势进行分析,希望能为相关研究和实践提供一些参考和借鉴.