The Duration of Litigation

This paper analyzes the duration of litigation. The analysis of court congestion by Posner (1972) and Priest (1989) suggests that the effects of delay reduction programs may be only transitory, because initial improvements may be swamped by an offsetting increase in demand for litigation. However, we find some evidence that time to settlement was reduced in a Michigan court by a program that provided for early intervention in each case by a judge who imposed a time schedule on major events of the litigation.
Using two new data sets on personal injury claims, we find that the time to settlement increases with the amount at stake but is sharply reduced when the case is referred to a specialist in personal injury litigation. Estimates of a duration model indicate that the likelihood of settlement is increased by the completion of discovery and especially by the settlement conference. We find that the hazard of settlement increases as the case gets closer to trial. This finding is in accord with the "deadline effect" derived from certain bargaining models.     

EARLY NEUTRAL EVALUATIONS: APPLICATIONS TO CUSTODY AND PARENTING TIME CASES PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION IN HENNEPIN COUNTY,MINNESOTA

A program to apply Early Neutral Evaluation (ENE), a confidential, settlement‐oriented and accelerated alternative dispute resolution technique, to child custody and parenting time cases has been cooperatively developed by Hennepin county Family Court Services and the Minnesota Fourth Judicial District Family Court. Parties are referred by the court to a male/female team of experienced neutral evaluators for early feedback on the probable outcome of a full evaluation and an opportunity to negotiate a settlement. It has proven to be a highly successful program in its first 2 years, with the majority of cases reaching an early settlement. The ENE program reduces the stress and expense of custody disputes for clients, expedites judicial case management, maximizes Family Court Services staff efficiency, and focuses subsequent evaluations on critical issues.     

医疗纠纷案例鉴定及解决方式转变的研究

目的以某综合性三甲医院2009—2011年全部已结案医疗纠纷病例为研究对象,探讨医疗纠纷解决机制及相关医疗纠纷鉴定的转变。结果2009—2011年3年中,共结案医疗纠纷106例,其中医院自行和解结案26件,占24．5％;第三方调解结案21件,占19．8％;法院判决和调解结案59件,占55．7％。建议医疗机构应充分发挥第三方解决医疗纠纷的能力,重视医疗纠纷鉴定。     

论仲裁机构与法院的关系

仲裁机构和法院作为解决民商事争议的两个最重要的机构,既存在着支持和协作关系,又存在着一定的对立关系。正确认识和处理二者的关系,对于充分发挥仲裁在解决民商事争议中的积极作用具有十分重要的意义。     

The introduction of an appeals court in Dutch tax litigation

As of January 1, 2005, a court of appeal has been introduced in Dutch tax litigation. Before that date, the substantive merits of a tax dispute could only be heard in one instance. In this paper we investigate which consequences the introduction of the appeals court may have for the way tax payers and the tax administration solve their disputes. We focus on the following questions. Are more or less tax payers willing to go to court to solve the dispute? Is it more or less difficult for parties to agree upon a settlement? Which appeal rate can we expect? What is the role of society's confidence in the courts in the answers to the questions above?     

二审和解撤诉後当事人反悔，一审法院的判决书能否强制执行

民事二审和解撤诉之後，一方当事人反悔，另一方当事人能否向法院申请强制执行一审判决？中国的《民事诉讼法》和《民诉意见》对此问题并没有规定，实践中法院、当事人、检察院对此问题的处理方式五花八门。笔者以为：一审法院判决效力的认定是解决该类争议的关键。对此，笔者首先厘清了撤回起诉和撤回上诉的区别，然後又从绝对无效和相对无效角度层层推进，最後得出只有双方当事人在和解协议中明确约定反悔後执行一审判决，此时的一审判决才是有效的，其他情况均为无效。     

FAMILY COURT REFORM IN SIX PENNSYLVANIA COUNTIES

This article describes judicial behavior in local family court reform movements, vis-à-vis six case studies, as part of a larger study on the implementation of court-connected custody mediation in Pennsylvania. Research findings provide new insight into the initiation of change by judges at the local court level. When motivated to do so, family court judges in Pennsylvania bring about local reform independently and expeditiously. Judges who desire alternative methods to litigation of custody disputes implement court change with few organizational constraints: They decide how and when reform is to be implemented, and they assign nonjudicial professionals to assist in reform implementation. Finally, judges establish their own criteria for assessing the success of change initiated. Throughout reform movements, judges take on a variety of roles in bringing about change—first as reform activists, then as leaders in reform movements, and finally, as advisors in reform implementation. These case studies reveal the diversity in judicial style when court change is implemented; at the same time, similar court goals and objectives are obtained.     

气候变化背景下外国投资者与政府争端的解决——以我国双边投资协定为例

我国签订的双边投资协定中一般都规定了投资者与东道国政府间投资争端的解决方式,尤其是晚近我国所签订的双边投资协定多数允许投资者将争端提交国际仲裁。但是,在目前全球应对气候变化背景下,作为温室气体排放大国,我国有义务控制和减少温室气体的排放,采取相应的环境规制措施,这些环境规制措施可能会损害或影响到外国投资者在我国的利益。根据双边投资协定,外国投资者可能会将这些争端提交国际仲裁,我国有可能被国际仲裁庭裁定为此对外国投资者承担相应的赔偿责任。面对新形势,我国必须重新审视双边投资协定中投资者与东道国投资争端解决方式的相关规定。     

“最先受诉法院原则”与禁诉令的博弈

"最先受诉法院原则"是解决国际民事诉讼管辖权冲突的原则之一。由于该原则强调受诉时间优先的法院优先享有诉讼案件之管辖权,实践中出现了当事人恶意利用此原则进而拖延、规避预期对自己不利的诉讼的情形。为了规避此类风险,英国等国制定禁诉令制度限制当事人恶意的"在先诉讼"。这不可避免地导致了"最先受诉法院原则"与禁诉令制度在实践操作中的冲突。在上述两公约关于"最先受诉法院原则"构建的基础上,结合实践中出现的禁诉令冲突、"意大利鱼雷"式诉讼等问题,讨论该原则在实践中运用的限制与发展,减少其在解决国际民事管辖权冲突中的机械性,使其更具合理性与借鉴意义。     

关于法院拍卖采矿权的思考

采矿权是一个特殊的财产权，法院强制执行采矿权亦具有特殊性。在执行程序中，人民法院可否直接委托商业拍卖机构向社会公开拍卖采矿权，可否直接将采矿权人的采矿权通过民事裁定书裁定给债权人？拍卖采矿权是由国土资源主管部门主导还是由法院主导？对此，争议很大。上述问题的解决涉及对法院执行权性质和采矿权性质的认识，涉及对法院拍卖和权利转让关系的理解。     

THE FEDERAL RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE: A Policy Evaluation

The success rate of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure is evaluated in the light of 42 years of experience under them and of alternative modes of adjucating civil disputes. The intentions of the rules' framers are explored as are hypotheses as to why they have been only partially successful. On the basis of this analysis, the author argues that adversary presentation and prosecution must be modified in the direction of a system of direct inquiry by the court and of active judicial management of disputes to settlement or trial.     

The use of technology in the transformation of business dispute resolution

The use of technology in dispute resolution mechanism can be viewed from two perspectives: first, as an aid in the conventional dispute resolution system, and second, as an online dispute resolution mechanism via the Internet. Online dispute resolution (ODR) is transforming the way disputes are being resolved, in particular, in business to consumer (B2C) transactions. ODR offers a more successful means of resolving e-commerce disputes. In fact, there is a new move by the Malaysian judiciary to transform its court system. Previously, the judiciary has been very conventional in its administration of justice, and the system is said to be slow and outdated. The court system in Malaysia has been frequently criticised because of its dilatoriness in resolving disputes, resulting in a large backlog of cases. To overcome these problems, the judiciary has introduced a new system called the e-court. New methods including as e-filing, electronic case management, queue management, and court recording and transcribing form the complete e-court mechanism.     

二审和解后的法理逻辑:评第一批指导案例之“吴梅案”

二审和解后撤诉与撤回上诉皆有可能,但撤诉应受更多限制。一审判决生效后法院应依请求按法定条件立案执行,协议未履行不是立案条件。既判力"标准时"后达成的和解协议可变动判决确定的民事债权,但不能冻结或取消执行力,法院应依请求判决排除原判的部分执行力。和解协议具备成立要件和有效要件即为有效,与是否违约无关。法律已规定违约责任,不必也不应援用诚信原则。对债务人的实体异议应无选择地依实体审理程序处理。由于未能把握前述法理,"吴梅案"出现了多个问题:混同撤诉与撤回上诉,违法设置执行立案条件,错误理解生效判决和和解协议的关系,异议处理程序欠缺正当性,类推适用《民事诉讼法》第207条,裁判要点与裁判理由不符,案例名称不当。     

行政争议的调解解决：理论争鸣及视阈转向

目前，我国的行政争议数量激增且类型多元，而其解决渠道则运行不畅且效果欠佳，无法满足社会解决行政争议的现实需求。由此，行政争议的调解解决日渐得到重视，因其存在的理论桎梏导致理论界和卖务界对其存在着较大的分歧。因此，有必要对行政争议调解解决的理论争鸣进行梳理，并应根据形势发展之需适时对固有的研究视阈进行转向，将其研究视阈从理论供给转移到实践需求、从法律原则转移到解纷方式上来，为行政争议的调解解决寻求相应的现实基础和理论支持。     

Criminal Case Outcomes, Incarceration, and Subsequent Intimate Partner Violence

Given the centrality of court interventions to the U.S. response to intimate partner violence (IPV), it is crucial to evaluate their impact on reabuse. To do so, this study examined whether female IPV victims’ experiences of abuse in the year following a criminal court case against their partner varied by case outcome or by whether the batterer had or had not been incarcerated. Consistent with prior research, we found no main effect differences in reabuse trajectories by court case outcome or by incarceration. We also examined variables that might moderate the impact of case outcome and incarceration on reabuse and found that although batterer legal history did not affect the impact of case outcome, his age, Time 1 employment status, the couple’s Time 1 living arrangement, and duration of abuse did interact with case outcome. No variables tested moderated the relationship between incarceration and reabuse over time. Findings suggest that in certain cases there may be benefits to case outcomes that leave potential consequences hanging over the offender’s head. These results also add to the growing body of evidence questioning the efficacy of one-size-fits-all approaches to IPV cases.     

法院制度功能之比较研究

法院制度之功能经历了历史演化 ,尤其是近现代以来 ,现代法院的地位、作用和传统法院相比较 ,有更加明显的变化。本文运用结构———功能的方法探析了现代法院制度和传统法院制度的异同 ,指出两种类型的法院制度在纠纷解决这一直接功能和社会控制、权力制约、形成公共政策等延伸性功能方面表现出来的变化 ,值得关注研究。     

How do parents experience relocation disputes in the family courts?

Relocation cases are known to be amongst the most difficult decisions for family court judges. This article reports the findings of an empirical study of parents who were involved in relocation disputes, reporting their views on the experience of being involved in one of these difficult cases. We consider the origins of the disputes and parents’ perceptions of how their cases were resolved, as well as some initial discussion of the aftermath of the cases as seen in the first few months.     

论电子政务中的行政送达——以北京希优案为例

电子政务的实行不是简单地通过网络改变行政手段,而是要从根本上转变行政理念。最高法院确立了在相对人接受电子政务化的行政处理方式的前提下,行政机关可使用网络公告的方式进行送达的规则,并根据网络送达方式的特殊性发展出了新的审查规则。法院对北京希优案的判决思路中暗含了正当程序原则,并据此提出了符合法院最低限度公正的行政告知要求。     

法院“调解运动”之反思——基于两种文明秩序的视角

当下,调解在我国法院大行其道,甚至某些地方大搞调解运动。本文基于文明秩序的视角,对调解制度的产生根源和效用以及当今社会调解运作的方式进行反思。在道德文明秩序中,以调解为核心的社会纠纷解决机制,有其普遍性适用的文化肌理。在法律文明秩序下,规则中心主义的制度安排压缩了调解机制的存在空间,调解的有效性也受到诸多条件的制约。法院调解的运动化会导致消极强制的效果,削弱民众对法律的信仰。     

列宁论法官的选任

作为国家司法机构的法院和法院职能执行者的法官是基于阶级的分化、社会分工和纠纷解决的需要而产生的。进入社会主义，社会主体之间的利益之争仍然客观存在，有纷争就需要有承担裁判案件和定纷止争使命的法官。作为社会主义事业的开创者，列宁对于社会主义法官存在的必要性以及法官的任职资格、任职形式和任职期限作了详细的论述。列宁认为，作为国家专门裁决纠纷的职业阶层，法官在社会主义阶段仍然有其存在的历史必要性；法官应当是从人民群众中选举出的具有法律专业知识和实际修养的职业阶层；为了防止法官专断和擅权，主张废除法官终身制，实行社会主义的法官任期制。