The Scope of Criminal Law and Criminal Sanctions: An Economic View and Policy Implications

This paper considers why some harm-generating activities are controlled by criminal law and criminal sanctions while others are subject to some other mechanism such as civil law, administrative law, regulation or the tax system. It looks at the question from the perspective of the law and economics approach. We seek to identify the comparative benefits of using the criminal law relative to other enforcement mechanisms and – more broadly – why certain specific behaviours are criminalized. The paper argues that an economic approach emphasizing the relative merits of alternative legal instruments for bringing about harm reduction can provide an explanation for a number of recent legal developments. It argues also that the willingness of legislators to combine the use of sanctions traditionally used in one area of the law with sanctions from other areas is more readily explicable in economic terms than in other terms.     

The fairness of sanctions: some implications for optimal enforcement policy

In this article we incorporate notions of the fairness of sanctionsinto the standard model of public enforcement. When both theprobability and magnitude of sanctions may be varied, the usualsolution involves a very high sanction and a relatively lowprobability of enforcement if individuals are risk neutral.When the issue of fairness is added to the analysis, the optimalsanction generally is not extremely high because such a sanctionwould be seen as unfair. The optimal probability of imposingsanctions may be higher than in the usual case (to offset thelower sanction) or lower than in the usual case (because thelower sanction reduces the effectiveness of enforcement).     

论联合国经济制裁中的人权保护——兼评联合国对朝鲜的经济制裁

联合国经济制裁是安理会依据《联合国宪章》第41条为维持国际和平与安全采取的一种强制措施.战后安理会实施的经济制裁一方面给受制裁国发出了要求或强迫其遵守国际法的警告,而另一方面,在实施制裁过程中给受制裁国带来人道主义灾难,妨碍而不是促进人权,从而削弱了经济制裁的效力.因此,联合国在经济制裁中也应遵守国际人权法和国际人道主义法.     

反垄断执法和解中的利益平衡

允许执法者与企业就垄断行为达成和解,是现代反垄断执法的重要特征之一。执法和解反映了企业自治在现代反垄断法上地位的提升,虽能在一定程度上缓和传统执法方式的不足,大大节约执法资源从而促进效率,却易造成公共利益的损失,也可能对相关主体的利益照顾不足;因此,在以和解程序处置垄断案件的同时,必须防止对公共利益的“私相授受”,并对相关主体的利益维护提供制度保障,以实现主体间的利益平衡。     

论限售股司法拍卖的法律效果——以“公开承诺承继”为视角

资本市场不少股东在取得限售股份的同时作出公开承诺,如期限锁定承诺、业绩保障承诺、不占用资金承诺等。在限售股被质押融资的情况下,一旦债务逾期可能会被法院强制执行,强制执行后新取得股东是否需要承继这些公开承诺所附的权利负担,现行法律与监管规则不一致,各证券交易所的监管规则也有差异,导致实践中呈现"混乱"局面。从公开承诺的性质以及现行法律关于法院强制执行的权利负担承继原则来看,强制执行后公开承诺义务不应被新股东承继,但可能会造成法院强制执行成为原股东逃废债务的渠道,进而损害上市公司及其他投资者的合法权益,不利于建立健康的证券市场秩序环境。参考"买卖不破租赁"等案例,将公开承诺义务物权化,赋予其追溯效力,可能是解决这一问题的有效方案。     

Company Liability and Competition Law: Exposure of Company to Risk of Undesirable Behaviour of Directors

In order to protect the objectives of competition policy, companies as undertakings are primarily targeted for the competition law infringements based on the mixed approach of compliance and deterrence theories relying on the view that company directors are incentivised to comply with the rules of competition law by the internal compliance programmes and corporate fines are the consequences of incompliance. This enforcement strategy gives rise to a tension between corporate governance, company law and competition law, as the former two focus on the behaviour of individuals within the corporate structure, while the latter concerns the impact of the company’s behaviour in the market. The question that arises in this tension is whether or to what extent competition law actually considers the way in which the company is run internally while it seeks to promote these primary objectives. This article analyses the deterrent effectiveness of primary enforcement strategy employed in the UK competition law regime and argues that competition law does not tend to localise the source of conduct or particular decisions and does not aim to correct the right wrongdoer. Despite that lack of effectiveness of public enforcement strategy to deter further anti-competitive behaviour has led individual sanctions to be introduced by the Enterprise Act 2002 and the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 in the UK, companies are still primarily targeted by corporate fines even though directors have intentionally breached the rules of competition law and this strategy is unlikely to deter directors from engaging with undesirable behaviour which exposes the company to risk of liability and loss.

     

Measuring organised crime-related harms: exploring five policing methods

Many law enforcement agencies around the world have adopted risk assessment methodologies to analyse organised crime. These assessments, which are intended to provide law enforcement management with rigourous analysis to enable rational and objective decision-making processes, are an integral part of intelligence-led policing. Despite the prevalence of these assessments, as the assessments and their methodologies are often tightly restricted within the law enforcement community, it is often unclear how law enforcement defines, analyses and makes decisions about organised crime. While the use of risk assessment methodology in policing to analyse organised crime is generally under-evaluated, critics point to serious methodological weaknesses. Another less-explored aspect in the scholarly literature is how law enforcement conceptualises and measures the impact of “harm” from organised crime and uses this analysis to inform priority-setting processes. This article explores how law enforcement assesses organised crime-related harm by examining five policing methods—one each from Australia and the Netherlands and three from the United Kingdom. The article finds that the methods have significant shortcomings: the main concepts are generally ill-defined and the operationalisation of these concepts is problematic. More importantly, the problems evident in the harm methods raise several critical questions, specifically whether measuring organised crime-related harms is empirically feasible and, if so, can be undertaken in a manner that meaningfully informs law enforcement’s decision-making and limits undue political interference.     

A legal analysis of sobriety checkpoints

Law enforcement agents are asked to help solve problems involving alcohol abuse in a society exhibiting reluctance to change its attitude about drinking and driving. As the public’s concern over drunken driving intensifies, use of the sobriety checkpoint is becoming a major law enforcement/public policy issue. Recent case law upholds use of the checkpoint in order to deter and detect the drunken driver. Although the United States Supreme Court has not directly ruled on the constitutionality of the sobriety checkpoint, there is a considerable body of state case law upholding its validity. Generally, with some exceptions, sobriety checkpoints appear to be constitutional if law enforcement agents follow proper guidelines and procedures. This paper analyzes case law pertaining to checkpoints, and gives law enforcement agencies direction in establishing constitutionally sound sobriety checkpoints, in conclusion, the article synthesizes roadblock and sobriety checkpoint law to provide law enforcement officers a plan for proper checkpoint construction.     

经济法与公益诉讼的契合性分析

实体法与程序法作为矛盾的对立双方相互依赖、互为前提。没有实体法就没有程序法;没有程序法,实体法也没有存在的必要。经济法是在生产高度社会化的历史条件下,为适应国家广泛调节社会经济的需要而逐渐形成为以社会公共利益为本位的部门法;与之相适应,经济法程序始终贯穿着对社会公益的关注,以有效保护社会公共利益不受侵害为主线。公益诉讼是有关组织和个人依据法律的规定,对由于违反法律而给国家、社会公共利益造成事实上损害或潜在损害的行为向法院起诉,由法院追究违法者的法律责任的诉讼活动。所以,公益诉讼作为经济法的内部生命的表现有效地维护了经济法的切实实施,经济法与公益诉讼之间具有天然的契合性。     

Police Body-Worn Cameras: Perceptions of Law Enforcement Leadership

Many people are enthusiastic about the potential benefits of police body-worn cameras (BWC). Despite this enthusiasm, however, there has been no research on law enforcement command staff perceptions of BWCs. Given the importance that law enforcement leadership plays in the decision to adopt and implement BWCs, it is necessary to assess their perceptions. This is the first study to measure law enforcement leadership attitudes toward BWCs. The study relies on data collected from surveys administered to command staff representing local, state and federal law enforcement agencies in a large southern county. Among the major perceptual findings are that command staff believe BWCs will impact police officers’ decisions to use force in encounters with citizens and police will be more reluctant to use necessary force in encounters with the public. Respondents also believe that use of BWCs is supported by the public because society does not trust police, media will use BWC data to embarrass police, and pressure to implement BWCs comes from the media. Perceptions of the impact of BWCs on safety, privacy, and police effectiveness are also discussed.     

An optimal anti-drug law enforcement policy

This article presents a model for a drug law enforcement policy whose objective is harm reduction, including the net cost of law enforcement, social harm and surplus of agents. We consider a vertically organized distribution system with two levels, traffickers and retailers. The two questions concern which type of sellers have to be prosecuted and which law enforcement policy should be implemented that is, the probability of being caught and the severity of the punishment. We show that a trafficker-oriented law enforcement regime can avoid counter-productive policies. Moreover, decriminalization or depenalization is optimal under some conditions depending on the relationship between social harm and consumption.     

相对集中行政处罚的主体失范及模式转换

行政执法主体资格是实施行政处罚的核心问题之一。目前,集中行政处罚全部相关权力的模式容易造成集中处罚主体的失范,其解决之道在于转换集中行政处罚权的模式———以“行政分权”及“行政处罚司法化”为目标,向政府法制部门集中行政处罚决定权。     

The will to win: Determinants of public support for the drug war in Belize

The premise of this paper is that the drug war cannot be won without the public's full commitment. Based on a random sample of households (n=532) in Belize City, public attitudes are analyzed to assess the degree of support for drug enforcement. The findings show strong support for drug education as well as for increasing criminal sanctions and the size of the police force. Support fades, however, as drug enforcement is militarized. The significant determinants of public support are education, gender, attitudes toward the police, fear of property crime, and neighborhood crime prevalence. The paper closes by offering two concrete ways to build public support for drug enforcement.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, March 1991.     

“警察人性化执法”刍议

警察人性化执法,是指警察在执法过程中,在依法保障当事人合法权益的前提下,依照法定的职权和法定的程序,改变执法观念和执法方式,以人为本,实现执法公正的一项专门活动。在警察人性化执法中,严格执法是前提,依法保障当事人的合法权益(包括警察自身的合法权益)是核心内容,人文关怀是方式,实现执法公正是终极目标。而"懦弱执法"、"人情执法"、"不平等执法"和"首次不罚"的执法都不是警察的人性化执法。警察人性化执法实现的途径主要有三:一是完善公安法律制度;二是提高人民警察自身的素质;三是加强监督,从严治警。     

Protective Vests in Law Enforcement: a Pilot Survey of Public Perceptions

The primary purpose of this study was to begin an examination of the relationship between public perception and the number of attachments on external protective vests worn by law enforcement. A secondary purpose was to examine perceptual differences between non-law enforcement majors and law enforcement majors. Images of six vests that systematically varied in the amount of external attachments were rated across eight attributes: (1) approachability, (2) militarized appearance, (3) intimidation, (4) professional appearance, (5) organization, (6) confidence instilled in an officer, (7) confidence instilled in the public, and (8) recognizable as law enforcement. Vests with more external attachments were rated as more militarized and intimidating. However, participants also rated militarized appearance and intimidation as the least important attributes when considering external protective vests. Confidence instilled (by the images of vests) in an officer and confidence instilled in the public were the highest-rated attributes. These findings suggest that a militarized and intimidating appearance might not detract from the public’s overall acceptance of external protective vests in law enforcement. In addition, law enforcement majors and non-law enforcement majors differed significantly in their ratings of all eight attributes. This suggests that exposure to law enforcement education might affect public perceptions of external protective vests. It is possible that education of the public on the function (e.g., load distribution) of external protective vest attachments might offset negative perceptions.     

A Criticism of the International Harm Principle

According to the received view crimes like torture, rape, enslavement or enforced prostitution are domestic crimes if they are committed as isolated or sporadic events, but become crimes against humanity when they are committed as part of a ‘widespread or systematic attack’ against a civilian population. Only in the latter case can these crimes be prosecuted by the international community. One of the most influential accounts of this idea is Larry May’s International Harm Principle, which states that crimes against humanity are those that somehow ‘harm humanity.’ I argue that this principle is unable to provide an adequate account of crimes against humanity. Moreover, I argue that the principle fails to account for the idea that crimes against humanity are necessarily group based. I conclude by suggesting that the problem with May’s account is that it relies on a harm-based conception of crime which is very popular, but ultimately mistaken. I submit that in order to develop an adequate theory of crimes against humanity we need to abandon the harm-based model and replace it with an alternative conception of crime and criminal law, one based on the notion of accountability.     

当代刑法的两大基本理念及其意义

刑法是公法，维护秩序是其第一要义，也正因为它是公法，因而又必须警惕和提防它对公民的不当侵害。秩序的刑法维护受罪责原则、法治国家原则、人道主义原则的制约。秩序的有效性取决于刑法的惩罚和预防功能的现实成效，它并不在于刑法的严厉性而在于其不可避免性和及时性；刑法具有残缺性，是第二次规范，它本质上是保障法，因而它不可能也不应当全面干预社会生活，只是其他法律不足以抗制且选择刑法具有效果时的最后法律手段，其使用受刑法谦抑思想的制约，“抓大放小”应当是刑事政策的必然选择。这些观念应当成为中国刑法现代化建设的基本理念。     

Assessing Police Attitudes Toward Drugs and Drug Enforcement

The American War on Drugs has been a long and protracted battle. On the front lines are local, state and federal drug enforcement officers who are tasked with pursuing drug users and dealers. Empirically, officers’ attitudes about the laws they uphold have been shown to impact how aggressively they enforce those laws and the discretion they employ. Although there is a well established body of literature which documents the importance of discretionary dynamics in many areas of law enforcement, we know almost nothing about narcotics officers’ attitudes toward drugs and drug enforcement. Hence, we are unaware of extremely important variables that almost certainly impact and influence front line drug officers. This study fills that gap by examining the survey responses of over 1,000 drug interdiction officers at all levels of law enforcement, measuring their attitudes toward various drugs and the relative harm they incur, along with existing and proposed policies and strategies. The results are discussed in terms of their enforcement and policy implications.     

论联合国经济制裁之功能

一般认为联合国经济制裁具有“强制改变”的功能,但对于联合国经济制裁是否具有惩罚功能和预防功能的问题,国际社会却存在严重的分歧,这种分歧直接影响到联合国经济制裁的决策和执行。刑法学关于惩罚功能的精髓是在刑事不法行为与刑事制裁之间建立必然联系,从这个角度来看,联合国经济制裁不具有惩罚功能;民法学在“惩罚性赔偿”的定义中,将惩罚界定为“对不法行为者施加的‘害’大于不法行为本身导致的‘害’,而不是等于或大致等于不法行为本身导致的‘害’”,从这个角度来看,联合国经济制裁不一定具有惩罚功能;法理学认为“惩罚”就是“施加不利”,从这个角度来看,联合国经济制裁应该具有惩罚功能因素。另外,从主观上看,联合国经济制裁不具有预防功能;但从客观上看,联合国经济制裁却具有预防功能因素。     

Confidently Wrong: Police Endorsement of Psycho-Legal Misconceptions

Public beliefs about psychological issues relevant to the legal system have been demonstrated to often be misconceived, but the endorsement of such beliefs in law enforcement samples is largely unknown. This study was the first to compare psycho-legal beliefs between law enforcement officers and the general public in the UK. Participants were presented a 50-item questionnaire measuring five psycho-legal topics; police procedures, courts, tough on crime, mental illness, and memory and cognition. Despite direct involvement and relevant experience, law enforcement officers endorsed just as many empirically contradictory beliefs as those who were not law enforcement officers. Further, law enforcement officers were more confident in their responses. This research has implications for identifying areas of limited knowledge within police samples that can be targeted by police education.