Chapter 6: Modification Jurisdiction

This chapter explains the rules governing modification jurisdiction, focusing on the exclusive continuing jurisdiction provision of the federal Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act (PKPA), 28 U.S.C. 1738A(d). In every interstate child custody case where modification of an existing custody decree is at issue, courts should determine the effect of the PKPA's exclusive continuing jurisdiction rule on the exercise of jurisdiction. Have counsel address the applicability of the PKPA either orally or in a brief.     

Chapter 7: Drafting the Custody Order

This chapter outlines provisions that should be included in custody orders to aid interstate enforcement. When there is risk of child abduction, the court should include preventive measures in the custody order. This chapter also helps judges identify families at risk for child abduction, and suggests appropriate safeguards to put in the order.     

Chapter 10: International Child Custody and Abduction Cases

This chapter will familiarize judges in the U.S. with the state and federal law applicable to international child custody, visitation and abduction disputes. These laws are UCCJA s? 23, the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (Hague Convention), and the International Child Abduction Remedies Act (ICARA). When a custody order from a foreign country is presented for recognition and enforcement, UCCJA § 23 controls. If notice and opportunity to be heard were given to all affected persons, state courts are to enforce foreign custody decrees. When a petition is filed seeking the prompt return of a child to another country based on allegations that the child's removal or retention was wrongful, the Hague Convention and ICARA govern. If the child's removal or retention is wrongful within the meaning of the Convention, and no exceptions to return are proved, a court in the U.S. must order the child's return forthwith. A return order is not a decision on the merits of custody.     

Chapter 8: Enforcing Child Custody Determinations under the UCCJA and the PKPA

This chapter explains the duties to enforce child custody determinations made by another state consistently with the UCCJA and PKPA. (Enforcement of foreign custody decrees is the subject of Chapter 10).     

Chapter 9: Handling Interstate Child Custody Cases Involving Adoption,Parents in the Military,and Domestic Violence

This chapter suggests approaches for handling the complex jurisdictional issues that arise in interstate child custody cases involving adoptions, parents in the military, and domestic violence.     

The Indeterminacy of an Emergency: Challenges to Criminal Jurisdiction in Constitutional Democracy

In this contribution I address the type of emergency that threatens a state’s monopoly of violence, meaning that the state’s competence to provide citizens with elementary security is challenged. The question is, whether actions taken by the state to ward off these threats (should) fall within the ambit of the criminal law. A central problem is the indeterminacy that is inherent in the state of emergency, implicating that adequate measures as well as constitutional constraints to be imposed on such measures cannot easily be determined in advance. This indeterminacy raises two interrelated issues. Firstly, the issue of whether it makes sense to speak of criminal jurisdiction when the existing jurisdiction is challenged as such. To what extent does the indeterminacy call for inherently unlimited powers of the state, implying there can be no such thing as criminal jurisdiction during a state of emergency? Second—if criminal jurisdiction is not in contradiction with the state of emergency—the issue of what criminal liability could mean in such a state needs to be confronted. To what extent does the indeterminacy inherent in the state of emergency jeopardise criminal liability because such indeterminacy engenders severe legal uncertainty regarding the standards against which the relevant actions are to be judged? Both issues will be discussed from the perspective of constitutional democracy, assuming that what is at stake in times of emergency is both the competence to sustain the monopoly of violence and the possibility to constrain the powers of the state.     

Using Rule 11 Sanctions to Punish Accusers Who Make False Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse in Custody and Divorce Cases

False claims of child sexual abuse negatively affect the accused parent and the child. Such false claims can be used to sway custody determinations and cause frivolous applications to the court. This Note proposes that courts impose sanctions, comparable to those set forth in Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, on litigants who make false claims of child sexual abuse.     

“定病”与“定罪”:精神病鉴定专家对刑事法官裁判权的双重挑战

在触法精神病人的刑事案件中,精神病鉴定专家的作用非常关键,其决定了犯罪的有无、轻重甚至是生死的界限.之所以精神病鉴定专家在精神病刑事司法程序中具有不可或缺的地位,究其原因,这与精神病学的专业性直接勾连.然而,精神病鉴定专家这种专业知识造就的地位,不仅为普通人的理解设置了障碍,而且也对法官的裁判造成了一定的纠结,从而导致二者之间在“定病”(精神病鉴定意见的证据效力)及“定罪”(刑事责任能力)方面权力的冲突.调适的关键是应遵守司法最终裁判的帝王原则,同时也应尊重精神病鉴定意见的专业性及科学性,确立以法官为主导的且与精神病鉴定专家分工合作的司法裁判机制.     

Alternatives to Custody for High-Risk Young Offenders: The Multisystemic Therapy Approach

This article describes the implementation of randomised trials in Ontario, Canada, of a community-based, therapeutic intervention for youths who would be candidates for custodial sentences because of the severity or persistence of their criminal behaviour. Many recognise the need to reduce custody stays but the realisation of that goal requires the creation of community-based programs which judges believe will not put the public at risk. Reviews of the empirical literature indicated that Multisystemic Therapy could be a cost-effective, individualised, community-based alternative to custody that reduces long and short-term recidivism of high-risk youths.     

从技术到情感：刑民交叉案件管辖

司法与戏剧都是以台上表演、宣讲台词的形式来表达人性化的情感。司法入口的刑民二分法与司法过程的逻辑三段论一样都不能排除情感因素作用。刑民交叉案件很显然是在严格刑民二分观点透视下的模糊和边缘地带。遵循司法制度的合成理论和司法过程的辩证理论，反映世界潮流，体现司法民主，切合和谐主题，采“超越极端，回归情感”的思路，为积极回应和适时流转当事人诉求，把刑民交叉案件管辖的一些历史沉淀和实践探索的边缘性制度逐步固定下来，从而增加现行制度的弹性和适应力。从本质上说，以情取胜而不是以力服人也是司法和竞技的主要差别。