The Public Participation Act: A Comprehensive Model Approach to End Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation in the USA

Commentators have documented the disturbing use of the courtroom to silence those who speak out on important issues. Too often, parties resort to meritless lawsuits in response to another's free expression or communication with the government. These lawsuits are called SLAPPs, or Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation. In the USA, they have emerged as a significant threat to the rights of expression and petition guaranteed in the First Amendment to the US Constitution. A majority of the US States have passed 'anti-SLAPP laws', but there is no uniform protection. The model legislation outlined in this paper is intended to guide those who seek uniform, comprehensive protection against SLAPPs.     

The British Police Experience

[Editor's note] The following is the text Sir Eric St. Johnston delivered before the members of the Wichita Crime Commission at their 24th Annual dinner meeting on October 19, 1977. Sir Eric St. Johnston is formerly of the Chief of Scotland Yard and Chief Inspector of Constabulary for England and Wales. Among others, he is a Knight of the Order of the Thistle, holder of the Commander Order of the British Empire, the Queen's Police Medal and the French Legion of Honour and Croix de Guerre. In his text, Sir Eric mentions various similarities and and dissimilarities regarding the police practices of two countries. He is of the opinion that there are a great deal of advantages in a centralized police system as contrasted to the American counterpart. This statement is similar to the Editor's assertion made some ten years ago. [Re: “Police Reorganization As A Deterrent to Crime,” Police, Vol. 12, No. 14, March-April, 1978, pp. 73–79. See also Crime and Delinquency Abstracts, Vol. 16, National Clearinghouse for Mental Health Information of the U.S. Department of HEW, Public Service, 1969, p. 589] Readers will find Sir Eric's text not only timely, stimulating and provocative, but also insightful through his comparison of his long career in English police with that of the United States' police. Certainly his remarks provide police planners and policy makers with what should be most pressing needs for combating the ever-increasing crime in England, the United States, and the world as a whole. The permission to reprint was obtained from Sir Eric by the Editor personally. The Editor wishes to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Maurice W. Corcoran, Managing Director, and his colleagues Mr. Will G. Price, Jr., President; Mr. Jay W. Swanson, Chairman of the Board; Mr. J. A. Mull, Jr., Past President; and Mr. William L. Connelly, Chairman, Annual Dinner Committee; all of the Wichita Crime Commission for their efforts and cooperation.     

The mental health needs of incarcerated youth in British Columbia, Canada

The purpose of the study was to identify the current prevalence of mental disorders and mental health needs among incarcerated male and female youths in Canada, and to present these data in the context of rates found in other jurisdictions. One hundred forty male and 65 female incarcerated young offenders in British Columbia were screened with the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument Version 2 (MAYSI-2); provisional psychiatric diagnoses were assessed with the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children Version IV (DISC-IV); abuse history and aggressive symptoms of Conduct Disorder (CD) were coded from file information. Nearly all youths (91.9% of males and 100% of females) met the criteria for at least one mental disorder. Substance abuse and dependence disorders were highly prevalent (85.5% of males and 100% of females). Aggressive forms of CD were common (72.9% of males and 84.3% of females), as were exposure to physical abuse (60.8% of males and 54.3% of females) and sexual abuse (21.2% of males and 42.4% of females). Female youths had significantly higher odds of presenting with: (1) substance abuse/dependence disorders; (2) current suicide ideation; (3) sexual abuse; (4) PTSD; (5) symptoms of depression and anxiety; (6) Oppositional Defiant Disorder; and (7) multiple mental disorder diagnoses. Male youths had significantly higher odds of presenting with aggressive symptoms of CD. Overall, rates of mental disorder among this sample of serious and violent young offenders were higher than rates previously reported for incarcerated youths — both in Canada and in other jurisdictions.     

Public Protests, Private Lawsuits, and the Market: The Investor Response to the McLibel Case

The tendency of English libel law to protect reputation at the expense of freedom of expression makes the United Kingdom a potentially attractive forum for retaliatory lawsuits against individuals and organizations who lobby or campaign against the interests of large companies. The most prominent recent example of such a lawsuit was the so-called 'McLibel' case, in which McDonald's Corporation sued protesters who had distributed anti-McDonald's leaflets outside some of the company's restaurants. The case is often cited as evidence that the risk of unfavourable publicity generated by retaliatory libel actions is a strong deterrent to using the libel laws to silence public opposition to corporate activities. This article uses a technique widely employed in financial economics research, the 'event study' method, to investigate whether the unanticipated bad publicity attracted by the McLibel case had a negative financial impact on McDonald's, such that future retaliatory lawsuits might be deterred.     

浅谈对适用简易程序审理公诉案件的检察监督

简易程序是我国刑事诉讼中相对于普通刑事诉讼程序更为简洁、高效的刑事审判程序。但其在案件审理中存在若干问题。针对这些问题,应当强化检察机关对于适用简易程序审理公诉案件的监督,以解决目前简易程序中所存在的问题。     

Community midwifery and state measures: the new midwifery in British Columbia

The New Midwifery, a form of community midwifery rooted in home birth and intensive prenatal and postnatal care, has attracted great controversy since its appearance in British Columbia in the early 1970s. On the one hand, this form of community midwifery has endured despite legal prohibition. Midwives derive an income from their practices, obtain necessary supplies and equipment, and are active in lobbying for recognition through the State. On the other hand, community midwifery is marginalized and illegal. Out-of-hospital births comprise less than one percent of births in British Columbia (and nationwide). Community midwives are excluded from the provincal Medical Services Plan and they lack hospital privileges if their clients are transferred to hospital. Community midwives are more likely than medical personnel to be tried for criminal negligence causing death and subject to prosecution under theMedical Practitioners Act of practicing medicine without a license.Community midwifery illustrates the structural limits placed on female birth attendants working outside the norm of professionally accredited, hospital situated childbirth. It is concluded that State measures in Canada structure power relations in a dialectical fashion. This includes measures to consolidate the monopoly status of the medical profession and the nursing profession, while temporizing about demands for independent midwifery practice. State powers are however relatively autonomous of dominant economic groups such as the Medical profession. Not all prosecutions of community midwives are successful, and contradictions in State policies surrounding monopolistic powers and civil liberties, and gender relations are evident.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association Meetings, University of Manitoba, June 1986. The author is grateful for resources provided through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Department of Anthropology and Sociology (University of British Columbia), and the School of Criminology, Simon Fraser University. Comments from Carol Bullock, Nanette Davis, Bob Ratner, Livy Visano and the Journal referees have been helpful in revising this paper.     

提高公众参与度 完善公共政策的形成机制

公众参与公共政策制定是公众影响公共政策的重要途径之一,也是实现自身利益的最直接、最有效的参与方式。随着我国市场经济体制的完善和民主法制建设的推进,公众作为公共政策制定主体的重要组成部分,其参与的意识和要求也随之增强。因此,明确公众参与的意义,正确引导公众有序参与公共政策的制定,已成为现代政府迫切需要解决的问题。     

Signature murders: a report of the 1984 Cranbrook, British Columbia cases

Two females, Denean Worms and Brenda Hughes, were murdered in separate events in Cranbrook, British Columbia in 1984 within three months of each other. Terrence Wayne Burlingham was found guilty of both murders and he appealed. The Supreme Court of Canada granted Burlingham a new trial in the Worms case, but no evidence from Burlingham's confession nor the murder weapon could be used. The Crown counsel requested an evaluation of the two murders to determine if they were committed by the same person. The analyses of those murders revealed that they were linked by a personal "signature" of the killer. The murder cases reported here demonstrate a control-oriented signature. The killer used a .410 shotgun as his method of control and death, engaged in overkill of each victim by shooting them twice in the head, and left the victims in sexually degrading positions. Another signature feature was the absence of typical wounds to the victims which would be expected from a serial sex offender. All of these characteristics, in combination, accounted for this killer's personal expression.     

通过参与的纠纷消解——作为行政纠纷消解创新机制的公众参与

为回应转型时期特别是现代社会的复杂情势,现代社会必然由法治国家向行政国家迈进,而在此过程中积极行政的拓展与自由裁量权的扩张必然导致行政纠纷的剧增。为有效缓解社会转型时期行政所面临的合法性危机,预防和消解与日俱增的行政纠纷,必须转变传统形式法治下的治理模式,充分引入公众参与,在行政过程和司法解决过程中分别注入民主酵素。由于公众参与既具有功效价值更具有本体价值,因而其对于行政合法性的补强以及行政纠纷的防范与消解有着不可忽视的意义。欲使公众参与发挥积极功能,必须辅之以必要的配套机制和制度要素。     

Strategic Standardization in Europe: A Public Choice Perspective

In October 1990, the EC Commission presented a Green Paper in which it outlined a New Approach to European standardization. In particular, standardization was interpreted as a means of furthering the completion of the Internal Market. This paper discusses the impact of the modifications to the process of standard setting, as they have been proposed by the Commission, with respect to the incentives and goals of the major players in the European standardization game, i.e., national and European standardization bodies, industry and the EC Commission. Selected economic models of standardization are applied to investigate the policy impact of the New Approach.     

公民参与:和谐时代的公共政策机制

公民参与是指公民直接介入管理和公共政策过程。保障公民的参与权成为人们日益关注的政府治理创新路径,提高政府管理和决策过程中公众参与的水平,顺乎中国实际需要和世界潮流。     

Localizing Global Rules: Public Participation in Lawmaking in Vietnam

As the pace of legal harmonization in developing East Asian states increases to comply with international trading treaties, a disjunction is forming between legislative expectations and everyday business practices. Evidence considered in this article suggests that Vietnam is no exception. State control over public discourse favors the interests of business elites, while small-scale entrepreneurs struggle to make their views known. Lawmakers exposed to this asymmetric discourse rarely adjust global legal rules to suit the transactional requirements of small-scale entrepreneurs. As a consequence, the largely imported commercial legislative framework is increasingly reflecting the interests of business elites. The article concludes that for the state to develop a more inclusive regulatory regime, it needs to relax its control over public deliberation and give small-scale entrepreneurs more opportunities to convey local precepts and practices to lawmakers.     

我国环境保护公众参与立法保护研究

从《环境影响评价法》注重形式上规定公众参与开始,2015年修订的《环境保护法》明确规定了公民有知情、参与与监督权,开启了以公民参与权利为基础的公众参与立法保护模式。但是由于并没有以参与权利为核心设计具体参与制度,我国目前环境保护公众参与的立法保护还存在原则性、不完整性、被动性、孤立性、分散性等诸多局限性,从而导致环境保护公众参与无法发挥实效。必须在立法上明确公民参与权利,并从程序上保障公民参与权利的实现,才能真正发挥环境保护公众参与的效用。     

Russian Public Policy Centers: Experience and Prospects

Russia today finds itself in the midst of systemic crisis. Among the most frightening aspects of this crisis are the criminalization of society and the lumpenization of the masses.     

论我国公众有序参与立法的模式与实现路径

在转型中国,公众有序参与立法需要处理好民主立法与社会秩序的关系问题。这就要求建立立法机关理性引导和公众自觉、自愿、自律参与相结合的有序协作模式。协商民主作为一种理性决策方式和民主治理形式,有助于将这一模式内化到公众有序参与立法的过程中。在立法实践中,应当通过完善立法信息公开制度,强化立法听证制度,建立以协商为导向的立法民意测验制度,从公众参与的层面完善立法后评估制度,加强社会组织的参与权,将公民教育、民生立法与社会保障结合起来等具体路径,实现公民有序参与立法,推动社会治理向民主和善治转型。