司法者的宪法?还是人民的宪法?简评克莱默教授《人民自己——民粹立宪主义与司法审查》

<正> 引言民主政治要求公权力机关最终需对人民负责,而在司法违宪审查制度下,非经民主选举产生的法官却可以审查民意机关的立法,如此构成了司法审查和民主之间的一个悖论。由司法机关进行违宪审查是美国宪法保障制度的一大特色,但美国宪法文本中并没有司法审查的明确规定,因此司法审查在宪法秩序中究竟如何定位,一直是美国宪法学界所争论不休的议题。斯坦福大学法学院拉里·D·克莱默(Larry D.Kramer)教授的新作《人民自己:民粹立宪主义与司法审查》一书就是从人民与司法关系的角度论述司法审查宪法地     

欧洲宪法司法的多样性——兼及法国之例外

目次一、各国宪法司法中不同的抽象审查程度二、各国宪法司法的集中程度三、结论所谓宪法司法,即对国家所有行为包括立法行为、行政行为或司法行为等进行违宪司法审查。欧洲的宪法司法萌芽于19世纪下半叶。但无可否认的是,仅在诞生后的一个世纪,宪法司法方在欧洲得到显著发展。     

浅谈我国宪法司法化的构建

宪法与一般法律一样也有可诉性之特性,宪法的司法化也将是真正实现法治保护权利的必由之路。现在大部分国家都尽力把宪法纳入司法轨道,但是各国在宪法司法化方面的构建体制所采用的模式与各国的政权制度、历史背景等有关,主要有司法审查、议会审查、专门机构审查等。我国是议政合一的政权模式,要在广泛吸收各国有益经验基础上,立足本国实际,逐步构建和完善我国的宪法司法化进程。     

美国司法审查制度是如何产生的——对一种流行说法的质疑

美国司法审查制度产生于马伯里诉麦迪逊案,美国宪法没有规定司法审查制度,这些说法不是事实。美国司法审查制度恰恰就是制宪会议设计的并由美国宪法加以确认的。马歇尔受理马伯里诉麦迪逊案在程序上违反了美国宪法,马歇尔判决书的内容也违反了美国宪法。     

转型国家的宪法审查制度及其对我国的借鉴

在经历了第三波民主潮流之后,许多转型国家都选择了独立的司法审查作为宪法的保障。由于受到不同国家的影响,加之本国的特征,他们建立起形式多样的司法审查机制。这些宪法审查机构在组织结构与权力运作上都有各自的特点。其宪法审查效果也不尽相同:一些卓有成效,而另一些甚至连生存都岌岌可危。虽然我国并非采取司法性宪法审查模式,然而学习与研究这些国家的宪法审查机制对于推进我国的宪政建设乃不无裨益。基于我国目前的宪法审查制度建构,可以从组织机构、权力运行以及文化建设三方面借鉴转型国家宪法审查的经验,推进我国的宪法审查制度实践。     

论宪法司法化

宪法司法化是宪政的产物，宪法司法化问题可以分解为两个命题即宪法的司法适用性和违宪审查权。宪法是依法治国的基础和前提，具有最高的效力。要使宪法成为真正的“法”，就必须发挥宪法的效力，将宪法引入诉讼，并建立完善的违宪审查制度。我国现有的制度框架完全可以容纳宪法的司法化。我国行政诉讼法规定法院可以对行政机关的具体行政行为的合法性进行审查，据此，可尝试将行政机关制定行政法规、规章以及其他规范性文件的行为纳入司法审查的范围，法院有审查行政机关抽象行政行为的权力，可以直接宣布违宪或违法的具体行政行为无效。如涉及法律与宪法冲突时，则可提交人大常委会请求解释。这样既与我国的宪法规定不抵触，也实际上将除法律以外的规范性文件纳入了司法审查的范围。另外，法院在审理民事、行政案件找不到其他法律作根据时，可选择地直接适用宪法规范作为裁判依据。     

宪法司法化片论

与宪法诉讼、司法审查、违宪审查诸概念相比,“宪法司法化”更直接地表达了民众和学人对中国宪政的关怀和期望。它有三层含义:宪法在司法活动中具有最高、最直接的法律效力,是法院裁决争端的依据;宪法诉愿是公民权利救济的终极渠道;法院对宪政行为宣布违宪是宪法司法化的最高境界。随着市场经济、法治国家建构、域外法制影响等要素的成熟,阻碍我国宪法司法化实现的力量正在消退。     

论宪法的可诉性及其实施保障体制

可诉性是法的基本特征之一,作为根本法的宪法理应具有可诉性。从宪法具有可诉性出发,通过区分违宪审查和宪法的司法适用这两种宪法司法化的表现形式,本文提出了由专门的宪法委员会协助全国人大及其常委会进行违宪审查,由现有的普通法院负责宪法的司法适用这一新型的宪法实施保障体制。     

美国疑难宪法案件司法审查的两种模式及其补充——以“个案宪法权利”的证立为视角

疑难宪法案件的形成有其思想和规范渊源。司法审查必须补充演绎正当的大前提,即证立“个案宪法权利”的正当性。宪法解释学模式通过回溯道德权利的理论渊源重构个案中的宪法权利以支持宪法裁判;恢复性民主商谈司法模式主张将制宪者达成宪法原则的民主过程嵌入宪法裁判之中,寄希望法官间通过协商方式达成低限度的理论共识支持未完全理论化司法协议作为裁判的结果。程序主义宪法观将司法审查的合法性置于民主理论的语境中,使司法审查的合法性问题能够在民主的语境中得到缓解。宪法解释学模式的一元论与恢复性民主商谈司法模式的多元论欲满足司法审查所承载的立法与裁判的双重责任,必须将司法审查视为原则的论坛、公共理性的典范,以弥合重新道德化解释与重新民主化商谈之间的裂痕。     

论美国的纵向司法审查 以宪政政制、文本与学说为中心的考察

对于美国宪政的想象,在很大程度上塑造着中国法律人对本国宪政问题的思考。本文指出,美国司法审查基本上被中国宪法学者误解为一种单向度的横向审查,即一种发生在联邦政府层级内的水平审查。但在美国两百多年的司法审查史内,司法审查主要表现为纵向审查,即中央对地方的宪法审查。马伯里范式的司法审查实际上并未能真正把握司法审查的意义所在,只有在纵向分权的国家建设视野内,才能发现美国司法审查的历史性意义。     

Fatal poisoning in drug addicts in the Nordic countries in 2007

The frequency of medico-legally examined fatal poisonings in 2007 among drug addicts was investigated in five Nordic countries; Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. The number of deaths, age, sex, place of death, main intoxicant, and other drugs present in blood samples were recorded to obtain national and comparable Nordic data, as well as data to compare with earlier studies in 2002, 1997, and 1991. Norway had the highest incidence of drug addict deaths by poisoning followed by Denmark, with 8.24 and 6.92 per 100,000 inhabitants, respectively. The death rates in Finland (4.02), Iceland (4.56), and Sweden (3.53) were about half that of Norway and Denmark. Compared with earlier studies, the death rates were unchanged in Denmark and Norway, but increased in Finland, Iceland, and Sweden. In all countries, fewer deaths (29-35%) were recorded in the capital area compared with earlier studies. Females accounted for 11-19% of the fatal poisonings. Iceland deviates with a more equal distribution between men and women (40%). Deaths from methadone overdoses increased in all Nordic countries, and methadone was the main intoxicant in Denmark in 2007, accounting for 51% of the poisonings. In Norway and Sweden, heroin/morphine was still the main intoxicant with a frequency of 68% and 48%, respectively. In Iceland, 3 deaths each were due to heroin/morphine and methadone, respectively. Finland differs from other Nordic countries in having a high number of poisonings caused by buprenorphine and very few caused by heroin/morphine. The total number of buprenorphine deaths in Finland doubled from 16 in 2002 to 32 in 2007, where it constituted 25% of deaths. The general toxicological screening program showed widespread multi-drug use in all countries. The median number of drugs per case varied from 3 to 5. The most frequently detected substances were heroin/morphine, methadone, buprenorphine, tramadol, amphetamine, cocaine, tetrahydrocannabinol, benzodiazepines and ethanol.     

2008年中国法治亮点巡礼

2008年，是中国法治进程稳步推进和稳健发展的一年，也是法治亮点频频闪现的一年。2008年的立法景观依然多姿多彩，科学立法、民主立法继续推进，公民对立法工作的有序参与进一步扩大，已出台的十一届全国人大常委会立法规划值得人们期待。此外，实施不久的《政府信息公开条例》、全面开展的监狱体制改革，以及此起彼伏的问责风暴等都是值得我们关注的法治亮点。     

Trends in Non-Muslim Divorces in Singapore

This article examines the trends and patterns in the way thesecular divorce law has been utilized by couples in Singaporeseeking to end their marriage. Social and demographic featuresof the divorcing couples, as well as the ‘fact’relied on in support of their divorce petitions, are studiedand compared to earlier analyses. It is found that while somepatterns observed by earlier researchers have remained intact,others have changed. This article suggests explanations forthese observed patterns and contributes to the discussion onwhether and how the divorce law can be improved in Singaporeand elsewhere.     

Drugs in injured drivers in Denmark

As part of the project Impaired Motorists, Methods of Roadside Testing and Assessment for Licensing (IMMORTAL) under the European Commission's Transport RTD Programme of the 5th Framework Programme [I.M. Bernhoft, Drugs in accidents involved drivers in Denmark, D-R4.3 of the project Impaired Motorists, Methods Of Roadside Testing and Assessment for Licensing (IMMORTAL), www.immortal.or.at, 2005], a study regarding drugs in accident-involved drivers was carried out in Denmark. The main objectives of this study were: (1) to collect and analyse samples from injured drivers for the presence of drugs; (2) to give an indication whether drugs may have contributed to traffic accidents; and (3) to get information on the drug-positive drivers and their drug use. This paper focuses on objective 1. Injured drivers who were treated in hospital were asked to give a saliva sample, a blood sample or both. The samples were screened for the following substances: opiates, amphetamines, methamphetamines, incl. MDMA (ecstasy), cannabinoids and metabolites, cocaine and metabolites and benzodiazepines. Screenings were carried out by means of Cozart Microplate EIA kit. Positive screenings were confirmation analysed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) or liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). In total, 26 out of 330 patients were confirmed positive for one or more of the six drug groups. However, three patients were excluded from the survey for various reasons. Of the remaining 23 drug-positive patients 15 were found positive for one drug group, and in five of these cases alcohol was present in a concentration over the legal limit in Denmark (0.05%). The other eight patients were found positive for two drug groups, and in four of these cases, alcohol was also present in a concentration over the legal limit. Alcohol was found both in combinations with medicinal drugs, with illegal drugs and with both. Based on the saliva or blood concentrations, we estimate that there is a strong suspicion of impairment in 9 out of 23 cases, and in another six cases it was likely that the drivers were impaired.     

Competence in caring in legal practice

This article is concerned with the stories of female solicitors working in Queensland, Australia, and their account of ethics in practice. These narratives were sought and made in the context of our project investigating complaints received against practitioners in this jurisdiction. Our interviews with female lawyers were intended to provide more insight into complaints matters. Yet this discussion revealed broader insights into ethical questions about the nature of lawyer–client relationships and legal professionalism. This article considers these accounts by reflecting on the concept of ‘care’ and its fit with legal practice requirements today. In doing so, we consider the difficult gendered question of the relationship between caring and ‘women's’ practice. We do not assert a true woman's working style; we seek to contextualise our empirical research by tracing the complex effect of gender on lawyering roles. Finally, we suggest that the adoption of caring practice is a valid approach to lawyering and call for a caring approach to be re-valued in the legal professional context as an ethical proposition.     

Differences in female and male involvement in lethal violence in Russia

Relatively little is known of the distributions of homicide event characteristics in non-Western nations in which women relative to men are involved. This article utilizes unique homicide narratives drawn from Russian court and police records to compare homicide victim, offender, and event characteristics by sex of victim and separately by sex of offender. Results from logistic regression show that homicides in which a female was the victim or offender were more likely to occur between intimates and to occur in the home, whereas homicides involving males were more likely to occur in a public place, to be alcohol-related, to involve a firearm, and to involve a victim and offender who did not know each other well. These results not only present an important first glimpse at women as homicide victims and offenders in Russia specifically, but also provide a point of comparison with findings from similar analyses undertaken in the West, and present further initial observations upon which to construct a cohesive theory about female involvement in serious violent events.     

Trustees in Cyprus regulated in 2007

Trust and company service providers in Cyprus are followingin the footsteps of their European counterparts and will toobe regulated at the beginning of 2007.