Computed tomography as routine in connection with medico-legal autopsies

CT-scanning as routine examination before medico-legal autopsy was introduced at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December 2002. The present series comprises of 525 medico-legal examinations performed in the year 2003. The purpose is to determine the value of CT-scanning prior to the post-mortem examination. All findings, CT- as well as patho-anatomic findings - more than 4000 - were registered in a database. To increase the clearness, the findings are divided in accordance to regions such as head, thorax, abdomen, pelvis, extremities and vessels and the CT-findings are compared to the patho-anatomic findings, with the purpose to estimate the advantages and disadvantages with the two types of examination. The preliminary results show, that the CT-scanner is superior when it comes to detection of extremity fractures. The scanner has ability in detecting hemorrhages and hematomas, especially, intracranial.     

Clinical and forensic indicators of "suicide by cop"

This paper reviews the literature pertaining to the phenomenon of "suicide by cop"--any incident in which a suicidal individual attempts to get law enforcement to kill him. This article defines the term "suicide by cop," discusses the various motivations of individuals who engage in this type of behavior, presents the risk factors and indicators for suicide and violence, and describes specific indicators for suicide by cop. Proper recognition of these events, prior and subsequent to their occurrence, has important implications for prevention, officer safety, equivocal death analysis and psychological autopsy, civil litigation, criminal justice proceedings, and community stability. This paper presents seven case studies which demonstrate the clinical and forensic indicators of this phenomenon.     

“一带一路”建设中的法律问题及法治机制构建

运用法治方式和法治思维推进“一带一路”建设是实施“一带一路”战略的重要方法.当前“一带一路”建设中所面临的法律问题主要是法律冲突问题、区域经济合作问题、生态及环境保护问题、民间组织参与“一带一路”建设之法律地位问题以及国内相关立法之衔接与修改问题.为此,一方面,应通过制定相关行动计划、建立协商谈判和决策协调机制、确立共同行为规则等来解决“一带一路”建设中的宏观问题;另一方面,以解决相应微观问题为目的,从“一带一路”建设中的法律冲突协调机制、区域经济合作中的法治保障机制、生态及环境保护中的法治合作机制、民间组织参与“一带一路”建设法律地位之确立、推进国内相关立法的完善修改等方面予以法治化建构.     

Police officers who commit suicide by cop: a clinical study with analysis

Suicide by cop has become a familiar topic among members of law enforcement, mental health professionals, and the general public. This paper presents two cases where police officers chose to commit suicide by getting other police officers to kill them. The two police officers studied, by examination of closed case files, were found to be similar to civilians who committed suicide by cop on several demographic (gender, age, history of mental illness, and suicide attempts), and situational (stress factors, trigger) variables. The cases help us to understand possible motives and management for individuals who choose to end their life in this manner.     

Plastic bag as the method in suicide and homicide

The report describes a suicide and a homicide by suffocation in a plastic bag. Both cases were copy-cat acts. The suicide copied the method--taking medicines and pulling a plastic bag over his head from a personal model. In the homicide the perpetrator followed the example of a film sequence from the US feature film "Charade".     

实践"三个代表"推进依法行政

依法行政必须以“三个代表”的重要思想为指导 ,以行政法律制度的建立完善为前提 ,以行政管理体制的改革创新为中心环节 ,以行政权力的有效监督为保证措施 ,以执法队伍素质的提高为基础 ,以加强和改善党的领导为保障。     

Interindividual morphologic variability as reason for misinterpretations in forensic osteology exemplified by a rib

Bone finds make great demands on the examiner. The first priority is to establish the remains as human, because then further analyses have to be performed for identification. Especially for bone fragments it may be extremely difficult to determine whether they are of human or animal origin. In the reported case a bone fragment similar to a human rib was found in a medieval town together with more than 300 non-human bones. As it turned out, a medieval cesspit had been opened during excavation works. Even an mtDNA analysis could not answer the question whether the rib was of human origin. A direct comparison with numerous ribs of humans and mammals showed the great interindividual variability, but in the end it was possible to rule out a human origin and to identify the fragment as the third left rib of a pig.     

深入贯彻《法律援助条例》全面推进法律援助工作发展——司法部副部长段正坤接受本刊记者采访

问:去年,国务院颁布实施了《法律援助条例》(以下简称《条例》)。《条例》第一次对法律援助作了全面的规范,为解决困难群众请律师难和打官司难问题提供了重要的法律依据,受到了社会各界的高度关注。一年时间过去了,请您介绍一下《条例》的贯彻实施情况。答:今年是《法律援助条例》颁布实施一周年,《条例》的贯彻实施进展顺利,法律援助工作呈现出良好的发展势头,突出表现在以下几个方面:一是党中央、国务院十分重视法律援助工作,地方各级党委、政府也高度重视《条例》的贯彻落实工作。二是法律援助的政府责任逐步落实。三是有效组织办案,社会…     

The Role of International Legal Norms in Ensuring the "Right to a Legal Defense"

On 22 November 1991, the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR adopted the "Declaration of the Rights and Freedoms of the Individual and Citizen."¹ Article 1 of the declaration states that universally recognized international norms on human rights have priority over the laws of the RSFSR where they directly give rise to rights and duties of citizens. But, in the words of A.M. Vasil'ev, this is "really only a defended, not a proclaimed right."² The systems of international and Soviet law set down the procedure and the order of realization of rights and freedoms and the ways and means for their legal defense. An important guarantee for the realization of rights and freedoms is ensuring the individual's right to a legal defense.     

Frontloading Mitigation: The "Legal" and the "Human" in Death Penalty Defense

The bifurcation of capital trials into determinations of guilt and sentencing presents defense advocates with what seem to be two distinct domains of knowledge—one apparently "legal" in character, the other "human." But this epistemological division is actually not so clear in practice. This article dissects the procedural and strategic mechanisms through which these two domains unsettle and reconstitute the other. I provide a historical, empirically grounded account that explicitly articulates the connections between developments in legal procedure, prevailing standards of care concerning the need to conduct humanistic investigations of mitigating factors, and the on-the-ground trial practice of "frontloading" as a defense strategy. Drawing from documentary research, interview data with leading capital defense practitioners, and analytical observations based on my own experience as a mitigation specialist, this article presents itself as a case study of the processes of mutually constitutive rupturing that reconfigure the categories of the legal and the human.     

以《中国司法》杂志为理论园地进一步繁荣司法行政理论研究

司法体制改革已经成为当前和今后一个时期中国司法领域的伟大实践。党的十六大报告明确提出了推进司法体制改革的目标和任务,要求按照公正司法和严格执法的要求,完善司法机关的机构设置、职权划分和管理制度,进一步健全权责明确、相互配合、相互制约、高效运行的司法体制。伟大的实践需要科学的理论提供指南,司法体制改革需要成熟的司法理论提供支持。作为司法制度的重要组成部分,司法行政制度正在面临前所未有的变革,司法行政事业也将迎接新的挑战和机遇。在这样的背景下,加强和繁荣司法行政理论研究势在必行。     

Possible difficulties in molecular-genetic expertise in cases with insufficiently high individual significance of the results (as exemplified by a complex case with disputable maternity)

Molecular genetic technologies used in forensic medical expert evaluations help quantitatively evaluate the significance of coincidence or non-coincidence of signs in personality identification and in expert evaluation of kinship identification (disputable paternity or maternity). The level of validity of evidences, which can be considered necessary and sufficient, is the principal problem in such cases. Analyzing a complex case with disputable maternity, the authors discuss problems illustrating the necessity of attaining a high level of validity of the results for drawing a justified expert conclusion. Only high validity standard can rule out errors in interpretation of the results, otherwise the significance of the detected complex of signs can be insufficient for an unambiguous solution of an expert task.     

围绕构建社会主义和谐社会深入推进“五五”普法工作

这次全国法制宣传教育工作会议坚持以邓小平理论和“三个代表”重要思想为指导,全面贯彻落实科学发展观,认真贯彻党的十六大、十六届六中全会和全国政法工作会议精神,总结交流了2006年各地、各部门“五五”普法工作开展情况,对2007年法制宣传教育工作进行了部署。下面,我就这次     

“春运调价”的法律性质分析——以“一般处分”为工具

乔占祥诉铁道部春运调价行为案为我国深化行政法理论研究提供了契机 ,鉴于国内抽象行政行为与具体行政行为区分理论的不足 ,我国应引入德国以及受德国影响的台湾地区的“一般处分”理论作为分析铁道部春运调价决定行为法律性质的工具 ,并且将对物的行政行为也纳入具体行政行为之列 ,更符合中国的实际。     

宋代的法律方法论——以《名公书判清明集》为中心的考察

宋代名公们的断案模式大致属于法律论证模式,经常运用的法律方法主要有演绎论证、类比论证以及价值衡量等。与西方法律论证方法相比,这些论证方法虽然形式方面不及西方的逻辑,但却有着"学理的基本,而没有形式的累赘"。由于中国传统思维方式带有整体性特点,因此,中国传统的法律思维模式也带有整体性特点,具体表现为整体论的法律观、整体论的司法观以及整体论的法律方法论。这种整体性的思维模式与西方的分析性思维模式相比,并不显得落后,也不是"不合逻辑的"。