Technology transfer between the U.S.A. and Europe

The premise is that technology gaps have an important impact on the economic life of nations and also have political consequences. Expressions of concern about the technology gap between Europe and the United States have become steadily less frequent in the recent years. The purpose of this paper is to find out whether some of the lessons that can be drawn from the European technology gap of the '60s contribute to the understanding of the present United States-European technology exchange controversies. This is accomplished by (1) reviewing the European arguments, (2) trying to find out how revelant they have proven to be after a few years, (3) investigating better ways to assess the impact of technological differences with reference to current United States arguments about technology export, and (4) attempting to derive some conclusions on policy implications of transferring technology. It was concluded that important policy decisions have been made and are still being made by technology importing countries with little analytical background on the cost and advantages of achieving a technological capacity. In addition, policy decisions by technology exporting countries are most likely to be made with little knowledge of the real phenomena involved.     

论建构我国刑事和解制度的法理基础——兼论刑事和解制度的基本框定

我国刑事和解制度阙失的根本成因在于对其法理基础的不自信，本质是被害人在刑事诉讼过程中的缺位、边缘化和失语。刑事和解制度的建立和完善是我国刑事司法制度实现由国家主义向民本主义转型的必然要求，是重估和校正传统的刑罚功能判定的必然结论，是凸显刑罚促进社会和谐价值的必然举措。适用于特定刑事案件的刑事和解制度的建构及其运作，应当遵循促进当事人和解、尊重当事人意思自治、坚持司法机关主导的基本原则，并对达成刑事和解协议的加害人实行轻缓化的刑罚处遇。     

Maintaining programme integrity: the FOR . . . A Change programme and the resettlement of ex-prisoners

This article describes the process and results of monitoring the programme integrity of FOR . . . A Change, a group programme for offenders, as it was being delivered in three prisons in the United Kingdom. In so doing, it briefly describes the aims, structure, and theoretical orientation of the programme; explains what informed the particular approach to checking for integrity and how it was implemented; outlines the results; and finally, postulates the requisite conditions for the successful maintenance of programme integrity.     

Violence and the U.S. prohibitions of drugs and alcohol

This paper examines the relation between prohibitions and violence,using the historical behavior of the homicide rate in the UnitedStates. The results document that increases in enforcement ofdrug and alcohol prohibition have been associated with increasesin the homicide rate, and auxiliary evidence suggests this positivecorrelation reflects a causal effect of prohibition enforcementon homicide. Controlling for other potential determinants ofthe homicide rate does not alter the conclusion that drug andalcohol prohibition have substantially raised the homicide ratein the U.S. over much of the past 100 years.     

Congress and the political expansion of the U.S. districts courts

Expanding the number of U.S. district judgeships is often justifiedas a response to expanding caseloads. Increasing judgeshipsduring unified government, however, allows Congress and thePresident to engage in political (patronage and ideological)control of the federal district courts. This paper examinesempirically the relative importance of caseload pressure andpolitical motives for Congress to expand the number of federaldistrict judgeships. We demonstrate that politics dominatesthe timing of judgeship expansion in the U.S. District Courts.We also show that both politics and caseload affect the actualsize of those timed expansions. In particular, we find thatbefore 1970, Congress seemed to have strong political motivationsfor the size of an expansion. After 1970, Congress became muchmore attentive to caseload considerations.     

英美刑法处理醉态犯罪的一般原则

醉酒与犯罪有着极为密切的联系。英国有学者认为,英国大部分轻罪都是被告人在醉酒的情况下实施的。据统计,在英国大约有40%的暴力犯罪是行为人在酒精的影响下实施的。①鉴于饮酒与犯罪之间的密切联系,当今社会,一般都会对行为人醉酒后的危害社会行为予以刑罚处罚。然而行为人在实施危害社会行为时,为限制责任能力甚至完全无责任能力人,严格按照现代刑法责任主义的原则,对行为人应该分别减轻、免除处罚或者不追究刑事责任。但是,如何根据责任主义找到醉酒犯罪可罚性的根据,一直颇为困难。大陆刑法理论从原因自由行为的角度探讨行为人的刑事责…     

Thermal imaging and the fourth amendment:Kyllo v. U.S.

The Fourth Amendment protects persons from unreasonable searches and seizures. The extent to which the availability of new technology will impact this protection is an evolving area. One practice, police use of thermal imaging technology, has engendered substantial division in the courts. Recently, however, the United States Supreme Court addressed this issue in the case of Kyllo v. U.S. (2001). The Court determined that the pre-warrant use of thermal imaging machinery was a “search” under the Fourth Amendment and, thus, unconstitutional in nature. This paper traces the case development and examines the issues raised therein.