Cesare Beccaria: Utilitarian or retributivist?

Ever since Cesare Beccaria's On Crimes and Punishments first appeared in 1764, it has been common to regard its author as a theorist of criminal jurisprudence who stressed considerations of utility to the exclusion of considerations of justice. There is strong evidence for this view, and Beccaria was in many ways a forerunner of Bentham. There is, however, another side to Beccaria that has often been overlooked. In the way in which he established the right of the sovereign to punish and in his concern for the rights of the criminal (rights which no consideration of utility could override), Beccaria showed that he was much closer to the outlook commonly associated with Kant and Hegel than one would at first suspect. Though there were utilitarian aspects to his thought, Beccaria may be considered basically a retributivist who incorporated certain obvious, though by no means dominant, utilitarian themes into his work. In blending utilitarianism and retributivism, Beccaria was usually consistent, and he usually gave greater emphasis to the former.     

The Discourse of Criminality: From Beccaria to Postmodernism

The use of discourse in criminological thought and writing is touted as though it is a recent event; building off the work of postmodernism In reality, however, the use of discourse in addressing criminological concepts goes back to the earliest works in criminology (although it was not referred to as discourse at that time). This article discusses the history of discourse in criminality, focusing specifically on Beccaria and Lombroso. Application for current use of discourse is suggested as a way of making postmodernist writing perhaps more useful to a wider audience. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The internationalization of the Polish criminal law: how the Polish criminal law changed under the influence of globalization

Globalization changed the Polish criminal law. During the last 15 years the Polish criminal law has been transformed under the influence of globalization. The purpose of this study is to assess the extent and character of this process. The change was mainly a result of the implementation of legal instruments adopted by international organizations, to which Poland already belonged or aspired (European Union, Council of Europe, OECD, UN). This is what we can call the internationalisation of the Polish criminal law. Modifications affected many areas, in particular criminalisation. Definitions of certain existing offences were extended to cover interests which were not protected before (i.e. corruption offences). Also, new definitions were introduced (i.e. act of terrorist character). Additionally, other elements were changed. However, the impact of globalization on Polish criminal law goes beyond internationalisation. Certain criminalisations were introduced under the influence of foreign laws as a tool of fight against new types of crime, characteristic for the era of unification of cultural and social behaviours (e.g. stalking).     

Cesare Lombroso: Methodological ambiguities and brilliant intuitions

This paper on Cesare Lombroso aims to assess his contribution to the criminological sciences. Although much praised worldwide, Lombroso was also the target of scathing criticism and unmitigated condemnation. Examination of Lombroso's method of data collection and analysis reveals his weakness. Indeed, his approach was extremely naive, simplistic and uncritical, aimed at irrefutably demonstrating the hypotheses that he championed, without exercising the methodological caution that was already beginning to characterize scientific research in his day. However, we must acknowledge that his biological theories of crime are undergoing new developments as a result of the recent success of biological psychiatry. On the other hand we should recognize that his work was not limited to his biological central theory; rather, it covered a range of cues and concepts, for the most part ignored, that demonstrate his interest in the economic, cultural and social factors that impact on crime. For these reasons, Lombroso appears to have anticipated many modern conceptions regarding delinquent behavior and criminal justice, such as those of restorative justice, the so-called "situational" theories of criminal behavior and white collar crime.     

女性参与政治文明建设有关问题的思考

女性参与政治文明建设是妇女解放和社会文明进步的重要标志。女性参与政治文明建设,不仅是维护妇女权益的需要,还是促进社会公正、政治文明和社会均衡发展的需要,也是社会主义事业的需要。     

当代公务员制度创新的发展趋势及其启示

随着信息化与全球化时代的到来,西方各国对韦伯官僚体制以及传统公务员制度普遍感到不满,为了应对新的行政生态环境的挑战及各种批评与诘难,西方主要国家对公务员制度进行了一系列创新活动。经过多年的创新实践,西方公务员制度创新呈现出一些明显的发展趋势,这些发展趋势对我国公务员制度创新路径选择与发展方向具有重要的参考价值与启示作用。     

转变作风必须先转变观念

本文从加强与改进党的作风建设出发,梳理出现阶段领导干部中仍然存在的七种不合时 宜的落后观念,提出领导干部带头转变过时落后观念,跟上时代步伐对加强与改进党的作风建设的重要意义。文章分析了传统领导观念赖以生存的社会基础、经济结构已经逐渐消除,环境的变化要求领导干部必须能够从原来传统观念中摆脱出来的客观必然性。     

Revocation of tax-exempt status,excise taxes,and other intermediate sanctions issues,plus income taxes: how the rules have changed after Caracci v. Commissioner

This Article discusses Caracci v. Commissioner, in which the Tax Court imposed intermediate sanctions based on its finding that insiders caused three applicable tax-exempt organizations to sell assets to three for-profit entities owned and controlled by those same insiders. It explores the standards enumerated in Caracci, hypothesizes as to the pending appeal, and examines the guidance given by the decision's clarification of the intermediate sanctions provisions of the Internal Revenue Code.     

国家公共安全:现代文明社会建设的重点

公共安全问题是当前全世界所关注的共同问题,公共安全危机几乎威胁到每一个国家和地区。在现代文明社会条件下,公共安全危机事件的破坏性越来越大,人类的损失也越来越难以弥补,每年全球都有成千上万的人死于各类灾难事件,一个城市、一个地区、甚至一个国家都有可能在一次灾难中陷入全面瘫痪。随着公共安全形势日益严峻,公众生命安全受到威胁,经济上也遭受较大损失。这一问题给人们心理造成负面效应,甚至可能会动摇公众对政府的信任。因此,我们一定要采取行之有效的措施,切实加强我国的公共安全。     

加拿大“以公民为中心”的行政改革及其启示

本文在分析了加拿大行政改革的战略选择及其原因的基础上,从水平方向、垂直方向和电子化方向这三个方面介绍了加拿大行政改革的战略步骤,并总结了加拿大行政改革值得我们学习和借鉴之处。     

意大利法律教育制度及其对我们的启示

与普通法系的案例教学法和我国传统的演讲式教学法相比 ,意大利的法律教学法有其突出的优点 :选修课多 ,授课课时少 ,教授讲解精炼 ,考试严格 ,专题讨论自由 ,等等。笔者认为 ,在目前的中国法律教育改革中 ,应选择大陆法系的演讲式教学法 ,同时吸收普通法系的案例教学法的优点。只有这样 ,我们才能顺应世界法律发展的主流 ,为我国市场经济的发展培养合格的法律人才。     

德国法学教育制度及其对我们的启示

德国法学教育的典型特征是双轨制。法学教育由大学基础学习阶段和见习阶段组成 ,是一种学术教育与职业教育相结合的制度。大学基础阶段的学习以通过第一次国家考试为终结标志 ,见习阶段则以通过第二次国家考试为终结标志。作者分析了这种法学教育制度多方面的优越性 ,同时揭示了其中存在的不足 ,以期对中国法学教育体制的改革和完善提供一些启示。     

英国法律教育制度及其对我们的启示

英国法律教育是传统法律教育模式的典型代表 ,它注重法律实践 ,着眼于培养职业性的法律从业者 ,形成了独特的导师制和判例教学法。考察英国法律教育的模式 ,我们应吸收其合理因素 ,抛弃其糟粕 ,进而建立既体现世界法律教育趋势 ,又符合我国实际的法律教育模式。     

文明转型与世界法律变革

人类文明从1500年以后开始由农耕文明向商工文明转型.商工文明具有农耕文明不具有的众多特点和优势,其最突出的特点就是商业交换主导工业生产、科技发展和人际交往生活.商工文明形成、发展的过程是一个复杂的法律变革过程,主要表现为:1500-1850年的制订宪法,改革刑法、民法、诉讼法以保护人们的生命、财产、人身自由和精神信仰...