THE PRESS AND THE JUDICIARY： COURT AND JUDICIAL REPORTS IN THE PREss IN ENGLAND AND WALES

Western scholars have argued that image making and image management are a preoccupation of the judiciary. Images of the judiciary may take a variety of forms and be produced for kinds of audiences. One form of judicial image making and image management is live performances in the courtroom and other court settings. Another is the written judgment where the preoccupation is the style of the written text. Press and other mass media reports of judicial activity are another. The audience for judicial images is equally diverse, from fellow judges, lawyers in the courts and the wider legal community, the litigants before the courts to the executive, legislature and the public both in the courtroom and beyond. The image of the judiciary that is available to the public has a particular significance in Western rule of law democracies. As a general rule courts and the judiciary are required to operate in public and their activities must be open to public scrutiny. A recent policy manifestation of this goal is debated about confidence in the justice system and initiatives designed to improve confidence. In the majority of cases public scrutiny of judicial activity and public confidence in the judiciary relies upon the media. Objective and accurate press and media reports play a key role in shaping public understanding of the judiciary and generating or undermining confidence in that institution. Reports in regional and national newspapers have long been an important source of information, shaping public knowledge and facilitating public scrutiny of the justice system. In the UK, there is almost no scholarship on these representations past or present. The result is little known about the representation of the courts and the judiciary in press reports. Little is known about what the diligent reader of these reports can learn about judicial activity. The aim of this article is to take a first step towards changing that state of affairs. It uses a data set made up of 205 contemporary domestic newspaper reports of court and judi     

REHABILITATION OF DRUNK DRIVERS AND THE SMADIT PROJECT： COLLABORATION AMONG THE POLICE FORCE,THE ROAD ADMINISTRATION AND THE SOCIAL SERVICES

The aim of the SMADITt project is not only to reduce the number of drunk drivers on the Swedish roads but also to reduce the number of repeated drunk driving offences. The SMADIT project is a three-way collaboration between the Swedish Police Force, the Swedish Road Administration and the Swedish Social Services. According to the guidelines the police should inform the suspected drunk drivers about SMADIT and ask if they want to be contacted by the Social Services. If they agree to take part in the project, then a member of staff from the Social Services will contact them within 24 hours. The purpose of this paper is to present the results from a qualitative study evaluating the effects of SMADIT. Thirteen male drivers and one female driver who agreed to take part in the SMADIT project were interviewed. The questions covered their experience of SMADIT, why they agreed to participate, what kind of help they received but also their attitudes towards drinking and driving in general and the event leading up to the conviction. The results showed that the initial contact with the police determined if they would agree to participate in the project or not. Both written and verbal information were essential An important aim with SMADIT project is the early contact with the Social Service. However, the results from this study showed that several informants needed time for reflection and to recover from the shock after being stopped by the police on suspicion of drunk driving. However, according to informants, it was important that not too many days passed before a contact was established. During the meeting with the Social Service, the informants were then offered different kinds of treatment. All of the informants were very pleased with this contact. According to the guidelines provided by the SMADIT project a consensus has to be reached, otherwise the Social Services cannot contact the person. In this study, we found that a person straight after the event does not always think clearly and therefore we propose that the SM     

THE ASYMMETRY OF THE WTO DISPUTE SETTLEMENT MECHANISM AND CHINESE STRATEGY： IN WHAT WAYS DO THE SYSTEM AND RESULTS FAVOR COMPLAINANTS？

By referring to 400 WTO cases, this paper reviews the results of WTO dispute settlement proceedings and the systemic causes in order to find out whether the WTO dispute settlement system ＂s results reflect a clear tendency of favoring complainants, and if so, whether the internal asymmetry of the system leads to such results. Based on these findings, and by considering a number of factors, this paper analyses the influence on national interests brought about by such asymmetry, so as to find whether there is a two-way adjustment effect and relative deprivation effect for developing countries. Then, according to the current economic situations of the WTO＇s Asian countries, this paper suggests that the Asian members should reform their policies to overcome the disadvantages of the WTO asymmetric proceedings. In this part, this paper comprehensively evaluates the measure of actively using the WTO dispute settlement system that favors the complainants, in order to develop overseas markets and realize potential benefits of treaty negotiations.     

DOES THE TIME CAUSE THE CRIME? AN EXAMINATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TIME SERVED AND REOFFENDING IN THE NETHERLANDS*

This work uses a sample of Dutch offenders, serving an average of 6.7 months of confinement, to examine the relationship between time served in prison and future criminality. To overcome the selection issues inherent in this examination, this article introduces a new method to the criminological literature that relies on a generalization of the propensity score to control for observed differences in offenders sentenced to different periods of confinement. On the whole, very little evidence of a relationship between time served and future offending was found. In particular, 3‐year reconviction rate and the proportion of offenders reconvicted in the next 3 years do not seem to depend on incarceration length. Although a relationship between time served and future sentence length was found, the evidence is modest.     

FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS IN THE DIGITAL ERA,HORIZONTAL EFFECT AND THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN “STATE” AND “SOCIETY” IN GERMAN AND EUROPEAN CONSTITUTIONAL THEORY

The article discusses the proposal for a “Charter of Digital Fundamental Rights of the European Union,” whose central element is a binding effect of its fundamental rights not only to state authorities, but also to powerful private internet companies, which have a potential similar to that of the state to infringe on fundamental rights in the digital era. The article outlines the traditional German approach to fundamental rights and its underlying distinction between state and society, which makes it difficult for German scholars to handle a so-called horizontal effect of fundamental rights. Finally, the article discusses the main objections to such a horizontal effect and shows some practical problems it has the potential to cause in German and European constitutional law.     

TOWARDS A NEW CONCESSIONS REGIME IN THE EU： ABOUT THE MERITS AND SHORTCOMINGS OF THE CONCESSIONS＇ DIRECTIVE

The European Commission published a proposal at the end of2011 for a self-standing directive on the awarding of concessions in the context of the revision of the public procurement framework. With the aim of harmonizing rules and developing minimum standards based on the EU primary law and ECJ case law, the purpose of the proposed directive was, according to the Commission, to ensure more transparency and legal certainty in all Member States in awarding concessions and enhance the development of PPPs （Public-Private Partnerships） 1 However, negotiations on the proposal for a concessions directive proved to be difficult. The text2 finally adopted on February 26, 2014 stems from three compromises： 1. Within the European Commission, between a fully fledged approach and a so-called ＂light approach ＂; 2. within the Council between Member States in favor of a detailed directive for the sake of easy transposition, and Member States reluctant to the very directive, whose added value was challenged either by fear of amending their own existing national legislation on concessions or, conversely, by fear of putting at risk existing contracts awarded without open tender; 3. within the European Parliament, as the rather technical issue of public procurement became a politically driven debate on both the principle of subsidiarity and the legitimacy of private operators to manage services of general interest. As a result of a complex deal brokered by the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament, the main merit of the directive is its existence. In the light of the numerous exclusions to its scope, it remains to be seen whether some of its promising provisions regarding the definition, the award and the life of concessions will facilitate on the ground the development of transparent, performing concessions projects. At the end of the day, options to be embraced by the Member States for the transposition of the concessions directive will be a key element in the success and use of the new legal concessions reg     

REMEMBERING THE FORGOTTEN： INTERNATIONAL LEGAL REGIME PROTECTING THE STATELESS PERSONS STOCKTAKING AND NEW TENDENCIES

Statelessness and protection of stateless persons under public international law has not traditionally been in the forefront of academic legal research. This paper aims at drawing a picture on the legal status of stateless persons under public international law, shedding light onto the rather sporadic but noteworthy legal developments after the adoption of the core global instrument in this field, the 1954 New York Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons.     

THE COGNITIVE INTERVIEW AND ITS EFFECT ON WITNESSES’ CONFIDENCE

Today there is ample evidence that the Cognitive Interview (CI) enhances witnesses’ memory. However, less is known about how the CI affects eyewitnesses’ confidence. To address this shortcoming we conducted a study analyzing how realism in confidence was affected by the CI. All participants (n=79) were first shown a filmed kidnapping. After 2 weeks we interviewed one-third of the participants according to the guidelines of the CI, one-third according to a Standard Interview (SI), and one-third were not interviewed at all (Control condition). Participants in all three conditions were then asked to answer 45 forced-choice questions, and to give a confidence judgment after each choice. For the 45 questions, no differences in accuracy were found between the three conditions. Confidence was higher in the CI and SI conditions, compared with the Control condition. CI and SI did not differ in metacognitive realism but both showed lower realism compared with the Control condition, although only CI significantly so. The results indicate that the inflation in confidence is more likely to be explained in terms of a reiteration effect, than as a consequence of the particular mnemonics characterizing the CI (e.g. “mental reinstatement of context”). In sum, CI does not seem to impair (or improve) the realism in witnesses’ confidence, and does not inflate confidence in erroneous recall, compared to a SI.     

TOWARDS THE RULE OF LAW OR THE RULE OF THE BOOTS？ A LIBERAL PERSPECTIVE ON DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Since the beginning of the ＂war＂ on terror, governments have implemented counter-terrorism laws and policies, in breach of their obligations under international human rights law, on account of the necessity to protect democracy against its enemies. Reliance on the human rights discourse in order to justify the violations committed renders it difficult to criticise these drawbacks without rethinking the concepts of rights and democracy and reformulating them. The present article attempts to answer this challenge along the lines of the reconstruction of the notions of liberal democracy as the rule of law and liberty, and human rights as spheres of individual sovereignty.     

DOING HER OWN TIME? WOMEN'S RESPONSES TO PRISON IN THE CONTEXT OF THE OLD AND THE NEW PENOLOGY*

Assumptions about gender role socialization dominated explanations for gender differences in responses to incarceration. We suspend these gender comparisons, which produced the focus on homosexuality and kinship networks in women's prisons, to determine how women's pre‐prison experiences, in the context of two different institutions, influence the way they “do time.” We analyze in‐depth interviews with a diverse sample of 70 female inmates housed in the California Institution for Women (CIW)—the oldest prison for women in the state—and Valley State Prison (VSP)—the newest prison for women. These two institutions differ in structure, size, and management philosophy, and accordingly necessitate the consideration of moderating situational effects. We use qualitative analysis to examine how women do time and to determine whether individual variations in doing time are similar across very different institutions.     

＂RAISING THE BAR＂ THE ROLE OF SELF- GOVERNMENTS AND ASSOCIATIONS OF LAWYERS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF PRO BONO ACTIVITIES

This article constitutes an extension of the speech delivered at the European Pro Bono Forum, organized by PILNET, which was held in Warsaw in October 2013. In the forum, representatives of the Council of Bar Associations from numerous European countries and representatives of NGOs around the world shared their experiences and ideas, designed to promote pro bono activities among lawyers, and discuss the problems faced when conducting said activities in their countries.     

AN EXAMINATION OF RETAIL CLIENTS’ INVESTOR SUITABILITY RULES IN THE COBS AND THE LESSONS FOR CHINA

Nowadays, the complexity of financial products makes it difficult for retail clients to identify investment risks, and there is an increasing tendency for firms, stipulated by the maximum profits, to recommend or enter into unsuitable transactions to or for retail clients while providing services of investment advice and portfolio management, which causes great losses to a significant number of investors. So, in the contemporary society, the investor suitability rules through which retail clients can purchase suitable financial products are the indispensable legal basis of investor protection. Currently, the regulations concerning investor suitability management in China have several problems, including the chaotic legal system, low effectiveness level and defective contents, which may make it difficult for suitability to be applied in justice and managed effectively. Since the UK’s investor suitability rules in the Conduct of Business Sourcebook that apply to retail clients whose contents include requirements of obtaining retail clients’ information, requirements of information to be provided to retail clients and criteria of assessing suitability are clear and comprehensive, the authors believe that the UK’s experiences can provide a great enlightenment for China to better investor suitability management rules, including integrating legal documents and optimizing effectiveness level, rationalizing application scope, adding criteria of assessing suitability and revising specific clauses.     

NET NEUTRALITY AND COMPETITION LAW： NEW BUSINESS MODELS AND CHANGING REGULATORY APPROACH IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

The first part of the paper deals with the background of the net neutrality debate and draws the conclusion that allowing the emergence of specialized service agreements provided by the Internet access service providers might be reasonable from an economic point of view, but several risks are associated with them from the perspective of competition law. The second part of the paper discusses how these agreements may distort competition and how European competition law might assess these problems.     

THE APPLICABILITY OF ENVIRONMENTAL EXCEPTIONS OF THE GATT TO CHINA’S WTO-PLUS OBLIGATIONS — WTO PANEL AND APPELLATE BODY RULINGS ON THE CHINESE EXPORT RESTRICTIONS OF RARE EARTHS,TUNGSTEN AND MOLYBDENUM

On March 26, 2014, a panel, established by the WTO Dispute Settlement Body, circulated its final report regarding the China — Rare Earths case to WTO Members. This dispute concerns China’s export restrictions on rare earths, tungsten, and molybdenum. In its report, the panel agreed with the findings of another dispute, the China — Raw Materials case. It concluded that the environmental exceptions under Article XX GATT 1994 cannot be applied to China’s actions. This conclusion is reconfirmed in the latest appellate body’s report of China — Rare Earths on August 7, 2014. Therefore, China was not able to justify the violation of their WTO-plus obligation to eliminate all export duties, contained in paragraph 11.3 of China’s Accession Protocol. As a consequence of the panel’s decision, it seems impossible for China to justify trade barriers with environmental interests and to invoke any exceptions. Such findings are subject to a fundamental controversy within the WTO multilateral trade system, trying to solve the tensions between environmental protection and trade liberalization. This essay examines the general applicability of environmental exceptions by analyzing the panel’s and appellate body’s approaches to the China — Rare Earths case and their findings, in connection with the purpose of sustainable development as prescribed by the preamble of the WTO Agreement. It has to be examined whether the non-application of the WTO environmental exceptions complies with Article 31 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties and is consistent with the balance between the different values pursued by the WTO. This article argues that Article XX GATT 1994 should be applicable to China’s WTO-plus obligation specified in paragraph 11.3 of its Accession Protocol as far as environmental interests are concerned.     

EXPERTISE AND DECISION‐MAKING IN THE LINKING OF CAR CRIME SERIES

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether experienced car crime investigators have special expertise in the linking of car crime and what characterises effective decision‐making in this context. Groups of experienced car crime investigators, experienced other investigators, novice participants, and naive participants attempted to link 10 series of three car crimes while thinking aloud. The results showed that experience had an effect on actual and self‐assessed linking accuracy but not on processing speed. Linking accuracy was also related to the use of a limited subset of case characteristics. Characteristics used in successful linking were included in a multidimensional scaling analysis which showed that these characteristics could be used to link the cases together also automatically. The implications of the findings for car crime investigation and for the creation of automated decision‐support systems were discussed.     

THE OMBUDSMAN AND THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN EUROPE： CASE STUDY OF ITALIAN ＂CIVIC DEFENDER＂

The paper is centered on the Ombudsman＇s role in the defense of individual human rights. The institution of the Ombudsman is based on the idea that citizens should be entitled to complain against specific acts and behaviors of their rulers and that their complaints should be investigated by an independent body. In Europe, the establishment of a specific office to investigate citizen complaints against public bureaucracy is relatively recent,     

THE REALITIES OF LAW ARE THE WINNING NARRATIVES — BASIC THESES FOR A REALISTIC AND RHETORICAL PHILOSOPHY OF LAW

This article begins explaining the Aristotelian reduction of rhetoric to persuasion, which came to determine Western tradition until modern times. To understand Aristotle’s methodology the author then wants to discuss the concept of enthymeme, the “rhetorical syllogism,” in Aristotle’s own words. In order to try a realistic critique on the Aristotelian rhetoric, more adequate to a rhetoric of modern law, the author will suggest three epistemological points of departure, three theses, and the three levels of rhetoric that support them.     

STATE＇S CONTROL AND TENURE ARRANGEMENT OVER FIXED OBJECTS DUTCH CITIZENS PRIVATE PROPERTY FOR THE WELFARE OF THE PEOPLE： THE CASE OF INDONESIA

Indonesia had been colonized by Dutch Government for more than 300 years. Posterior to Indonesia independent proclamation on August 17, 1945 there was a number of State＇s legal problems found and one of them is the control and tenure arrangement of private property that left by Dutch citizens in the country of Indonesia. Specific purpose of the paper is to criticize the existence of Act Number 3 PRP Year 1960 regarding the Tenure Arrangements Fixed Objects Dutch Citizens Private Property that has reflected a sense of unjust, uncertainty and inexpedience for the greatest number of Indonesian people. It is because the Act of 1960 defines inconsistency between Article 4, paragraph （2） with general explanations Article 1 Government Regulation of the Republic of Indonesia Number 223 of 1961. It also set the terms of priorities to obtain fixed objects belonging to individual citizens Dutch not in accordance with the principle of equality before the law. Legal implications arising from control and tenure arrangements of objects and equipment owned by a Dutch individual are a problem that occurs in the received ground objects P3MB. To implement the control arrangements of objects and equipment owned by a Dutch individual that reflects a sense of fairness, certainty and benefit to society by applying the concept of 3 in 1 in the Land Acquisition： Acquisition of land objects P3MB for laws subject.     

RENMIN LAW SCHOOL DELEGATION ANNOUNCED ＂ANNUAL REPORT ON THE LEGAL DEVELOPMENT IN CHINA＂ IN THE U.S. AND GAVE SPEECHES IN PHILADELPHIA AND WASHINTON DC

Renmin University of China Law School delegation went the U.S. in April 2014 and participated in a one-day conference in Philadelphia held by the University of Pennsylvania （UPenn） Law School and a half-day seminar in Washington DC held jointly by the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative （ABA ROLI）and UPenn Law School. The delegation is composed of Professor Han Danyuan, Dean of the Renmin Law School, Professor Zhu Jingwen, Chair of the Academic Committee, Professor He Jiahong, Director of Evidence Law Research Center, Professor Shi Yan＇an, the Vice Dean of the Renmin Law School, Associate Professor Lu Haina, Director of Human Rights Program, and Ms. Xu Fei, Project coordinator of the Intemational Office.