法律解释规则及其运用研究(中)——法律解释规则及其分类

对多种法律解释规则进行分类研究是法律解释的重要任务.目前法学界关于形式法治与实质法治的区分,可以作为区隔法律解释规则的依据.与形式法治相适应,有合法性解释规则、文义解释规则和体系解释规则;与实质法治相适应,有合理性解释规则、目的解释规则等.法律解释规则是在思维领域中捍卫法治,因而要求法律人在解释法律的时候,首先要使用与形式法治相适应的解释规则,只有经过严格的论证才使用与实质法治相适应的除弊规则.     

防汛与人身自由——以“强制转移权”设定的合法性分析为例

在防汛措施中,强制转移权的设定涉及人身自由,属于《立法法》规定的法律保留范围内的事项。《浙江省防汛防台防旱条例》对此作出规定,在形式合法性方面存在瑕疵;但是,这一措施的设定具有合目的性、必要性和平衡性,在实质合法性方面合乎比例原则。因此,需要采用修订法律或法律解释的方式整合形式合法性和实质合法性,在包括突发事件应对在内的行政事务中实现一种经由形式法治的实质法治。     

形式解释论与实质解释论:事实与理念之展开

我国目前的刑事司法实践完全没有深深陷入法律形式主义的泥坑,因而需要采用实质解释论加以拯救,而恰恰是深深陷入了法律实质主义的泥坑,由此逾越了罪刑法定原则的樊篱,因而需要引入形式解释论加以纠正。在某种意义上,形式解释论与实质解释论之争不仅是构成要件论之争,甚至是刑法机能论之争、刑法观之争。在我国当下社会中,法治规则意识尚未完全建立。在这种前法治时代,我国应该大力弘扬规则功利主义。     

罪刑法定原则与刑法解释的纠缠与厘清

在我国,形式解释论和实质解释论激烈争论的焦点在于:形式解释和实质解释的位阶关系,也即形式解释和实质解释的先后顺序问题,解决这一争论的关键在于对罪刑法定原则的理解.罪刑法定原则的形式侧面和实质侧面存在实然和应然的冲突,其中,实然冲突需要通过司法适用解决,而这依赖于刑法解释的运用,而应然冲突应当交由立法解决.罪刑法定原则是刑法解释的标准,但是由于罪刑法定载体的法律文本的多义性和模糊性,具体法规范的法定内容需要依赖于刑法解释才能确定,因此,罪刑法定原则和刑法解释之间存在循环依赖关系.而民主的实现和刑法解释中形式解释的具体确定是厘清这一循环关系的关键所在.     

法治反对解释的原则

反对解释是法治初级阶段的一个重要原则.这一原则要求法官奉行司法克制主义,对明确的法律条文必须无条件遵守,在解释中不能附加法官个人的意思.反对解释不是说不要解释,而是说不能过度解释,法官只能行使有限的创造权力,对法律文本已明确的含义,法官的解释就是认同.在我国,由于长期以来一直批判法家的严苛,主张判决中天理、人情与法律的和谐相处,结果使得法律文本被置于不重要的地位.严格执法实际上没有成为我们的执法理念,法律被任意解释、曲解的现象大量发生.严格法制是我们不能逾越的阶段,反对解释的原则应是司法活动的重要原则.     

法治时代的法律位置——认真看待法律逻辑与正义修辞

按照现在社会的发展趋势,在不久的未来中国应该进入法治时代,在这个时代政治与法治并驾齐驱,在坚持法律至上的原则,重新塑造法律的权威。实现法治需要建立在逻辑基础上的法律方法论。然而,法治的实质合法性是以追求正义公平为前提的。为达到和谐社会思维决策中的正义修辞不可缺少,没有正义等法律价值的修饰,法治会失去终极目标而不具有合法性。要想使法治具有可接受性,逻辑推演的解释方法和修辞论证的方法不能缺位。认真对待法律逻辑与修辞可以支撑起一个被称为法治的时代。     

实质的刑法解释论之确立与展开

在刑法的解释与适用上,存在着形式的刑法解释论与实质的刑法解释论之争。形式的刑法解释论主张对刑罚法规进行字面的、形式的、逻辑的解释,实质的刑法解释论主张对刑罚法规进行实质的、价值的、合目的的解释。实质的刑法解释论是对形式的刑法解释论的扬弃,它不仅与刑法规范的特点、结构、内容相一致,具有方法论意义上的合理性,而且满足了我国刑事法治目标与罪刑法定原则兼具形式侧面与实质侧面的要求,适应了我国犯罪概念与犯罪构成体系形式与实质相统一的特点,具有优越的合理性。我国刑法应确立与贯彻实质的刑法解释论立场。     

高利贷行为能否入罪

高利贷行为在本质上是一种民间借贷行为,不属于《非法金融机构和非法金融业务活动取缔办法》中的"非法发放贷款",也不能被解释为刑法第225条中的"其他严重扰乱市场经济秩序的非法经营行为",将高利贷行为认定为非法经营罪违反了形式判断先于实质判断的定罪规则,在定罪作业过程中,先进行实质判断而入罪,有悖罪刑法定,破坏了法治原则。     

合法性与法治:教义性视角下的考察

对法治理想的恰当解释要区分政治性的法治观与教义性的法治观。教义性的法治观把法律视为一种自主性的规范实践,而非政治行动的工具,因此恰当的法治理论要呈现完整的合法性主张。合法性的概念分析要区分判准意义和教义性意义,哈特、富勒等理论家所发展的法治观关注了合法性的判准意义,但忽视了法律与价值世界的更深关联。德沃金对解释性概念的运用,使得法律在实践中的功能同时呈现出合法性的判准意义和教义性意义。法治观念在法律体系的运行同政治道德原则之间建立了实质关联,更具有理论吸引力。     

论刑法解释的基本原则

对刑法解释基本原则的研究,在方法论和存在论上必然遭遇到语言解释学上不可避免的部分和整体之间的循环问题。确立刑法解释的基本原则受几个关系的影响:哲学解释学、一般法律解释和刑法解释学的关系;刑法的基本原则和刑法解释的基本原则之间的关系;刑法的基本思想和刑法解释的基本原则之间的关系。“以政策为指导原则”、“整体性原则”、“明确具体原则”不是刑法解释的基本原则。我国刑法解释的基本原则有三个:合法性原则,它是刑法解释的形式规制;合理性原则,它是刑法解释的实质规制;合目的性原则,它是刑法解释原则的冲突之整合规则。     

Toolmark Identification of a Mattock to a Clod of Soil from a Grave

Abstract: At a recent bushland gravesite that contained a deceased male, a clod of soil displaying a striated toolmark was collected during the excavation of the grave. This clod was preserved, and the mark was cast using Mikrosil?. Shovels and a mattock, which had been discarded by the suspects, were subsequently found at another location. A toolmark comparison identified the hoe end of the mattock head as having produced the striated toolmark.     

Finding of a bullet in the cervical column of a body hit by a train

This case is about the finding of a body of an unidentified male of approximately 70 years of age who was hit by a train. During the carrying out of the corresponding autopsy and after the radiological tests for posterior odontological identification, a foreign body of a cylindrical-cone shape, identical to that of a bullet, was found lodged between the first and second cervical vertebrae. During dissection of the neck, a bullet was found. When the ballistic test was carried out, it was ascertained that the bullet was from a cartridge of 7.92 by 57-mm Mauser caliber, manufactured in Spain in 1936. This ammunition corresponds to that used during the Civil War in Spain (1936-1939). After the identification of the body, it was proved that the bullet was the result of a war wound. However, the victim had been unaware of the existence of the bullet, which had remained in his body for 50 years.     

Estimation of the quantity of a drug in a consignment from measurements on a sample

A consignment of individual packages is thought to contain illegal material, such as drugs, in some or all of the packages. A sample from the consignment is inspected and the quantity of drugs in each package of the sample is measured. It is desired to estimate the total quantity of drugs in the consignment. Sampling variation is present in the original measurements and it is not sufficient just to adjust the sample mean pro rata. An analysis is described which takes account of the uncertainty concerning the proportion of the packages that contain drugs and provides a probabilistic summary of the quantity of drugs in the consignment. In particular, a probabilistic lower bound for the quantity of drugs in the consignment is given, which is dependent on the required standard of proof. This is in contrast to the approach based on confidence intervals which assumes that in the long run, the interval will contain the correct quantity the appropriate proportion of the time, but gives no measure of uncertainty associated with the particular consignment under consideration.     

Reconstruction of a suicide by a homemade firearm

A 34 years old man shot himself by a selfmade muzzle-loader. He pluged one end of a waterpipe, used a cylindrical lead shot (Cal. 1.2 cm, length 2.15 cm, mass 22.7 g), special black powder (about 4 g, from fire-crackers; powder with an admixture of aluminium) and kindled the weapon in front of his chest by a slowmatch. He died immediately by retained missile of chest. The weapon flew away like a rocket. Unused projectils and powder (found in the flat) and the uninjured pipe allowed to copy the event. Velocity and energy of shot and weapon were determined, also the recoil of the pipe and the highest force of a hand to hold it fast. Experimental investigations and calculations correspondet well to the findings af the case.     

The influence of a shot distance on a profile of a wound canal in flat bones

Experimental shots were made from rifled weapons, from different distances, at isolated flat bones. There was established a significantly increased angle of the axial section of the cone-shaped defect due to the expanding sizes of the exit part of the wound canal (WC) and of the outlet opening as the shot distances increased. An expert's evaluation is offered to assess a shot distance involving the WC profile and by calculating an angle of the axial section of the cone-shaped defect on the basis of the inlet and outlet sizes and of the flat-bone thickness.     

The place of a forensic archaeologist at a crime scene involving a buried body

This paper examines the place that forensic archaeologists should hold at scenes of crime where a body has been buried. The forensic archaeologist is rapidly becoming a key player whose specialty should be explained, and role defined. A high level of interaction between the forensic archaeologist and other personnel implies good communications skills as well as a precarious mix of receiving orders, assistance and advice as well as giving directions to other staff. The extent to which each of these should be applied will be discussed as well as underlying the absolute need for forensic archaeologist to attend these types of scenes.     

Radiographic comparison of a fractured clavicle exhibiting a pseudo-arthrosis

Bone remodeling is a natural process that is potentially problematic for radiographic comparisons because it can occur after antemortem (AM) imaging, thus interfering with the comparability of AM and postmortem (PM) radiographs from the same individual. While the effects of age-related remodeling have been studied, limited attention has been given to trauma-related remodeling with respect to radiographic comparisons. This report adds to the latter topic by presenting a case of AM clavicle fracture that developed into a pseudo-arthrosis over a 12-month period prior to the individual's death. Even though remodeling was discernable along the fracture margins, adjacent skeletal features on the PM radiograph remained unaltered and constituted compelling evidence for the identification. This case illustrates the potential of using both normal and pathological anatomy concurrently to maximize the surety of findings from radiographic comparisons.