Sentence disparity in the federal courts and the adoption of sentencing guidelines

Pressure in the 1970's to reform the sentencing process can be attributed to a change in perceived public sentiment regarding the utility of treatment and to the belief that sentencing disparity was a severe problem in the sentencing process. Primary reform occurred in the federal judicial system with the development and implementation of rigorous sentencing guidelines. An evaluation of sentencing patterns for one federal judicial district indicates that sentencing disparity was not severe. Most federal offenders are relatively mild and consistently receive relatively mild sentences.     

英国法院对中国《海商法》和《对外贸易法》的适用和评价

通过介绍两个与中国法律或中国法院判决有关的案例,对中国法在外国的适用以及外国法院尤其是英国法院如何看待中国法院的判决进行了介绍和评析。     

Hybrid law and human rights – banning and behaviour orders in the appeal courts

The desire of the New Labour Government to be seen as responsive to popular concerns and moral panics over hooliganism and anti-social behaviour is resulting in the increased use of legislative responses that bridge criminal and civil law. Anti-Social Behaviour Orders and Football Banning Orders are two key examples of this ‘Hybrid Law’, imposed as a response to criminal conduct, supported by criminal law sanctions, but operating under a civil law procedure providing fewer protections for defendants. These hybrid orders have the power to severely restrict the freedom of individuals who have not been found guilty of any criminal offence, and have been challenged in two important cases under Article 6 of the European Convention of Human Rights. The decisions of the Appeal Courts that the purpose of the orders is merely preventative rather than punitive, and can therefore be justifiably imposed under a civil law procedure, is controversial and indicates an unwillingness to use the powers of the Human Rights Act to challenge such legislation and protect the fundamental human rights of defendants.Dr Geoff Pearson is Lecturer in Law, Management School, University of Liverpool     

Death penalty in China: The law and the practice

China is a nation that carries out the death penalty with a broad scope in its transition to a market economy. The present study described and analyzed the legal concept and practice of the death penalty in China in a comparative context. It presented an overview of the Chinese legal tradition of the death penalty, the legal development of the death penalty since the Chinese Communists took power, and the current practice of the death penalty in China. It represented an attempt to offer a research-based understanding of the capital punishment in a nation that was experiencing significant change and transformation since the early 1980s.     

Self-inflicted burns: the value of collaboration between medicine and law

Self-inflicted burns are rare in France, but they lead to major, often life-threatening complications. The authors reviewed medical data for patients hospitalized in a burn center from January 2004 to December 2008. Thirty-eight cases of self-inflicted burns were compared with 220 accidental burns. Women were predominantly affected (57.9%, n = 22). A psychiatric history (71%, n = 27) was more frequent in this population. The mean age of the victims was 38 years. The leading method of suicide was flame (94%, n = 36) associated with gasoline used as an accelerant (77.7%, n = 28). Mean total burn surface area (41.5%) and mortality (36.9%) were higher in the self-inflicted burn population. By recognizing epidemiological characteristics and patients at risk, we can better classify lesions related to self-immolation. It is important for the forensic physician to consult survival details to correlate these data with the results of autopsy.     

论医学法学专业培养模式中的若干问题——从医学法学专业人才的需方市场角度

“医学法学”作为一个新型专业方向，各高校在专业建设方面电呈现出多样化的特点。而从医学法学专业人才的需方市场角度进行分析，则对课程如何设置、学制如何、专业归属何处等问题都可以有一个较清晰的答案。