The Report of the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur & Genocidal Intent — A Critical Analysis

Netherlands International Law Review -     

A Structure-Based Concept of Genocidal Intent

The concept of genocidal intent developed in this article startswith an analysis of the structural particularities of the crimeof genocide whose specific intent refers not only to the consequence(s)of personal conduct, but also to those of collective undertaking.The proposal submitted suggests understanding ‘intentto destroy a protected group as such’ as a particularkind of specific intent: formally as intention to achieve aconsequence which goes beyond the result that constitutes theactus reus. Materially, the proposed degree of intent refersto a two-fold approach which is based on a volitional (‘intent’)and/or a cognitive (‘certain knowledge’) element.Every element may be decisive depending on the mental stateof the accused: either by virtue of the underlying purpose orby virtue of a certainty standard. While the consequences ofthe perpetrator's own conduct must be virtually certain, theadequate threshold for the occurrence of the (intended) overallaction's result is practical certainty. In practice, such level(s)may be proven by exactly the same kind of circumstantial evidencecurrent case law has relied on.     

Gendered Genocide: The Socially Destructive Process of Genocidal Rape,Killing, and Displacement in Darfur

Accounts of mass atrocities habitually focus on one kind of violence and its archetypal victim, inviting uncritical, ungendered misconceptions: for example, rape only impacts women; genocide is only about dead, battle‐aged men. We approach collective violence as multiple, intersecting forms of victimization, targeted and experienced through differential social identities, and translated throughout communities. Through mixed‐method analyses of Darfuri refugees' testimonies, we show (a) gendered causes and collective effects of selective killing, sexual violence, and anti‐livelihood crimes, (b) how they cause displacement, (c) that they can be genocidal and empirically distinct from nongenocidal forms, (d) how the process of genocidal social destruction can work, and (e) how it does work in Darfur. Darfuris are victimized through gender roles, yielding a gendered meaning‐making process that communicates socially destructive messages through crimes that selectively target other genders. The collective result is displacement and destruction of Darfuris' ways of life: genocide.     

论目的犯目的的地位

目的犯目的的地位是指目的犯中目的与故意的关系,对此,我国刑法学界争议很大,但是各种观点都没有注意区分目的犯的类型,因而难免有片面性的缺点。实际上,断绝的结果犯与短缩的二行为犯的结构有很大的差异:前者,目的是故意的内容;后者目的是故意之外的独立主观要素。其理由可以从目的犯"目的"与"故意"两方面的内容来论述。论题的进一步展开则是对我国法定目的犯的归类。     

The Significance of Transferred Intent

The doctrine of transferred intent (or transferred “malice” in England) generally provides that if A attempts to harm B but, because of bad aim, misses and accidentally causes the same harm to befall C, A’s harmful intent vis-à-vis B is transferred to C, thus rendering A guilty of intentionally harming C. Commentators acknowledge the doctrine to be a legal fiction, but they differ regarding whether the fiction produces just results, some believing it does, others believing that A is guilty at most of attempting to harm B rather than intentionally harming C. Commentators who agree that the fiction produces just results nevertheless differ regarding whether the fiction should be retained or whether A’s intent to harm “a” person, in this case, B, is the only intent that signifies for crimes of intentional harm, regardless of whom A eventually harms. Doug Husak sought to achieve reflective equilibrium between intuition and theory regarding bad-aim cases by proposing in 1996 that A be punished for attempting to harm B (rather than for harming C) but sentenced as if he had harmed B. I once believed that Husak was correct. But I now have doubts, in part because Husak, along with others, cannot explain why the strength of people’s intuitions regarding A’s responsibility in bad-aim cases depends upon (1) C’s being a reasonably foreseeable victim, and (2) C’s being harmed by the same threat of force that A initially unleashed against B. I argue that one cannot achieve reflective equilibrium in bad-aim cases without inquiring into why resulting harm matters in criminal law, and that when one does, one discovers that just as people’s intuitions regarding whether intentional harms are proximate depend upon how resulting harms occur, so, too, people’s intuitions regarding whether an actor is guilty of intentional harm depend upon how resulting harm comes about.     

论意思表示错误---中德民法比较研究

在德国民法中 ,有瑕疵的意思表示可以分为意思表示不自由和意思与表示不一致 (即非真意的意思表示 )两种情形。前者由受他人不正当干涉而产生 ,后者则出于表意人自身的原因 ,导致表示行为没有正确地反映效果意思。我国《民法通则》没有采取这种传统的分类 ,而是按行为人主观心理状态的不同作了另一种划分。第一种是行为人一方或双方故意造成的意思表示不真实的行为 ,这种行为属于无效的民事行为。第二种是行为人非故意而造成意思表示不真实的行为 ,这种行为属于可变更或可撤销的民事行为 〔 1〕(包括重大误解、显失公平、欺诈、胁迫和乘人之…     

意思表示与法律行为

民法的基本问题是法律行为 ,而法律行为的核心问题是意思表示。所以 ,作者在此所谈的是基本问题中的基本问题 ,是民法学中最核心的问题。“当代德国法学名著”传译了梅迪库斯和拉伦茨等权威著述以来 ,我国民法学界对此问题的探讨显然深入了许多。然而 ,关于意思表示和法律行为的一些基本理论问题 ,尤其是两者之间的关系与本质内涵至今并无太多系统全面的考察。朱庆育此文 ,当为出于大陆法学者之手的发掘开拓之作。文章不仅对上述基本问题作了深入细致的考察 ,而且还对若干基本概念及内容给出了独到的、严谨的分析判断与评论。是一篇有资料、有见解、有功力的作品。荐之学界 ,或可展示少壮派学者的治学精神与风格。     

类型学的犯罪故意概念之提倡——对德国刑法学故意学说争议的反思

百余年来德国刑法学在故意概念问题上发展出意志要素无用论、意志要素必要论和间接故意与有认识过失合一论三种基本主张的对立,以及十余种标记鲜明的理论学说。学说争议的出发点是为存在构造上具有区别的不同心理现象配置不同的责任,争议焦点在于意志要素无用和有用、行为意志和结果意志、客观危险和主观危险的对立。各种学说部分成功又部分失败的努力,以及彼此之间描述性而非实质性的区别都表明,故意界定的理论发展方向应由实体法视角转向程序法视角,由概念思维转向类型思维。在观念分界的意义上,故意是做成可能侵害法益的意志决定;在事实认定的意义上,提倡建构类型学的故意概念,通过对能够反映认识和意志强度的待证事实的解释性推论,来推断案件事实是否在整体上"充足"故意的类型。     

区分间接故意与轻信过失的最终方案

我们要想理顺罪过中各种要素的形态,避免认识因素或意志因素越俎代庖的现象,必须在罪过之中还情感一个名分,给情感一席之地.当罪过理论之中确立情感因素的一席之地后,发现罪过理论中原先存在的所有问题随即迎刃而解:越俎代庖现象消失了;间接故意与轻信过失得到了清楚的区分.     

Identifying Stalking: The Relevance of Intent in Commonsense Reasoning

One method of distinguishing stalking from law-abiding behavior is to determine whether the accused intended to cause fear or harm to the target. However, this distinction may not capture community concerns regarding intrusive or harassing behavior. The present research examines the effect of intent, persistence, relationship, and consequences on community perceptions of stalking. Responses of 1,080 members of the community to a series of scenarios indicated that the presence of explicit evidence of intent was not the only way stalking behavior was identified. Behavior was also identified as stalking as a greater degree of persistence was depicted. Females more often than males perceived the behavior as stalking and inferred intent to cause fear or harm. Most participants who identified the behavior as stalking also indicated that it should be illegal. These results may assist in guiding ongoing debates over appropriate stalking legislation and strategies to reduce the incidence of stalking, as well as indicating whether education regarding stalking laws is required.     

“默示意思自治”解析

"默示意思自治"是由法官来推定当事人在订立合同时意图选法但未明确地选择准据法的意图,如果不给予法官必要的参考因素或者加以限制就会无法得知推出的意思到底是法官真意还是当事人真意;这样,当事人的意思自治就会遭到破坏和扭曲。实践中没有很好地对法官作一个限定,应从列举法官在推定"默示意思自治"时的考虑因素,如包括但不限于合同的签订地、履行地、双方当事人的国籍、合同中仲裁条款或管辖条款、合同使用的格式条款等入手,在综合考查这些多种因素后,为当事人完善其意思自治。     

The Darfur Commission as a Model for Future Responses to Crisis Situations

The various special procedures so far set up by the Commissionon Human Rights (CHR) to investigate serious violations of humanrights are very different from what can be achieved by a commissionof inquiry. There is almost no comparison in terms of the scaleof resources, the expertise mobilized, the amount of detailcontained in the Commission's Report, the precision and weightof the legal analysis, and the consequent power of the finalproduct to galvanize both public opinion and inter-governmentalaction. The Darfur Commission may also serve to expand the bridgebeing built between the Commission of Human Rights and the SecurityCouncil (SC). The practice of appointing commissions of inquiryhas immense potential in that it can provide the type of specialistinput necessary if the human rights machinery and the SC areto form part of a continuum. Commissions of inquiry reportsmay contribute to promoting transparency and accountabilityin the work of the SC, since the Council, when determining whetheror not to take action in a human rights situation, has to respondto a carefully documented and a well argued analytical report.Finally, the establishment of such commissions to evaluate whetheror not a situation warrants referral to the ICC provides anappropriate filtering mechanism before the Council takes a decision.     

The United Nations,the African Union and the Darfur Crisis: Of Apology and Utopia

Netherlands International Law Review -     

The Intent Behind the Cryptic Concurrence That Provided a Reporter's Privilege

Justice Lewis Powell wrote a concurrence in Branzburg v. Hayes that, despite a majority opinion to the contrary, eventually provided room for journalists to claim a privilege against testifying in grand jury proceedings. For decades, scholars and judges have questioned what Justice Powell meant by his concurrence and whether he, in fact, supported a reporter's right to refuse to reveal confidential information. Justice Powell's personal papers and case files, as well as those of his fellow justices, observations of one of his former law clerks, and oral arguments shed light on the reasoning behind Justice Powell's enigmatic concurrence. This article concludes that Justice Powell supported a qualified reporter's privilege, applied on a case-by-case basis.     

Reasonable Grounds Evidence Involving Sexual Violence in Darfur

Internal and international conflicts can often involve a level of impunity that allows sexual violence to persist unchecked by military and political leaders. The recent reversal by an appeals panel at the International Criminal Court of a pretrial decision not to charge President al-Bashir of Sudan with genocide in Darfur offers an important foundation for introducing new types of evidence that can increase the investigation and prosecution of sexual violence during conflicts. The reversal cited the incorrect use of the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard when the lesser standard of “reasonable grounds” applied. Social science provides methods and measures that can be uniquely used to develop reasonable grounds evidence, for example, to demonstrate the roles of physical perpetrators acting together in horizontal relationships, as well as to establish the indirect participation through vertical relationships of higher-level defendants, in a chain of command of superior responsibility. We illustrate these points by presenting social science evidence of the responsibility of President al-Bashir and middle- and lower-level figures in genocidal violence in Darfur.