Applying the Responsibility to Protect to the ‘Arab Spring’

The doctrine of the responsibility to protect, since its inception in the ICISS report of 2001, has been the subject of considerable discussion. Arguably its most publicised component is the principle that the international community has the responsibility to protect civilian populations against severe suffering where the relevant national authorities are unable or unwilling to do so. Consequently, the main focus of discourse upon the responsibility to protect has centred on its impact upon the approach of the international community to intervention in respect of situations posing considerable humanitarian crises. The events of the Arab Spring, in which full blown conflict in some states gave rise to serious human suffering, provided a real opportunity for the international community to evaluate the role of the responsibility to protect in decision-making over responding to such instances, and potentially to develop it into a practical and meaningfully implementable concept. However, due to political flaws inherent in the doctrine, and its arguably overstated significance, the doctrine at best played a minimal role in guiding the international response to developments in the Arab World. Nonetheless, responses to the Arab Spring do allow certain conclusions to be drawn in respect of the future relevance of the doctrine.     

‘Endemic to the species’: ordering the ‘other’ via organised crime

The United States has been the prime mover in the establishment of both the concept of organised crime and the use of the concept in its attempt to establish global hegemony, in which law enforcement became a little more than a front for a government-backed central casting agency, stereotyping both heroes and villains. This article offers an account of how the ‘Other’ has been used as prism for the construction of organised crime primarily in the United States and how this construction, as a franchise, has been exported on the international level and on heterogeneous criminal landscapes.     

From a ‘peasant parliament’ to a ‘professional parliament'? Change in the Icelandic Althingi

The present article seeks to describe and analyse parliamentary change in the Icelandic Althingi, probably one of the least known of the west European legislatures. The first question asked is ‘Has there been a professionalisation of the Icelandic parliament?’ and, secondly, ‘Has there been a professionalisation of Icelandic legislators?’ The article is in three sections. The first gives a very brief overview of the main institutional features of the Althingi before 1991. The second focuses on changes in the legislative capacity of the Althingi, whilst the third explores possible changes in the legislative culture of the assembly. The study draws on three sources: official statistical material and other parliamentary documentation; discussions with senior parliamentary staff; and hour‐long interviews with three veteran Atlhingi members boasting a total of 80 years parliamentary experience between them.     

Structuration Theory and Wrongful Imprisonment: From ‘Victimhood’ to ‘Survivorship’?

Building on existing research from a zemiological approach, this article seeks to contribute to a more ontological understanding of the production and reproduction of harms associated with wrongful imprisonment in England and Wales. Drawing from Anthony Giddens’s theory of structuration, it is argued that whilst the harms of wrongful imprisonment are both complex and devastating, victims need not be perceived as entirely passive. Rather, victims of wrongful imprisonment can be viewed as knowledgeable agents with the intrinsic capacity and agency to strategically cope with and even survive the harms that they experience. The article concludes with personal accounts by victims of wrongful imprisonment that form an identifiable ‘survivor’ discourse to highlight some of the key critical factors that are vital in helping victims of wrongful imprisonment to re-structure their lives after release.     

Victims’ motivations for reporting to the ‘fraud justice network’

ABSTRACT

It is well-established that (online) fraud has one of the lowest reporting rates across all crime categories. However, there is a large gap examining why some victims choose to report online fraud offenses. Therefore, this paper examines the under-researched group of online fraud victims who reported their crimes to authorities. Based on interviews with 80 victims across Australia, who lost at least AUD10,000 to online fraud, this paper demonstrates two motivations behind reporting: a sense of individual justice, and an altruistic notion of protecting others. The paper also highlights the negativity associated with the reporting process. The paper uses these findings to determine what can be learnt from the victims who were willing to report. It concludes with a discussion of the challenges evident in seeking to improve the confidence of victims reporting to authorities.     

Who Am I?: Using Reflective Practice and Self-determination to Redefine ‘Employability’ in Legal Education

Liverpool Law Review - This study examines the value of undergraduate law students undertaking structured and assessed reflective practice as part of their studies, in the context of competing...     

An introduction to the special issue on ‘counterfeiting’

This paper provides an introduction to the articles and report excerpts included in the special issue of Trends in Organized Crime on ‘Counterfeiting’. The aim of this special issue is to add to the relatively sparse literature currently available that addresses this expansive and complex criminological phenomenon. In particular, the special issue draws together empirical research findings and theoretical accounts on the organization of the counterfeit trade across a broad spectrum of goods, and highlights a number of issues associated with researching counterfeiting.     

‘The Sky is Falling!’ – Responses to the ‘Going Dark’ problem

The shared concern expressed in the two quotes below is that modern technologies provide criminals with a capability to evade investigation. This comment piece examines some of the policy and legal options available to governments and law enforcement agencies to try to address this concern. While accepting the claim that this phenomenon represents a real challenge to law enforcement agencies, we currently have insufficient evidence to show the true extent of the problem. What this piece does not accept is the implication contained in the quotes, and often made explicit by others, that the use of encryption represents a fundamental and irreversible shift in the balance of power between criminals and their investigators from what previously prevailed. Such claims tend to lack historical perspective, which is one of the themes of this 200th issue of Computer Law and Security Review.     

Listen to the Judge or Listen to the Facts?——On the exclusionary rule

证据是认识的基础、证明的根据、检验的标准、思想的指南.什么能当此重任?惟有事实.证据是事实,事实不存在非法、合法的问题.事实是客观的,既不受法律调整,也不受法律制约,因而证据也没有合法性.证据不能排除.排除证据的实质是法官睁着眼睛不认事实,排除证据的法官把自己和事实的位置摆错了,这是一项根本性的错误.非法获取人证是司法警察通过刑讯逼供和指名问供这样两重罪行实现的,因而它不是程序,而是程序中的实体.     

High Policing Theory and the Question of ‘What is to be Done?’

Within the field of high policing theory it has become increasingly difficult to pose the question of ‘What is to be done?’ in ways that do not result in a pragmatic accommodation of existing political arrangements. This essay proposes a way of reanimating the normative impulse of earlier high policing theory such that this outcome is exceeded. It does so by drawing upon Fredric Jameson’s distinction between representation and representation in motion, such that the emergent state of normativity takes the form of normativity as a representation of itself in motion. This form of normativity draws upon the performative character of the power that is particular to the practices associated with high policing. The proposition is illustrated with normative responses made to instances of political policing within the New Zealand context.     

Criminal Justice Reform and the System’s Efficiency

This article discusses key issues that affect the efficiency and credibility of criminal justice systems. It discusses the consequences of an ineffective criminal justice system, which include unnecessary delays within the court process, ‘cracked’ or ‘collapsed’ trials, and lack of public confidence. It notes that a successful system must contain strategic, integrated, and sustainable mechanisms that enhance the entire criminal justice process. The article examines a number of initiatives taken by various countries, noting the measurable and sustainable results, while also suggesting ways that these programs could be improved. Finally, the author notes the importance of measuring the outcomes and impact of the suggested initiatives in an effort to promote transparency and accountability, as well as effectively record successful strategies.     

Empathy: an essential element of legal practice or ‘never the twain shall meet’?

In a climate where the work of the legal profession is changing and evolving rapidly, this article considers the potential for empathy to be incorporated as an essential element of legal practice. This challenges the conceptions of legal practice held by many legal professionals and law students but draws on increasing scientific evidence demonstrating the interaction between cognition and affect and reflects the emotional realities of life in practice. This article will consider the different definitions of empathy and argue that it is necessary for it to be conceptualised in a way which draws upon both cognitive and affective elements. When empathy is interpreted in this way it can provide both a more effective form of practice and a deeper appreciation of ethics and values. This article will argue that to incorporate empathy in this way requires a richer, more nuanced consideration of the benefits and challenges involved in its use. However, embedding it throughout legal education, training and legal practice would more than reward such a careful evaluation of its role.     

Changing the meaning of ‘vulnerable’ under the homelessness legislation?

The Supreme Court judgement in Hotak v Southwark London Borough Council (Equality and Human Rights Commission and others intervening) [2015] UKSC 30; [2015] 2W.L.R. 1341 appears to have significantly altered prevailing understandings of the meaning of ‘vulnerability’ within the homelessness legislation’s concept of priority need. This paper analyses Hotak’s doctrinal effects, and questions both the adequacy of the court’s reasoning and the likelihood of those formal doctrinal changes leading to a concomitant alteration to the content of the decisions that local authorities reach.     

‘What to do with the cutters?’ – Best practices for offender self-injurious behaviors

This paper addresses focal concerns regarding self-injurious behavior (SIB) in offenders, provides guidance on current best practices, and explains and challenges myths often held by correctional staff and administration regarding SIB. It is organized along the following thematic areas: (1) Behavior: SIBs within corrections are complex, challenging, and often misunderstood; (2) People: reducing rates of SIB in a correctional facility is a difficult challenge that requires collaboration; and (3) Place: the challenge of providing therapeutic and medical care within a correctional setting. Subsequently, policy implications and best practices recommendations are provided in order to better address this problematic behavior.     

Police confirmation of use of force in Australia: ‘To be or not to be?’

Despite significant transgressions during encounters with Indigenous peoples and marginalised groups, all six state police organisations in Australia espouse the principle of minimum force and identify service and crime prevention as paramount in community interaction and intervention. This article offers some insight and perspective of police talk and thinking about the potential use or avoidance of force. The four Victoria Police focus groups, when confronted by the specific police use of force scenario, speak of the adrenalin rush and the need to achieve results, if reasonable and necessary by force, but also of the desire to control the situation and follow proper police procedures. Officers support ‘Safety First’ principles that advocate a cautionary and suspicious approach to the scenario combined with rational and methodical tactics rather than emotional responses. The reflective talk of individual officers about the hypothetical situation parallels actual behaviour when police collectively and visibly confront public disorder. Control and containment of the situation—whether the scenario or a major crowd disturbance—are paramount while time, in the form of acting slowly and adopting a low-key approach, can be seen as assets in achieving objectives. In both the scenario and police planning for collective action, a readiness to threaten force, rather than actually employ it, appears central to police thinking. Police justification of non-coercive tactics in certain situations can be revealing about their thinking processes in justifying force in other circumstances.

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Can restorative justice disrupt the ‘school-to-prison pipeline?’

The ‘school-to-prison pipeline’ now commonly refers to the impact of zero tolerance and other harsh exclusionary discipline policies on school suspensions and expulsions, especially felt among minority students of color in the United States. Abundant evidence now concludes that such students are suspended, expelled, disciplinarily referred and arrested at rates far exceeding either their representation in the population or that of their white peers. Restorative justice practices have emerged as an increasingly popular response to racial disparity in school discipline, supported by research, state and federal governmental initiatives. However, the capacity of restorative justice to limit the school-to-prison pipeline may remain unfulfilled unless it can disrupt current social-organizational structures that maintain racial inequity in institutional structures. This paper considers the effectiveness of restorative justice in schools as an alternative to overly punitive discipline policy and as a strategy for reducing racial disciplinary disparity. It then considers organizational and cultural impediments to implementing restorative justice to overcome racial disciplinary inequity for school-based youth and asserts that restorative justice must strive for more than incremental change inside existing systems.     

‘Are the ‘others’ coming?’: Evidence on ‘alien conspiracy’ from three illegal markets in Greece

In the early 1990s Greece accepted a large number of immigrants from a variety of contexts. Since then ‘organised criminality’ has become an important aspect of the immigration nexus in the country, and ethnicity has been viewed as an extremely important-if not the primary–explanatory variable. Simultaneously, there has been very little empirical research on ‘organised crime’ in Greece in general and ‘organised crime’ and ethnicity in particular. The purpose of this article, which is based on previous research that the author has conducted on three illegal markets in Greece (a. migrant smuggling business, b. the cigarette black market, and c. the market of stolen cars and car parts), is to show the extent to which these illegal markets are controlled by foreign nationals, and establish whether there is such thing as an ‘alien conspiracy’ in the particular country.     

‘Lex Cryptographi(c)a,’ ‘Cloud Crypto Land’ or What? – Blockchain Technology on the Legal Hype Cycle

Based on the reception of DLT/blockchain, this article argues that legal discourse is subject to hype cycle dynamics. Thinking in hype cycle categories provides a structured way for analysing the legal implications of a particular innovation. This critical engagement with enthusiasts, sceptics and pragmatists through the different stages may help to present a more realistic picture of DLT/blockchain's potential from a legal perspective in the short and medium term. Consequently, this article discusses the potential for disruption to the legal system envisaged by enthusiasts at the height of inflated expectations, attempts to deconstruct the arguments levelled at the technology by its detractors during the trough of disillusionment, charts the emerging legal landscape that seeks to harness the potential of DLT/blockchain up the slope of enlightenment, and concludes by risking a glimpse towards the plateau of productivity.