Illegal Dealings: The Impact of Low-Level Police Enforcement on Drug Markets

This article examines the impact of low-level police enforcement on two British drug markets, and the adaptations to enforcement made by sellers and buyers. The two markets took very different forms. One was tightly controlled by a small number of middle-level dealers, and highly structured. The structure and control worked effectively to minimise risks posed by law enforcement. The other market was very loosely structured, with little control exercised on retail sellers by middle-level dealers. This lack of organisation posed different sets of problems for law enforcement. The article examines the potential for developing the role of police sources (informants) in disrupting drug markets of both sorts. It also argues the need for provision in parallel of local treatment facilities for drug users.     

Where Size Matters: Agglomeration Economies of Illegal Drug Markets in Philadelphia

There is a debate over whether police attention focused on an illegal drug market causes dealers to spatially displace their activities “around the corner” therefore having no positive impact on the aggregate level of illegal drug sales in the city. The alternative perspective is that focused police attention lowers the rate of illegal drug sales in the city. Recent research in Jersey City, New Jersey has demonstrated that focused police attention does not simply move illegal drug dealing around the corner. The present analysis explains why this finding is likely to be common in other cities using the economic theory of “agglomeration economies.” Agglomeration economies illustrate that taking the largest and most profitable site from illegal drug dealers will make dealing in the surrounding neighborhoods less rather than more profitable and lead to a smaller marketplace overall. The empirical analysis focuses on Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.     

行政执法与刑事司法衔接初探——以广州市违法建设查处领域为例

针对当前广州违法建设行为的具体情况,提出在强化行政执法的同时,有选择的使用刑法手段对违法建设行为进行打击,分别从违法建设行为本身、阻挠违法建设执法行为、违法建设相关监管部门渎职等三个角度入手,提出使用"非法占用农用地"、"非法倒卖土地使用权"、"暴力威胁阻挠执法"、"玩忽职守"等共计20余个罪名对违法建设定罪量刑,形成打击违法建设的合力,有效遏制违法建设的势头。     

县域社会违建执法的组织形态与治理绩效辨析

县域社会违建执法需要一定的组织载体,但在不同农村类型中,体制层面执法资源配置不均和社会层面违建个体情境差异共同塑造了不同类型的政府执法组织,并产生不同治理绩效。在城中村,正式化执法组织具备常规执法权且执法密度大,虽能够强化执法效果,但在执法过程中始终存在政府与征拆居民的利益博弈;在城郊村,正式化与半正式化相结合的执法组织有助于强化政府执法力量和权威,但受信息制约和人情关系影响容易产生灰色利益空间,进而侵蚀执法目标;在远郊村,半正式化执法组织本身没有专业执法权,政府常在一定时期内通过组织动员手段来补强执法力量,但执法绩效具有不稳定性。三类农村违建执法组织的治理绩效差异,反映出国家法律在县域城乡社会落地的非均质性。     

论公务员不服从违法命令

公务员法就公务员对违法命令是否服从作了原则性规定,即服从是原则,不服从是例外。但如何理解“上级”、“决定与命令”、“服从”以及“明显违法”的含义,需要认真分析。“公务员执行明显违法的决定或者命令的,应当依法承担相应的责任”,但应以“违反刑事法律或者造成严重后果”为限。     

论行政执法中非法证据排除规则的构建

由于行政执法程序是行政诉讼的先前程序之一,其证据的取得是否合法不仅影响到行政相对人的合法权益和行政执法案件的质量,同时也关系到社会秩序是否能够有效地维护。完全照搬诉讼法上的非法证据排除规则可能不完全适合我国行政执法的现状,所以,针对行政执法的现状,研究、确立一种行政执法中的非法证据排除规则对于规范行政证据的收集将具有很大的促进作用。     

公告违法行为之合理定位

公告违法行为是行政处罚机关针对违法情节严重而又不改正或停止违法行为所采取的一种行政措施。公告违法行为既不是一种行政处罚 ,也不是对行政处罚的执行 ,还非一般行政信息公开 ,而是强迫行政相对人履行责令停止或改正违法行为义务的一种执行手段。公告违法行为应当以责令停止或改正违法行为决定为前提 ,且要处理好行政效果、公众了解权与行政相对人权益之间的适度关系。应当完善公告违法行为的适用条件及其程序 ,并赋予行政相对人请求法律救济的权利     

非法占用农用地犯罪的司法认定及其反映出的法治问题研究——以重庆市某基层检察院办理的此类案件为样本

非法占用农用地罪是国家土地政策在《刑法》上的直接体现,它表达了特定历史阶段和社会环境下国家意志对农用地使用最有力的指引和控制,能够最直接和真实地反映出作为第一产业的农业和依附于土地之上的农民的生存状况。就法律适用而言,本罪在犯罪数额、共同犯罪、追诉时效等方面的争议亟待厘清;就农用地保护而言,需对涉案群体的利益诉求做进一步关注,对社会发展及其造就的法治环境做深入的分析研究,破解非法占用农用地罪的立法困境,有效解决农村土地问题。     

Homicide Trends and Illicit Drug Markets: Exploring Differences Across Time

Ample speculation and some evidence suggests that the decline in homicide rates since the early 1990s was partially attributable to declining levels of drug market activity. This analysis explores that explanation, along with an alternative: the strength of the drug market–lethal violence relationship has weakened over time. We outline several conceptual reasons to expect period‐specific differences in the drug market–homicide relationship. These include the aging of market participants, shifts in the normative and transactional climate of markets, and changes in structural factors affecting the magnitude of the relationship between drug market indicators and homicide rates (such as socioeconomic disadvantage). These arguments are evaluated for a sample of large US cities. The results generally show a pattern of attenuation in the drug market–homicide relationship and lead us to conclude that part of the homicide decline is likely due to a drop in the amount of drug market activity, some of it is attributable to the aging of drug market participants, and some appears to be due to unmeasured factors which may have created a “kinder and gentler” drug market.     

Debts and Threats: Managing Inability to Repay Credits in Illicit Drug Distribution

This study examines how creditors in illicit drug markets manage debtors’ inability to repay “fronted” drugs. Based on qualitative interviews with 40 incarcerated drug dealers in Norway, we explore four outcomes of unpaid drug debts. Two modes of governance dominated the credit reciprocation processes: Cooperative governance included strategies of accepting loss and refinancing debt and required mutual trust between creditor and debtor. Adversarial governance included extortion of debtors and revenge and was based on threats of violence. We found that creditors preferred refinancing debt or extorting debtors over accepting loss or using violence. We argue that the negotiated outcomes of drug debt have been neglected in research on drug markets, and explore how they require investment from the creditor, either in building trust or in deterring malfeasance through threats of violence. Using insights from economic sociology, the study highlights the importance of social control in illegal drug markets.     

非法吸收公众存款罪刍议

对于非法吸收公众存款罪,理论和司法实务界以为其阐释与实施并无太大困难,鲜有论及。笔者着重论述了非法吸收公众存款罪客观方面和主观方面特征,并对司法实践中引起争议的问题,如非法吸收公众存款与非法集资以及合法的民间借贷行为如何区分进行了阐释,以期抛砖引玉,澄清理论难题。     

试论非法经营罪

非法经营罪从1979年刑法所规定的投机倒把罪中分解出来,成为一个独立的新罪名。该罪的客观特征和司法认定中的“情节严重”等多个问题均值得进一步分析与探讨,这利于深刻理解法条精义与准确适用法律。     

违法建筑在私法上的地位

本文从私权的角度 ,侧重论述了违法建筑的归属和利用两大问题 ,认为违法建筑作为不动产 ,依事实行为的完成而由建造人直接取得所有权 ,公法上对违法建筑的限制 ,不是针对违法建筑的所有权的取得 ,而是针对所有人的权利的行使。利用违法建筑 ,应当兼顾社会公共利益和各方当事人的利益 ,并符合物尽其用的宗旨。     

检察机关排除非法证据的困境与出路——以非法言词证据为中心

鉴于检察机关的特殊地位,检察机关排除非法证据具有正当性,这也是非法证据排除程序的重要内容。但检察机关排除非法证据的实际效果并不乐观,其原因在于排除主体的定位模糊,非法证据的发现机制不畅,被告人滥用诉权,非法言词证据范围不明确,同步录音录像缺乏监督等。因此,检察机关应当从创新工作机制出发,逐步推动中国特色的非法证据排除规则制度的完善。具体而言,检察机关应当采取建立检察官排除非法证据的激励机制,扩展其发现非法证据的渠道,完善预案机制等措施,以提高检察机关排除非法言词证据的成效。     

“不法侵害”范围辨析

不法侵害是刑法中正当防卫的对象。不法侵害的范围应限定为,普通人针对一般法益、重大法益,或无责任能力人针对重大法益所实施的具有急迫攻击性、侵害性,并能够为防卫行为有效控制的违法犯罪行为。能够在客观上归咎于人的动物的重大侵袭,也可以成为不法侵害。     

In Offense of Usury Laws: Microfoundations of Illegal Credit Contracts

Several European countries base their anti-usury laws on the definition of interest ceilings. Underlying this approach is the identification of high interest rates with the usurious nature of the relative credit contract; hence usury is nothing more than a particularly onerous credit contract. The present paper contradicts this traditional view by presenting a general micro-founded model of credit contracts that arrives at a few conclusions, before in a static and then in a dynamic contest. Firstly, it demonstrates the specificity of the usury contract with respect to the bank contract, pointing up the particular nature of those who supply and demand usurious credit. Secondly, it demonstrates that in environmental situations with little protection of property rights and a propensity to illegality, the decision of a borrower to turn to a usurer may be efficient from the Pareto standpoint and thus not the result of a rationing equilibrium in the bank credit market, as is commonly thought. Thirdly, it deduces from this the insubstantial link between interest rate level and the usurious nature of the contract. Hence two consequences for policy: (a) it is more effective to combat usury by improving the laws and law enforcement to better protect property rights, rather than introduce rate ceilings; and (b) in any case, the usury market can be reduced but not eliminated, since it is a meeting place for particular borrowers and lenders of funds.     

刑法规制非法集资限度问题研究

从我国现行金融体系的缺陷和集资参与人的积极促成这两个非法集资的主要成因来看,我们对非法集资的刑法规制明显“过度”了。因此,亟需合理确定刑法规制非法集资的限度。鉴于非法集资行为主要涉及非法吸收公众存款罪和集资诈骗罪,只有对这两个犯罪的适用进行合理限定,才能把握好刑法规制非法集资之限度,也才能为民间融资的合法化预留空间。     

对我国综合行政执法相关问题的思考

社会主义法治理论主要体现为依法治国、执法为民、公平正义、服务大局、党的领导五个方面,其中执法为民是社会主义法治理论体系的核心和精髓.然而.多年来我国的行政执法工作在理论和实践方面存在着概念不清、多头执法、政出多门等诸多问题,给社会和谐与人民生活带来了许多不利影响.本文对行政执法的概念、方式、权限、过程问题进行了分析,厘清了行政执法工作在政策理论和社会实践中的误区,在此基础上对我国在新的历史条件下更好地开展行政执法工作提出相关的建议.     

论违法行政行为的转换

违法行政行为转换是以公共利益最大化为基础的一种制度.它追求行政经济、效率与法的安定,具有撤销重作等制度不可替代之功能.转换的条件主要是违法行为与拟转换行政行为具有相同的目的,且违法行为中包含了拟转换行为的合法要件.转换的适用对象,主要包括违反级别管辖权的行政行为、部分适用法律错误的行政行为、部分事实认定错误的行政行为.值我国即将修改行政诉讼法与行政复议法之际,应考虑将违法行政行为转换制度明确立法,并详细规定其适用条件.     

民事非法证据排除规则之商榷

目前我国民事非法证据排除规则并未如大多数学者所认同的那样已经确立,两大法系各主要国家也并没有将其作为通则.对确立我国民事非法证据排除规则提出了质疑,分析了其存在的非理性,主张对非法证据实行"分离论",通过追究非法取证行为的刑事责任或侵权责任来进行救济.