Misunderstanding Corruption and Community: Comparative Cultural Politics of Corruption Regulation in the Pacific

This paper will take as its empirical foundation the author’s experience of corruption and regulation in small Pacific island states. The argument is that notions of corruption and strategies for its regulation suitable for modernized societies, which lack cultural specificity and community engagement, may in fact stimulate corruption relationships in transitional cultures. The other consequence of the imposition of inappropriate definitions and regulation strategies is a profound misunderstanding of communities of dependence. In fact, corruption control can misconstrue and exacerbate economic and political dependence environments, fostering the conditions for corruption which accompany socio-economic development. Two remedies are suggested. First, corruption requires an appreciation which is ‘community-centered’, while at the same time not being neutralized by disconnected cultural relativity. Second, an enterprise theory of corruption in modernized societies and international political/commercial entities may assist in the relevant translation of global anti-corruption policies in a way which advances good governance in traditional communities. This is so when corruption is conceived as dependant on phases of modernization, and the tensions which arise when the interests of societies at different phases intersect. Corporate citizenship and compliance with anti-corrupt business practices by major corporations with a commercial interest in these transitional economies may be more beneficial than deference to uniform international codes of governance.

The Politics of Constitution Making: Transforming Politics into Constitutions

According to our conventional perception of the interrelations between revolutions and constitutions, constitutions perpetuate the interests of the victorious forces of the revolution. This paper analyzes the distinctive character of the revolutions of 1989 in East and Central Europe with respect to their claim to constitutionalism. The main characteristic of these revolutions is the disbelief of their proponents in the postulate of a homogeneous unitary popular will which imposes itself on the society. Intead, two different concepts of civil society have been emerging, both of which can be connected with a more elaborate notion of constitutionalism. Constitutions can be understood as institutional devices which encourage the endurance of their legality without being entirely dependent on either the principle of self-interest or the idea of pre-political consensus.     

Judicial Review of Politics: The Israeli Case

In the tradition of studies questioning the impact of celebrated court rulings, this article discusses the effectiveness of the judicial review of politics conducted by the Israeli Supreme Court. The Israeli Supreme Court is generally viewed as a highly influential, almost omnipotent body. During the last two decades, the Court has intervened repeatedly in the so–called political domain, thereby progressively eroding the scope of realms considered non–justiciable. It has ventured to enter domains of 'pure' political power to review the legality of political agreements, political appointments (appointments of political allies to public positions), and political allocations (government funding to organizations affiliated with its political supporters). The prevalent perception is that these developments had a significant impact on Israeli political life. The present article challenges this view and argues that, on closer scrutiny, the influence of the Court on many of the issues reviewed here is negligible. First, many of the doctrines developed by the Court in order to review political measures proved ineffective. Usually, when the Supreme Court (acting as a High Court of Justice) engages in judicial review, it lacks the evidence needed in order to decide that administrative decisions on public appointments or public funding should be abolished because they were based on political or self–serving considerations. Second, the norms mandated by the Court hardly influence politicians' decisions in everyday life, and are applied only in contested cases. The reasons for this situation are not only legal but also socio–political. Large sections of current Israeli society support interest–group politics and do not accept the values that inspire the Court.     

The HIV-infected health care provider. Doe v. Attorney General of the United States

Doe demonstrates that once an employer enters into a relationship with an individual and thereafter determines that he or she may be disabled, the employer has the right to ask the individual questions about the possible disability when those questions are relevant to assessing his or her qualifications for continuing on the job. In fact, once a health care provider is on notice that an employee's or physician's disability may render the employee or physician no longer qualified, thereby potentially endangering patients, the provider is required to determine whether the person is qualified for the job. In these sensitive matters, employers must draw a fine line between unreasonably following up on every rumor on the one hand, and on the other hand investigating reliable information when there may indeed be a direct threat to patients.     

毒物分析在侦查破案中的应用

毒物分析主要研究涉及法律问题的生物检材或其他检材中毒物的分离与鉴定,能查明中毒原因,澄清案件性质,在死因鉴定中是不可或缺的关键环节。近年来,随着毒物检验鉴定技术的不断发展,毒物分析技术手段已在侦查破案中发挥着越来越重要的作用。本文报道了两起中毒死亡的案例,通过运用气相色谱-质谱联用技术,在关键检材中分别检出特丁硫磷和一氧化碳目标物质,后结合现场勘查等材料成功侦破,还原了案件真实面目,突显了毒物分析技术在服务和支撑实战中发挥的决定性作用。     

A dissent from the many dissents from Attorney General Ashcroft's interpretation of the Controlled Substances Act

In this essay, Professor Marc Spindelman examines the states' rights arguments that have been deployed in the Oregon v. Ashcroft litigation to challenge Attorney General John Ashcroft's interpretation of the federal Controlled Substances Act. Professor Spindelman criticizes those arguments as reflecting bad politics--politics of complicity--that self-styled liberals should resist and reject.     

Adapting Adoption: A Case of Closet Politics?

The Adoption and Children Act 2002 addressed problems of delayin the adoption process, particularly with regard to childrenlooked after in the care system. This article reviews the backgroundto the Act and considers critically its emphasis on administrativereform. While the problem of delay was addressed mainly in administrativeterms, the issue could not be entirely separated from politicaldebate. In the lead-up to the Act political controversy centredon racial matching; during its passage, it focused on the legalizationof same-sex adoption. The Government effectively diffused oppositionon both counts through its emphasis on pragmatic reform to promotethe welfare of the child. The article characterizes this approachas ‘closet politics’ and suggests that such pragmatismmay exact a price in terms of implementation. The failure toaddress or resolve underlying issues of principle may mean thatlegislative change has only a limited effect on professionalpractice and public prejudice.     

指定辩护律师作用之实证研究——以委托辩护为参照

对指定辩护律师的作用,现行法的质量标准是"客观职守型援助",而更高的要求是"合理有效性援助"。以D县为个案,通过与委托辩护律师的对比研究发现,指定辩护实践存在"作用阶梯"现象。从定量角度分析,指定辩护律师在庭审中表现明显不如委托辩护律师,后者相对积极;指定辩护律师在案件定性方面作用不大,较之委托辩护略有不如。而从司法人员的评价出发,指定辩护律师发挥的整体作用也不及委托辩护律师。究其原因,指定辩护律师介入诉讼时间过晚、刑事法律援助经费保障不充分、指定辩护质量监控机制偏于形式化是主要影响因素。进一步加强指定辩护律师的作用、提高其辩护效果,很大程度上也取决于这些内、外因素的调整与变化。此外,确立适当的改革目标也是不可或缺。     

Economic Libertarians and the Hyperlink: A Preliminary Investigation into an Ideological Practice

Use of the Internet by activists is part of contemporary politics, yet we understand little about the way in which this use is related to ideological production. This paper describes the basis for and discusses an on-going research project in its early stages that seeks to understand the use of hyperlinks to create meaning on the World Wide Web. It particularly focuses on the way in which economic libertarians in the U.S. have provided links to the web pages of likeminded individuals. I theorize these links as a social practice that is informing the way in which property rights are being understood by a highly influential group of lawyers and legal activists in the U.S. Through an analysis of the links found on the web pages of lawyers who have been working to advance a free market vision of property and economic rights, I speculate on a way to understand hyperlinking as meaning creation.Several people have assisted this research in various ways and deserve to be thanked. Heath Mills, my gradute assistant at Northern Illinois University spent many hours looking at and documenting web pages. I also wish to thank the members of the International Roundtable on Law and Semiotics, which met in Amherst, Massachusetts in April 2003, for their wonderful helpful comments.Finally, thanks to Brigham for always supporting my work and providing insightful commentary; and to Taag Ebert for patiently helping me translate the language of computer engineering into the language of political science and language studies.     

论反贪秘密侦查及其证据力

当前我国的贪污犯罪,其行为方式从一般行为方式转为特殊行为方式,其犯罪形态从单一型转向特殊型,从内向型转向外向型。这种客观形势要求我们在侦查意识、侦查观念和侦查手段等方面,必须有一个根本的转变,必须把公开的侦查手段和特殊的秘密侦查手段相结合,才能有效的同贪污犯罪作斗争。     

检察机关查办职务犯罪案件监督制约机制研究

现代法治精神和诉讼理念倡导对权力实行监督,防止司法腐败。检察机关查办职务犯罪案件同样需要监督制约,以保证检察机关依法、独立、公正行使检察权。通过对刑事审前程序监督制约机制进行比较研究,探讨检察机关查办职务犯罪案件监督制约机制的必要性以及外部监督制约机制的重要性和特殊性。     

Law, Politics, and Violence Against Women: A Case Study of Palestinians in Israel

Major controversies regarding the value of legal and policy reforms have accompanied research on wife battering and social reactions to it. The present study examines the utility of law enforcement and emphasizes the relationship between gender, culture, and politics. It points to the difficulties arising from the shift from private, traditional methods of dealing with violence against women to a more public approach characterized by intervention of the state and the criminal justice system. In this connection, it was hypothesized that enforcement of the Israeli Law Against Family Violence among the oppressed and discriminated Palestinian minority generates new conflicts within the group, exacerbating control and abuse and re-victimizing women. Social control agents (formal and informal) who were interviewed about their perceptions and attitudes regarding the applicability of such a law pointed to obstacles created by sociocultural variables, the political legacy and procedural barriers. An attempt is made to show that application of the law without prior preparation and understanding of its sociocultural and political ramifications may produce adverse effects at the victim's expense. That is, unless power struggles, cultural pressures, and political priorities are taken into consideration, criminal strategies that seek to eliminate abuse may prove to be dangerous.