美国消费者的“疯狂”维权之诉

每年3月15日的消费者保护日,似乎始终是个不痛不痒的日子。而在美国,亦有着类似的保护消费者的纪念日。与官方色彩浓厚的3·15相比,这个史特拉奖(Stella Awards)年度纪念日似乎显得有些疯狂荒诞。然而其背后蕴藏着的消费者保护法理,亦值得人们深思。     

Charter rights & health care funding: a typology of Canadian health rights litigation

Canadian health consumers have increasingly relied on the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to demand certain therapies and reasonably timely access to care. Organizing these cases into a 5-part typology, we examine how a rights-based discourse affects allocation of health care resources. First, successful Charter challenges can, in theory, lead to courts granting and enforcing positive rights to therapies or to timely care. Second, courts may grant a right to certain health services; however, subsequently government fails to deliver on this right. Third, successful litigation may create negative rights, i.e. rights to access care or private health insurance without government interference. Fourth, consumers can fail in their legal pursuit of a right but galvanize public support in the process, ultimately effecting the desired policy changes. Lastly, a failed lawsuit can stifle an entire advocacy campaign for the sought-after therapies. The typology illustrates the need to examine both legal and policy outcomes of health right litigation. This broader analysis reveals that the pursuit of health rights seems to have caused largely a regressive rather than progressive impact on Canadian Medicare.     

From Bail to Jail: The Effect of Jail Capacity on Bail Decisions

One of the more important decisions made by judges in the criminal justice system is the bail decision. Factors that judges take into consideration when making a bail decision, such as seriousness of the offense, flight risk, and public safety, are typically seen by researchers as the primary determinants of such a decision. However, one aspect that researchers have not studied extensively—rated jail capacity – could play an important role in a judge’s decision. Overcrowding in jails leads to numerous problems, both for the offender and the system itself, so judges may be more willing to release offenders into the community during the pretrial period if the local jails are overcrowded. The current study examines the effect of rated jail capacity on decisions regarding bail amounts, release on recognizance (ROR), financial release, and conditional release in eight Florida counties. Results indicate that rated jail capacity plays a role in judges’ bail decisions, suggesting that judges are concerned about housing more pretrial offenders in crowded jails.     

重读《权利法案》——关于诉讼权保障的宪法学思考

美国刑事司法制度的最大特点,就是将一些直接涉及公民权利和自由的诉讼行为上升到宪法高度,为公民在刑事诉讼中的权利提供宪法性的保障。这些保障集中体现在被称为“权利法案”的宪法修正案中。这一做法在第二次世界大战以后对许多国家制定或修改宪法以及完善刑事诉讼制度产生了广泛而深远的影响。作为公民的一项基本权利的诉讼权利,在我国宪法中并没有得到足够的重视和保护。重读《权利法案,》吸取其合理因素,以完善我国诉讼人权的宪法学保护。     

No claim,no gain: law and litigation as a tool for reform

If it was the riots across English cities that defined the British summer of 2011, then the summer of 2012 – featuring a Royal Jubilee and the London Olympics – was meant to showcase a thoroughly more stable and law-abiding Britain. Yet by June it seemed as if the Great British Summer of 2012 would be remembered for a remarkable and seemingly unending series of cases that exposed the corruption rotting at the core of the British establishment.     

Human rights dynamics of abortion law reform

The legal approach to abortion is evolving from criminal prohibition towards accommodation as a life-preserving and health-preserving option, particularly in light of data on maternal mortality and morbidity. Modern momentum for liberalization comes from international adoption of the concept of reproductive health, and wider recognition that the resort to safe and dignified healthcare is a major human right. Respect for women's reproductive self-determination legitimizes abortion as a choice when family planning services have failed, been inaccessible, or been denied by rape. Recognition of women's rights of equal citizenship with men requires that their choices for self-determination be legally respected, not criminalized.     

行政诉权分层保障机制优化研究

基于当事人行政诉权行使理性化程度的不同,可将其区分为理性行使、精明行使、不当行使和恶意行使等四种状态,行政诉讼法实施应当进一步健全行政诉权分层保障机制。对理性行使行政诉权者应当给予有效保障,从科学把握立案登记和审查关系、法官履行释明诉讼类型选择义务、灵活运用行政案件协调化解机制等三个方面进行优化。对精明行使行政诉权者应当给予适度容忍,健全诉讼风险交流机制和诉讼繁简分流机制。对不当行使行政诉权者应当给予必要矫治,完善诚信诉讼的程序规则支撑和诉讼失权制度的精准适用。对恶意行使行政诉权者应当给予严厉制裁,探索差异化立案审查和诉讼失信人信用惩戒机制。行政诉权分层保障机制的优化,对于立基于全民守法的法治社会建设具有重要的促进作用。     

英国对精神打击的法律救济及其改革进展

精神打击是指自然人因精神上遭受严重打击或者持久刺激而导致的,独立于身体权、健康权等权利损害的且非一般可容忍的可辨别性损害。英国对精神打击所致损害的法律救济经历了复杂演变过程,在此过程中一系列规则得以创立。英国法律委员会对精神打击救济问题也做出了一系列的努力,最终形成了一个改革方案,但是这个方案却没有得以通过。精神打击法律救济中实际上关系到受害人权益救济和行为自由保护的冲突与协调这一侵权法中的基本矛盾。在协调二者的关系时必须通过一系列制度设计找到利益平衡的支点。探寻精神打击的法律救济条件和限制机制应该是理论研究和司法实践解决的重要问题。     

司法权力运行与当事人诉讼权利保障实证研究

“司法文明指数”2015年的调查报告,对“司法权力”和“当事人诉讼权利”两个一级指标及其内容进行了调整,通过相关调查数据可以展现司法权力运行和当事人诉讼权利保障的现状.由此数据我们可以发现,司法权力运行与当事人诉讼权利保障的现状既有进展,也有不足.数据对于了解实践现状有其积极意义,但是同时要客观看待其中的局限.司法权力运行与当事人诉讼权利保障之间的关系将是未来研究的重要课题.     

论刑事诉讼庭前审查程序的改革

现行刑诉法对原庭前审查程序作了重大修改,将庭前实质性审查改变为程序性审查,取消了庭前案卷移送制度.而司法实践对该程序的改革更是超前一步,将审判流程管理职能也赋予了庭前审查程序,实行立审分立,"将审判管理的全过程分为立案审查、庭前准备、排期传递、跟踪督办、依法审理、案件评查、违法处理、结案归档八大环节,并对各个环节的具体操作以及运行程序和期限作了明确规定,"①使立案庭掌握案件流程控制权,与审判庭分工负责、相互协助、相互监督制约.     

反贪查案工作机制探讨

上海市人民检察院第一分院反贪局自1995年贪检处成立发展至今,在办案思路、线索评估、把握初查重点及办案模式、办案谋略等方面基本形成了一整套行之有效的做法。在业务工作、队伍建设、检察改革、思想政治工作等方面取得了新的成绩,尤其在如何加强贪污贿赂案件线索的价值评估及初查方案的制定方面作了改革和努力。     

Sexual orientation as a justice issue: Issues of postmodern social philosophy and religion for civil rights

This essay theoretically explores three core concerns for social justice research and analysis in the transition from social and legal philosophical foundations based upon Enlightenment categorical universals to a postmodern context that recognizes concurrent globalization and the constructed nature of particular status identities. Utilizing sexual orientation as a case study, the concerns are, what constitutes a civil right in a postmodern context, how useful are categories versus behaviors in protecting civil rights, and how does religion affect the civil morality that justifies and legitimates justice criteria? The argument is made that a justice construct for sexual orientation must rely both on behavioral freedoms and ontological status for adequate protection of human dignity and equality. It also is argued that interreligious discourse is essential to reparticularize religiomoral assumptions that have justified inequality and to provide an adequate negotiated grounding to legitimate shared norms upon which postmodern justice philosophy can be built.     

看守所脱逃案的监所监督反思

黑龙江延寿县看守所脱逃事件反映出了我国看守所管理以及看守所监督等多方面的问题。在看守所管理方面存在着有规不循现象明显、管理混乱现象严重、违规与失职现象突出等问题。在看守所监督方面存在着公安机关的监督流于形式、检察机关的监督出现遗漏、舆论监督以讹传讹等问题。只有通过进行全方位的深刻反思,才能弥补制度上以及操作上的漏洞,避免此类恶性事件的再次发生。