从司法鉴定的证据属性看司法鉴定制度改革

作为一种证据,司法鉴定具有双重属性：实体上的科技性和程序上的诉讼性,从不同角度确保司法鉴定结论真实可靠、公正权威。司法鉴定制度必须包含一系列规则和制度,确保司法鉴定及其结论在内容上具有符合科学规律的正确性,在程序上符合程序正义的要求。司法鉴定制度基本可以分为针对鉴定机构和鉴定人的行政管理制度与针对具体鉴定活动以及鉴定结论的审查和采信的诉讼制度。为实现司法鉴定的公正性,应当完善各项司法鉴定的行政管理制度和诉讼程序制度,并使之内在协调、彼此连接,形成协调的制度体系。     

司法鉴定机构性质探析

司法鉴定制度的改革,已作为司法体制和工作机制改革的一个组成部分。司法鉴定机构的性质,涉及到从事司法鉴定活动的资质的行政许可,又关系到进入诉讼程序的鉴定结论的证据资格的认定,因而是司法鉴定体制及改革的关键。本文从司法鉴定机构现状分析入手,借鉴国内外的有益经验,对司法鉴定机构性质的定位及改革,提出了思考与建议。     

司法鉴定若干理论问题研究(2)

(1998年北京大学法学硕士研究生论文 )第四章　司法鉴定制度第一节　司法鉴定制度的概念与分析司法鉴定制度从狭义上讲 ,仅指进行鉴定的程序制度 ;从广义上讲还应包括 ,作为诉讼证明制度一部分 ,对司法鉴定结论进行审查和运用的制度。前者是对鉴定活动而言的规则 ,后者是对证明而言的规则。这些规则的首要目的就是保证鉴定结论的客观真实性。司法鉴定的专门性、司法鉴定结论失真的隐蔽性不仅使鉴定本身只能由专门的鉴定人员来完成 ,而且在运用司法鉴定结论的诉讼证明活动中对鉴定结论的审查也只能由具有相关学科专门知识的人员来完成。因此 …     

鉴定结论的证据地位与当事人的质询权

我国民事诉讼法中关于司法鉴定制度的规定很少且可操作性差,而法院对鉴定结论的随意取舍更加严重影响了司法公正的实现,我们在现有的鉴定制度条件下,应正确认识鉴定结论的证据地位和当事人在鉴定阶段的诉讼权利,从程序方面保证鉴定结论的公正性,充分运用司法鉴定的手段,审查判断证据,及时查明争议事实,正确发挥司法鉴定结论的证据作用。     

程序正义理念与司法鉴定制度重构

司法鉴定活动应符合一系列体现程序正义的基本诉讼理念,即当事人平等、程序公开及证据裁判等。在这些基本诉讼理念的指导下重构司法鉴定制度,主要内容是:建立中立的司法鉴定机构、采取措施确保鉴定人的专业性和独立性、明确鉴定结论的非终结性等。     

两大法系司法鉴定制度比较研究——兼论我国司法鉴定制度改革的出路

本文从鉴定人的资格、诉讼地位和作用、鉴定的启动程序和选任鉴定人、鉴定结论的审查程序等多个层面，分析了两大法系司法鉴定制度的异同，进而指出，随着两大法系司法鉴定制度趋于融合，我国司法鉴定制度的改革应主要以大陆法系国家的鉴定制度为参照，并适当吸收英美司法鉴定制度中的一些合理因素。     

司法鉴定如何寻求公正

什么是证据?证据是用于证明未知事实的已知事实之统称,它是认识案件事实的唯一途径,是进行启动、发展、终结诉讼活动的前提;是司法机关开展司法活动,讲究司法公正的基础;是证明犯罪事实的惟一手段;证据是促使犯罪人认服法的武器;是无罪的人不受刑事追究的保障。而诉讼证据则是指经过法庭查证属实,能够证明案件事实的已知事实,它的重要性不言而喻。作为证据的鉴定结论、取证手段的司法鉴定,便显得尤为重要。 专家呼吁:司法行政部门应认真贯彻落实国务院制定的“三定方案”,尽快建立国家统一的司法鉴定中心,制定司法鉴定有关法律法规,鉴定人员资格实行全国统一考试、认证,司法鉴定机构要有一个严格的审批程序和标准,设立司法鉴定援助制度,鉴定人员待遇由国家财政保障。 今年两会期间,有5个省人大代表团,160多位代表联名提案,要求对司法鉴定工作进行立法和改革。     

司法鉴定若干理论问题研究(2) (1998年北京大学法学硕士研究生论文)

第四章司法鉴定制度 第一节司法鉴定制度的概念与分析 司法鉴定制度从狭义上讲,仅指进行鉴定的程序制度;从广义上讲还应包括,作为诉讼证明制度一部分,对司法鉴定结论进行审查和运用的制度.前者是对鉴定活动而言的规则,后者是对证明而言的规则.这些规则的首要目的就是保证鉴定结论的客观真实性. 司法鉴定的专门性、司法鉴定结论失真的隐蔽性不仅使鉴定本身只能由专门的鉴定人员来完成,而且在运用司法鉴定结论的诉讼证明活动中对鉴定结论的审查也只能由具有相关学科专门知识的人员来完成.因此,司法鉴定制度不仅要对鉴定活动进行规范,而且要以运用鉴定结论的证明活动进行规范.本文所称司法鉴定制度为广义的概念. 目前对司法鉴定制度的研究成果主要集中在司法鉴定体制、鉴定人、鉴定的程序制度和鉴定标准化方面.应当说这已经奠定了司法鉴定的基本理论框架,但从总体上讲,还不够深入,值得进一步探讨. 第二节外国司法鉴定制度分析 与法系的划分相似,由于社会、历史背景不同,各国的司法鉴定制度大体上也可以分为两类.一是德国、日本、前苏联以及我国台湾地区的司法鉴定制度,即大陆法系的司法鉴定制度;二是英国、美国以及英联邦国家的司法鉴定制度,即英美法系的司法鉴定制度.两大法系之间的司法鉴定制度差别甚大,而法系内部各国的司法鉴定制度也有许多不同.限于篇幅,这里不再细分而一并讨论.     

完善司法鉴定制度是科学证据时代的呼唤

司法鉴定是现代司法证明活动中查明案件事实的一种重要方法和手段.现代司法鉴定是司法证明方法进步的结果和体现.科学技术的进步使司法证明方法发生了两次重大的转变.以物证及其相关的鉴定结论等证据构成的"科学证据",应该成为司法证明最主要的手段.物证虽然是客观实在的,但其自身不能直接证明案件事实,需要人们的认识.司法鉴定是人们认识物证的途径.司法鉴定水平的提高可以帮助发现更多潜在的证据.科学技术是司法鉴定的生命.科学技术的进步是促进司法鉴定发展的最重要因素.司法鉴定制度改革应与审判体制改革相适应.司法鉴定制度改革应与证据法律制度相协调,既要赋予法官对鉴定结论的自由裁量权,又要对司法鉴定制度进行规范.司法鉴定制度改革应以提供"科学证据"为出发点,需要鉴定人出庭、技术方法标准化和建立行业协会等措施.     

司法鉴定若干理论问题研究(2) (1998年北京大学法学硕士研究生论文)

第四章司法鉴定制度 第一节司法鉴定制度的概念与分析 司法鉴定制度从狭义上讲,仅指进行鉴定的程序制度;从广义上讲还应包括,作为诉讼证明制度一部分,对司法鉴定结论进行审查和运用的制度.前者是对鉴定活动而言的规则,后者是对证明而言的规则.这些规则的首要目的就是保证鉴定结论的客观真实性. 司法鉴定的专门性、司法鉴定结论失真的隐蔽性不仅使鉴定本身只能由专门的鉴定人员来完成,而且在运用司法鉴定结论的诉讼证明活动中对鉴定结论的审查也只能由具有相关学科专门知识的人员来完成.因此,司法鉴定制度不仅要对鉴定活动进行规范,而且要以运用鉴定结论的证明活动进行规范.本文所称司法鉴定制度为广义的概念. 目前对司法鉴定制度的研究成果主要集中在司法鉴定体制、鉴定人、鉴定的程序制度和鉴定标准化方面.应当说这已经奠定了司法鉴定的基本理论框架,但从总体上讲,还不够深入,值得进一步探讨. 第二节外国司法鉴定制度分析 与法系的划分相似,由于社会、历史背景不同,各国的司法鉴定制度大体上也可以分为两类.一是德国、日本、前苏联以及我国台湾地区的司法鉴定制度,即大陆法系的司法鉴定制度;二是英国、美国以及英联邦国家的司法鉴定制度,即英美法系的司法鉴定制度.两大法系之间的司法鉴定制度差别甚大,而法系内部各国的司法鉴定制度也有许多不同.限于篇幅,这里不再细分而一并讨论.     

Bhartṛhari and Maṇḍana on Avidyā

The concept of avidyā is one of the central categories in the Advaita of Śaṇkara and Maṇḍana. Shifting the focus from māyā, interpreted either as illusion or as the divine power, this concept brings ignorance to the forefront in describing duality and bondage. Although all Advaitins accept avidyā as a category, its scope and nature is interpreted in multiple ways. Key elements in Maṇḍana’s philosophy include the plurality of avidyā, individual selves as its substrate and the Brahman as its field (viṣaya), and the distinction in avidyā between non-apprehension and misapprehension. A closer investigation shows that Maṇḍana is directly influenced by Bhartṛhari’s linguistic non-dualism in developing the concept of avidyā. This study also compares other key constituents such as vivartta and pariṇāma that are relevant to the analysis of avidyā. As the concept of counter-image (pratibimba) emerges as a distinct stream of Advaita subsequent to Maṇḍana, this study also compares the application of pratibimba in the writings of Bhartṛhari and Maṇḍana.     

Unraveling the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Kāvyaprakāśa</Emphasis>: Jayadeva Pīyūṣavarṣa’s idiosyncratic sequence of topics in the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Candrāloka</Emphasis>

In his twelfth century alaṃkāraśāstra, the Candrāloka, Jayadeva Pīyūṣavarṣa reverses the sequence of topics found in Mammaṭa’s Kāvyapr-akāśa, an earlier and immensely popular work. With such a structural revisionism, Jayadeva asserts the autonomy of his own work and puts forth an ambitious critique of earlier approaches to literary analysis. Jayadeva investigates the technical and aesthetic components of poetry in the first part of the Candrāloka, prior to his formal semantic investigations in the latter half of the text, thus suggesting that aesthetic evaluations of poetry beneficially inform scientific investigations of language. Jayadeva’s organization of his chapters on the semantic operations, moreover, intimates that the study of suggestive and metaphoric functions of language clarifies our understanding of denotation, which is conventionally understood to be the primary and direct path of verbal designation.     

The Supreme Array Scripture: A New Interpretation of the Title “Gaṇḍavyūha-sūtra”

This article argues for a new interpretation of the Sanskrit compound gaṇḍa-vyūha as it is used in the common title of the Mahāyāna text the Gaṇḍavyūha-Sūtra.The author begins by providing a brief history of the sūtra’s appellations in Chinese and Tibetan sources. Next, the meanings of gaṇḍa (the problematic member of the compound) are explored. The author proposes that contemporary scholars have overlooked a meaning of gaṇḍa occurring in some compounds, wherein gaṇḍa can mean simply “great,” “big” or “massive.” This general sense is particularly common in the compound gaṇda-śaila (a “massive rock” or “boulder”) and is found in such texts as the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, the Harivaṃśa and the Harṣacarita. Following the discussion of Gaṇḍa, the author examines the term vyūha (“array”) as it is used in the Gaṇḍavyūha-sūtra. The article concludes with the suggestion that a more appropriate translation of the Gaṇḍavyūha-sūtra would be “The Supreme array Scripture.”     

Evaluation of six presumptive tests for blood, their specificity, sensitivity, and effect on high molecular-weight DNA

Luminol, leuchomalachite green, phenolphthalein, Hemastix, Hemident, and Bluestar are all used as presumptive tests for blood. In this study, the tests were subjected to dilute blood (from 1:10,000 to 1:10,000,000), many common household substance, and chemicals. Samples were tested for DNA to determine whether the presumptive tests damaged or destroyed DNA. The DNA loci tested were D2S1338 and D19S433. Leuchomalachite green had a sensitivity of 1:10,000, while the remaining tests were able to detect blood to a dilution of 1:100,000. Substances tested include saliva, semen, potato, tomato, tomato sauce, tomato sauce with meat, red onion, red kidney bean, horseradish, 0.1 M ascorbic acid, 5% bleach, 10% cupric sulfate, 10% ferric sulfate, and 10% nickel chloride. Of all the substances tested, not one of the household items reacted with every test; however, the chemicals did. DNA was recovered and amplified from luminol, phenolphthalein, Hemastix, and Bluestar, but not from leuchomalachite green or Hemident.     

Monks Who Have Sex: Pārājika Penance in Indian Buddhist Monasticisms

In the study of Buddhism it is commonly accepted that a monk or nun who commits a pārājika offence is permanently and irrevocably expelled from the Buddhist monastic order. This view is based primarily on readings of the Pāli Vinaya. With the exception of the Pāli Vinaya, however, all other extant Buddhist monastic law codes (Dharmaguptaka, Mahāsāṅghika, Mahīśāsaka, Sarvāstivāda and Mūlasarvāstivāda) contain detailed provisions for monks and nuns who commit pārājikas but nevertheless wish to remain within the saṅgha. These monastics are not expelled. Rather, they are granted a special status known as the śikṣādattaka. In this paper I explore the rules. concerning pārājika penance and the śikṣādattaka with specific regard to monastic celibacy. Given that five out of six extant law codes recognise this remarkable accommodation to the rule of celibacy, I argue that we must look to Vinayas other than the Pāli Vinaya if we are to arrive at a nuanced and representative view of Indian Buddhist monasticism.

Grant me chastity and continence, but not yet. Augustine of Hippo (354–430 C.E.)

     

Family breakdown and the ‘Welfare Child’ in 19th and 20th century Britain

This article traces new cycles of interest in past children as distinct from past childhood. Recent work highlighting that a conceptualisation of childhood existed even in periods with few written records closes the chapter begun by Philippe Ariès in 1960. Instead, there has been a new surge of interest in children on the edges of family life, as well as children in similarly liminal positions between the worlds of adults and children: runaways, delinquents and orphans. Several themes in the literature are identified, based on the conflicting ideas of ‘body/mind’, ‘victim/threat’, ‘needs/rights’. It is noted that researchers are using more imaginative ways of reaching the lived experience of children than the family or institutional framework, and that an increasing link is drawn between historical and modern concerns such as child abuse and the care of ‘at risk’ children.     

Vedic Language and Vaiṣṇava Theology:Madhva’s Use of Nirukta in his Ṛgbhāṣya

This article explores the way in which Madhva (1238–1317), the founder of the Dvaita Vedānta system of Hindu thought, reformulates the traditional exegetic practice of nirukta or “word derivation” to validate his pluralistic, hierarchical, and Vaiṣṇava reading of the Ṛgvedic hymns. Madhva’s Ṛgbhāṣya (RB) is conspicuous for its heavy reliance on and unique deployment of this exegetical tactic to validate several key features of his distinctive theology. These features include his belief in Viṣṇu’s unique possession of all perfect attributes (guṇaparipūrṇatva) and His related conveyability by all Vedic words (sarvaśabdavācyatva). Such an understanding of Vedic language invokes the basic nirukta presupposition that words are eternally affiliated with the meanings they convey. But it is also based onMadhva’s access to a lexicon entitled Vyāsa’s Nirukti with which his critics and perhaps even his commentators seem to be unfamiliar.While the precise status of this text is the subject of ongoing debate, Madhva’s possession of special insight into the sacred canon is established in part by his unique claim to be an avatāra of the wind god Vāyu and a direct disciple of Viṣṇu Himself in the form of Vyāsa₁. Thus, Madhva’s use of nirukta invokes his personal charisma to challenge not only conventional understandings of the hymns but traditional exegetic norms. Madhva’s provision of an alternative tradition of nirukta provoked sectarian debate throughout the Vijayanagara period over the extent to which one could innovate in established practices of reading the Veda. Articulating the Veda’s precise authority was a key feature of Brahmin debates during this period and reflects both the empire’s concern with promoting a shared religious ideology and the competition among rival Brahman sects for imperial patronage that this concern elicited. By looking at how two of Madhva’s most important commentators (the 14^th-century Jayatīrtha and the 17^th-century Rāghavendra) sought to defend his niruktis, this article will explore how notions of normative nirukta were articulated in response to Madhva’s deviations. At the same time, however, examining Madhva’s commentators’ defense of his niruktis also demonstrates the extent to which Madhva actually adhered to selected exegetic norms. This reveals that discomfort with Madhva’s particular methods for deriving words stemmed, in part, from a more general ambivalence towards this exegetical tactic whose inherent open-endedness threatened to undermine the fixity of the canon’s very substance: its language. Vyāsa’s Nirukti is one of several ”unknown sources” cited in Madhva’s commentaries whose exact status continues to be debated. Some scholars (e.g. Rao, Sharma, Siauve) maintain that these texts are part of a now lost Pāṅcarātra tradition that Madhva is attempting to preserve. This may be true for many of these citations. However, in addition to claiming to be both an avatāra of Vāyu and Viṣṇu-as-Vyāsa’s student, Madhva states in several places (e.g., VTN 42, RB 162) that the canon has suffered loss during transmission and that only Viṣṇu can reveal it in its entirety. Thus, it is possible that Madhva intends texts like Vyāsa’s Nirukti to be viewed as part of an ongoing and corrective revelation, a notion that is compatible with many Vaiṣṇava traditions (Halbfass, 1991: 4).     

Policing Outlawed Desire: ‘Homocriminality’ in Beat Spaces in Australia

Drawing on interview data of gay men who have had their behavior in public spaces scrutinised by agents of the law for signs deviance, this article explores the historical characteristics of police animosity towards such conduct in Australia. This entails examining encounters between police and gay men who pursue desire in ‘beat’ (or ‘cottage’ to the use the UK term) spaces. Exploring why these outlaw gay male subjects are so abject and troubling to the law, the discussion documents how law’s desire to regulate gay men plays out in the masquerade of ‘plain-clothes’ agent provocateur operations where police entrap gay men by mimicking gay bodily appearances, gestures and mannerisms. This article also examines how police regulation of gay desire functions as a form of violence that delimits expressions of same sex desire in public spaces. A key theme that underpins the analyses in this paper is that the policing of desire in ‘beat’ spaces helps produce qualities of illicitness and dangerousness and that this, in turn, fuels the circuit of desire at play between gay men and agents of the law.

Interrupting the Myth of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Partage</Emphasis>: Reflections on Sovereignty and Sacrifice in the work of Nancy,Agamben and Derrida

Agamben traces the bio-political essence of modern politics to the non-sacrificial killing of Homo Sacer in Roman law. Nancy, on the other hand, links the history of Western politics to the fundamental logic of sacrifice in Western metaphysics. He nevertheless contemplates the possibility that Western societies may finally have arrived at the threshold of a non-sacrificial existence. Derrida seeks to resist the sacrificial logic of Western metaphysics and politics, but nevertheless appears to accept it as an irreducible fact of human co-existence. Unlike Nancy, he envisages no actual or actualised beyond beyond the realm of sacrificial metaphysics and politics. He thus can be said to interrupt Nancy’s ‘myth’ of a non-sacrificial partage. This article compares these three philosophical stances in the hope of throwing more light on the role of sacrifice in the law and politics of our time. Professor of Law, Rand Afrikaans University. Conversations with Ann van Sevenant, Carol Clarkson, Louise du Toit, Peter Fitzpatrick, Costas Douzinas and Adam Thurschwell gave impetus to many of the themes developed in this article. Concomitant shortcomings and inaccuracies, as always, are mine.