Understanding transnational bribery: a corporate crime framework

Despite calls for utilizing white-collar and corporate crime frameworks to study corruption, the role of corporations in supplying bribes to foreign government officials is not well understood. In the current study, we draw upon a recent framework designed to examine the transnational corporate bribery process from an opportunity theory perspective. We apply the framework to a sample of individuals and organizations with enforcement actions levied against them by the United States Department of Justice’s Fraud Section for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 between 2011 and 2016. Using an exploratory mixed methods approach, we assess the prevalence and qualitative nature of multiple components of the framework. Our goal is to develop a systematic way to apply it to different sets of bribery data and to move toward a fuller theoretical account of transnational corporate bribery. Our findings demonstrate the significance of the corporate role in foreign bribery, the utility of the bribery process framework, and some areas of refinement and future theoretical development.

     

Regulating transnational corporate bribery: Anti-bribery and corruption in the UK and Germany

Recent large-scale cases involving multi-national corporations such as the BAE Systems and Siemens bribery scandals illustrate the difficulties faced by the UK and German sovereign states in controlling complex trans-national and multi-jurisdictional crimes. This article analyses the mixture of enforcement, self-regulatory and hybrid mechanisms that are emerging as part of UK and German responses to controlling transnational corporate bribery. This regulatory landscape incorporates a diverse array of direct and indirect state and non-state ‘regulatory’ actors of varying levels of formality. Mechanisms of a self-regulatory nature vary in terms of their mandatory/voluntary requirements and manufactured/organic formation. However, there is an assumption that the emergence of a variety of enforcement, self-regulatory and innovative hybrid mechanisms is sufficient but in reality this is not the case. Instead, the key argument of the article is that while these mechanisms are aiding the response, they are likely to fail leading to the default position of accommodation by state agencies, even where the will to enforce the law is high.     

Observations of reintegrative shaming in a mental health court

This study compares the use of stigmatizing and reintegrative shame - as specified in Braithwaite's Crime, shame and reintegration (1989) - across traditional criminal court and mental health court settings. Items from the Global Observational Ratings Instrument were used to gather data on 87 traditional court cases and 91 mental health court cases, presided over by five different judges. The observational items capture three constructs: respect, disapproval, and forgiveness, as they apply to Braithwaite's theory. We present means tests to examine differences in shaming between court types and judges. Findings show that the mental health court is more likely to use reintegrative shaming and show respect and forgiveness for offenders, and less likely to show disapproval. Similarly, judges who preside in both court types are significantly more likely to practice reintegrative shaming in the mental health court context. We further explore these findings using field notes and illustrate those components of a mental health court that are conducive to reintegrative shaming.     

When a corporation rapes: perceptions of rape in civil court for corporate defendants

In recent years, the coupling of poor outcomes for rape victims in criminal court and the widening scope of legal responsibility for sexual assault has prompted plaintiffs to file civil suits for rape against corporations. Unfortunately, we know little about juror perception of civilly litigated rape against corporate defendants and most jury research involving corporate defendants concerns non-sexual injury cases (e.g. premises liability, automobile accidents). With the increasing number of corporations being sued civilly for rape, we need to understand how civil juries perceive these cases. The present study investigated mock jurors’ perceptions of a fictional civil rape trial against a hotel. Community members (N?=?155) read one of three trial summaries: Civil rape trial against the alleged perpetrator, civil rape trial against a hotel, or criminal rape trial. Results indicate females have higher pro-plaintiff judgments than males in civil court, perceptions of greed typically associated with civil litigation apply to rape, and favorable plaintiff decisions are most likely against a corporate defendant. Also, mental models suggest mock jurors conceptualize criminal and civil rape cases against an individual similarly. We discuss our results in terms of psychological, legal and practical expectations when suing for rape.     

The effect of transfer mechanism from juvenile court on conviction on a target offense in criminal court

The question of whether juvenile offenders should be handled in criminal court has been addressed by a number of studies. However, few have examined the effectiveness of the type of transfer mechanism and how it relates to protecting the public. Whether the mechanism used to transfer juvenile offenders to criminal court has any effect on the likelihood of being convicted of a target offense criminal court is examined here. It was found that the juveniles sampled in this study had a greater chance of being convicted on their target offense in criminal court if they were sent there via judicial waiver than if they were excluded from juvenile court jurisdiction by statute.     

Lessons learned from the implementation of two randomized trials in a criminal court setting

Randomized trials represent the most rigorous type of research design to measure the impact of a social policy intervention. However, such designs are difficult to implement and require the consent of multiple parties, including researchers and non-researchers. Unique challenges arise when seeking to implement such a design in a criminal court setting, due to the need to revise legal procedures, uphold due process for defendants, and obtain the direct, ongoing participation of judges and attorneys, among other stakeholders. The current principals recently conducted two randomized trials concerning the court response to intimate partner violence: one testing the impact of court-ordered batterer programs in the Bronx, New York, and a second testing the impact of intensive judicial monitoring in Rochester, New York. Key lessons involved forging collaborative stakeholder relationships, critically assessing the experimental intervention and its contrast with the control condition, ensuring legal due process for defendants, addressing victim safety, setting realistic timetables, adopting a skeptical view towards estimates of study volume, and anticipating substantial variation from original design to final plan, especially in regards to randomization protocols and defendant eligibility criteria. These lessons may prove invaluable in informing future research in court-based and other social settings where random assignment is pursued.     

英国精神病法庭辩护简介

在英国，精神科医生常常以专家证人的身份涉入诉讼，提供专家证言。如果专家的证言对自己的辩护有利，律师会在法庭上出具专家证言或安排专家出庭作证；否则，证言将不被提交法庭。陪审团根据专家证言的说服力决定是否采纳。控辩双方都可以聘请专家证人。理论上，控辩双方都可以找到支持自己主张的专家证言。当双方所聘请的专家意见相左时，由陪审团做出取舍，法庭据此做出判决。当然，由于陪审团成员缺乏精神病学的专业知识，在取舍时也很困难。     

英国精神病法庭辩护简介

在英国,精神科医生常常以专家证人的身份涉入诉讼,提供专家证言。如果专家的证言对自己的辩护有利,律师会在法庭上出具专家证言或安排专家出庭作证;否则,证言将不被提交法庭。陪审团根据专家证言的说服力决定是否采纳。控辩双方都可以聘请专家证人。理论上,控辩双方都可以找到支持自己主张的专家证言。当双方所聘请的专家意见相左时,由陪审团做出取舍,法庭据此做出判决。当然,由于陪审团成员缺乏精神病学的专业知识,在取舍时也很困难。在英国,精神病法庭辩护主要有3大类:(1)因精神病无受审能力辩护(Notfittostandtrial);(2)因精神病无诉讼…     

The “Waiver of Right” Issue in Chinese Civil Claims for War Reparations from Japan—Review of the Two Judgments of the Supreme Court of Japan on April 27, 2007 —Review of the Two Judgments of the Supreme Court of Japan on April 27, 2007

It is still a hot debate: Does China still have the rights to civil claims for war reparations from Japan in spite of its signature of the Sino-Japanese Joint Communiqué of 1972? The Supreme Court of Japan has recently made a number of relevant judgments on this issue, which have cited several specific reasons and have touched on the principles of customary international law and the officially disclosed negotiation documents on the normalization of China-Japan diplomatic ties. This paper is a response to the reasons cited by the Supreme Court of Japan, which analyses the controlling doctrines and issues involved in this debate, including the Framework of Peace Treaty of San Francisco with Japan, the legal effect of the Sino-Japanese Joint Communiqué and its relationship with the Peace Treaty between Japan and Taiwan (China). Through this analysis, this paper reaches the conclusion that the Sino-Japanese Joint Communiqué does not waive the civil claims of China for war reparation.     

The impact of race and extra-legal factors in charging defendants with serious sexual assault: Findings from a five-year study of one Pennsylvania court jurisdiction

Research on sexual assault case processing remains mixed regarding how extra-legal factors such as the racial-ethnic composition of the defendant-victim dyad may impact prosecutorial decision-making. We use data from 2006–2010 in a Pennsylvania county court jurisdiction to examine the victim- and defendant-related factors that influence charging decisions. We also explore how the demographic and offense characteristics influence decisions to prosecute offenders for more serious types of sexual assault. Our findings indicate that the racial composition of the defendant-victim dyad contributed to the prosecutorial decision to charge an offender with a more serious sexual assault, while victim characteristics and use of violence during the offense were not related to seriousness of the charge.     

Primer composition and memory effect of weapons--some trends from a systematic approach in casework

Since 2008, our laboratory has adopted a systematic approach to the examination of gunshot residues (GSR) in casework by analysing, whenever possible, the inorganic composition present in ammunition (cartridge cases and unused ammunition). By compiling the results of these analyses in a database, it is possible to observe some trends during the period of interest: on the one hand, the prevalence of primers containing lead, barium and antimony is about 50%, and even as high as 70% when including lead-barium-antimony based primers also containing tin; on the other hand, the prevalence of non-toxic primers is for the time being very low. Still using the same approach, test firings were performed with recovered weapons and litigious ammunition whenever possible in order to estimate the influence of the well known "memory effect" of the weapons on the GSR analysis results. The first results show a quite strong memory effect for the .22 and the .32 caliber, unlike the .38 caliber. This is probably due to a high prevalence of lead-barium-antimony based primers for the latter caliber.     

享有优先权的船员工资请求在船舶拍卖款中的受偿——由一起确权诉讼案件引发的几点思考

基于一起确权诉讼案件,分析船舶优先权的范畴,指出在船舶挂靠经营下,船员工资请求的基础法律关系是雇佣合同,但挂靠的个人和被挂靠的公司对船员工资承担连带责任,该工资请求仍享有船舶优先权;未持有相应证书而上船工作的人,其享有的报酬请求权与船员工资无异,应赋予其船舶优先权;当船舶拍卖款不足以偿付债务时,容易诱发以船员工资为内容的虚假确权诉讼,司法机关应发挥主观能动性,一方面保障处于弱势地位的船员利益,另一方面也要排除虚假诉讼的干扰,保护其他债权人的正当利益。     

Iron-containing supplements and drugs; label warning statements and unit-dose packaging requirements; removal of regulations for unit-dose packaging requirements for dietary supplements and drugs. Final rule; removal of regulatory provisions in response to court order

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is removing, in part, a final rule that required unit-dose packaging for iron-containing dietary supplement and drug products that contain 30 milligrams (mg) or more of iron per dosage unit. FDA is taking this action in response to the Court's ruling in Nutritional Health Alliance v. FDA, in which the Court concluded that the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the act) does not provide FDA with authority to require manufacturers of iron-containing dietary supplement and drug products to use unit-dose packaging for poison prevention purposes. Today's action takes the ministerial step of removing the unit-dose packaging provisions from title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations.