Diffusion of the Budapest Convention on cybercrime and the development of cybercrime legislation in Pacific Island countries: ‘Law on the books’ vs ‘law in action’

The Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime,¹ referred to as the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime, has been diffused globally, and is serving as a benchmark or a ‘model law’ for drafting national cybercrime legislation in many countries worldwide. This paper argues that, through the mechanism of ‘state socialization’ combined with incentives, e.g. assistance in building law enforcement capacity, the diffusion of the Budapest Convention has had a profound influence on the development of cybercrime legislation in a number of Pacific Island Countries (PICs).² Some PICs have expressed their great interest in acceding to the Convention and ‘imported’ several provisions from the Convention. This article, nevertheless, contends that these PICs do not seem to consider carefully whether the ‘imported’ law is applicable to their existing law enforcement capacity. It is evident that various domestic factors, such as lack of resources, have deterred the enforcement of cybercrime laws in these countries. As the result, although those PICs would have adequate cybercrime laws ‘on the books’, ‘law in action’ is still feeble.     

德国近五十年刑事立法述评

自1969年德国刑法大改革至今的五十年间,德国的刑事立法活动非常频繁。在此期间,德国立法机关不但对《刑法典》总则犯罪论部分的规定进行了彻底的修订,而且针对犯罪的法律后果以及刑法分则乃至附属刑法中的诸多罪名进行了持续的改革,在恐怖主义犯罪、妨害公务犯罪、毒品犯罪以及保安监禁等领域尤其如此。整体而言,德国立法者在过往半个世纪中日趋侧重功能主义的积极刑事立法观,导致德国刑法逐步从传统法治国背景下的法益保护法和市民防御法转向以社会控制为主导的国家干预法和社会防卫法,造成了诸多难以与现有法律体系和学说理论相协调的象征性立法。我国应当从德国近五十年的刑事立法中吸收其先进经验,对其中的弊端也要引以为戒。     

国际航空犯罪法人刑事责任及其国内立法转化研究

2010年《北京公约》和《北京议定书》首次规定了国际航空犯罪法人责任,法人责任以法人的高级管理人员代表法人实施劫持航空器等国际航空犯罪为要件,法人为此承担刑事、民事或行政责任。公约对法人犯罪及其责任的立法需要转化为国内法才能适用。世界各国国内法对法人犯罪及其责任的态度差别较大,英国、加拿大、法国等国刑法规定有航空犯罪的法人刑事责任,德国国内法规定有航空犯罪的法人行政责任,意大利刑法规定有航空犯罪的法人民事责任,我国仅在个别航空犯罪中规定有法人犯罪及其刑事责任。我国法人犯罪及其刑事责任的立法和理论具有较强的包容性,可在我国刑法中取消法人犯罪法定化限制,全面规定包括航空犯罪在内的法人犯罪及其刑事责任。     

The hooligan and his world image in soccer vandalism. An introduction to this current phenomenon of socially deviant behavior

"Hooliganism" is a phenomenon born in the motherland of football: England. But nowadays we all are the non-volunteer spectators of this subculture form of violence and vandalism across the European continent, e.g. in Belgium, the Netherlands, the Federal Republic of Germany and so on. This article is an introduction into the West German Hooligan Scene to learn more about the social, sociological, psychological, criminal backgrounds, characters and causes for a better understanding to solve this multifunctional problem: by police, society and policy.     

德国刑事诉讼法中的证据使用禁止

本文从批判性的视角概述了德国刑事诉讼法中关于证据采纳或者说是关于证据禁止的问题。证据禁止区分为非自主性证据使用禁止和自主性证据使用禁止。非自主性证据使用禁止可能是由于公诉中初步侦查时的取证错误导致的。就是否适用非自主性证据使用禁止这一问题，德国司法官会从几个方面加以考虑，例如，犯罪的严重性或者是取证错误的严重性。自主性证据使用禁止是由于侵犯了个人隐私。例如，私人日记不能作为证据使用。     

刑事立法模式的宪法考察

现行刑事立法采取了将所有犯罪规定在一部刑法典中的模式,没有在行政法、经济法等法律中直接规定构成要件与法定刑,导致刑法典中出现大量的绝对空白刑法规范与相对空白刑法规范,并且形成了自然犯与法定犯一体化的立法体例。法律保留原则、明确性原则与比例原则是宪法原则;绝对空白刑法规范违反了法律保留原则,相对空白刑法规范不符合明确性原则;自然犯与法定犯一体化的立法体例不符合比例原则。只有改变现行刑事立法模式,在行政法、经济法等法律中直接规定相关犯罪的构成要件与法定刑,在刑法典中仅规定自然犯,才能使刑事立法模式与宪法相协调。     

"犯罪人-被害人和解"的制度设计与司法践行

“犯罪人-被害人和解”可谓是当下西方刑事法领域的焦点性话题之一。作为“犯罪人-被害人和解”运动的有力推进者,德国的立法与实践动向,尚未得到国内学界的应有关注。文章不仅对德国“犯罪人-被害人和解”制度的整体立法设计进行了分析,而且对“犯罪人-被害人和解”在德国实务上的具体运作、判例发展亦予以近距离观察。透过此种立法与司法的交错考察,文章试图以德国经验为基点,进一步反思“犯罪人-被害人和解”践行的成果、问题及可能出路,以提供前瞻性的、比较性的借鉴。     

论专属经济区刑事管辖权的行使

对专属经济区行使刑事管辖权是保护主权权利和法理维权的需要,我国一直疏于行使该项权利。《联合国海洋法公约》对沿海国行使刑事管辖权既予以肯定又予以限制,我国应在该《公约》规定的范围内积极行使刑事立法管辖权和刑事司法管辖权,在附属刑法中对外国人侵犯我国主权权利及其附属权利的犯罪行为规定刑罚罚则,避免刑事立法空洞化。同时我国应对权属无争议专属经济区依法行使刑事管辖权,对权属重叠或争议的专属经济区根据对等原则行使刑事管辖权,并严格遵照《公约》规定保障当事国、当事船舶、当事人的权利。     

Criminal Liability of Directors of a Private Limited Company Seated in Germany

During the last decade, a great number of German businesses formed private limited companies by shares in England and transferred the company’s real seat to Germany in order to avoid the minimum capital rules for the German limited liability company. The discrepancy between the place of registration and the real seat leads to questions about the criminal liability of company directors under English and German law. This article shows that English courts have jurisdiction over certain offences regardless of the place the director acted. In particular, he may be convicted for failing to comply with statutory duties under the Companies Act 2006 as well as false accounting or false statements under Theft Act 1968 ss. 17, 19. With respect to German law, the company law reform of 2008 explicitly imposed the duty to file for insolvency on directors of foreign corporations. Also, the criminal offence for failing to file for insolvency in § 15a (4) of the Insolvency Code is compatible with the freedom of establishment under European law. If the director causes a financial loss to the company by breaching his director’s duties, he may be convicted for breach of trust under § 266 of the Criminal Code regardless of the fact that the relevant duties are regulated by English law. The German Federal Supreme Court recently held that recourse to English company law in order to establish a criminal breach of trust does not violate the principle of legal certainty in Article 103 (2) of the Basic Law. Furthermore, German bankruptcy offences may apply if the director violates the authoritative English accounting standards.     

New Trends in the Criminalization of Stalking in the EU Member States

Article 34 of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence obliges signatory states to criminalize stalking. This article provides an inventory of criminal anti-stalking legislation in the 28 EU Member States in order to see whether they live up to this obligation. Although the number of Member States with dedicated legislation has increased significantly (n = 21) there are some questionable trends, such as the proliferation of criminal provisions which require the victim to have experienced fear or distress or an inclusion of an exhaustive list of stalking tactics. Although the states are not in evident violation of article 34 their perception of what constitutes stalking sometimes deviates from the intentions of the Convention.     

Ordinary Folk and Cottaging: Law, Morality, and Public Sex

The Sexual Offences Act 2003 introduced a new statutory offence of 'sexual activity in a public lavatory' into English law. Although written as a gender-neutral offence, the statute was formulated and enacted on the basis of concerns about male homosexual sexual activity in public lavatories ('cottaging'). This paper examines the justifications for, and implications of, the legislation. It considers the main arguments made in support of the offence and situates these within established moral, legal, and social debates about homosexuality. The paper considers the relationship between conceptions of public and private morality in relation to the legal regulation of homosexual sex. It goes on to explore the complex nature of regulating public sex in relation to sexual practices which often maintain high degrees of privacy. The final part of the paper argues that the legislation is largely in contradiction with the realities of police work and contemporary law enforcement.     

《网络犯罪公约》中的证据调查制度与我国相关刑事程序法比较

20 0 1年 11月 8日欧洲委员会《网络犯罪公约》是国际社会合作打击网络犯罪的第一个国际公约 ,其主要目标是在缔约方之间建立打击网络犯罪的共同的刑事政策、一致的法律体系和国际协助。该公约第二章“国家层面上的措施”的第二部分“程序法”规定了有关电子证据调查的特殊程序 ,为各国制定电子证据刑事调查制度提供了一套具有开创价值的立法模型。本文对《网络犯罪公约》中的程序法规定和我国相关立法进行了比较 ,并提出了完善我国电子证据刑事调查措施的立法建议     

The Integration of Women into West German and United States Police Service

This article describes the West German attitudes toward full employment of women in police service and the results of an experimental study of the successful integration of women into the uniformed police in Hamburg, West Germany. It compares experiences in the United States and concludes that the West German acceptance and use of women in the uniformed service is five to ten years behind the United States but that the German Police have very deliberately sought to create equal opportunities for women over the past decade. Expectations are that more women will be recruited into the German police service, but that it will be eight to ten years before large numbers of females are employed in the uniformed service or in the higher ranks of the German police forces.     

中国行政刑法的立法缺憾与改进

行政刑法之概念为德国学者所首创,但在不同国家有着不同的内涵与外延.中国的行政刑法是指国家为了维护正常的行政管理活动,实现行政管理目的,规定行政犯罪及其刑事责任的法律规范和劳动教养法律规范的总称.中国的行政刑法立法存在着缺乏与一般行政法条款衔接、缺乏行政违法责任与行政犯罪责任竞合的明确规定、法定刑设置过高、对于法人犯罪的刑罚措施过于单一、劳动教养制度弊端丛生等诸多问题,需要相应地加以改进.认为应当在立法上对行政刑法和行政法规范进行衔接、明确行政违法责任与行政犯罪责任竞合的处理方法、降低行政犯罪的法定刑并废止其死刑、增加对于法人犯罪的刑罚措施并将劳动教养制度司法化.     

德国辩诉交易的实践与启示

在德国,辩诉交易制度完全是实践中自发的产物。德国辩诉交易实践的形态、产生、争论及相关司法判决和改革草案的分析表明,辩诉交易已经成为德国解决刑事案件的方式之一,这种方式的出现回应了德国刑事诉讼的特点及其面临的困境,同时也缩小了两大诉讼模式的差距,呈现了世界范围内体系差异而解决方式一致的诉讼规律。德国辩诉交易实践表明,在我国建立基于被告人认罪而迅速结案继而获得刑罚减轻的结案方式成为可能。     

Medical treatment of dementia patients at the end of life: can the law accommodate the personal identity and welfare problems?

This article considers whether two significant philosophical objections to autonomy-based legal approaches to decision-making for incompetent individuals could be accommodated by the law. These philosophical objections are known as the personal identity and welfare problems. The article first sets out the autonomy-based approaches and their objections. Next, the present legal position is briefly canvassed in a comparative vein. Finally, the article suggests how the personal identity and welfare problems might be accommodated were legislators minded to do so, by proposing specific statutory amendments to the recent English legislation on advance decisions and evaluating their viability, particularly in light of the European Convention on Human Rights.     

刑事证据制度发展中的阶段性进步——刑事证据两个规定评析

刑事证据两个规定针对司法实践中的重点与难点予以规范,初步确立了现代刑事证据法中的一些基本原则和规则,标示着我国刑事证据立法取得了阶段性进步。但是,从比较法的角度看,在两个规定中．对于正当法律程序、直接言词原则的体现并不充分;非法口供排除规则未能强调“任意性”标准,只是一种最低限度的排除;而对非法获得的实物证据采取宽容态度,不利于对公民财产权、隐私权的保护;大量的关于瑕疵证据可以进行补正和解释的规定,大大降低了刑事证据的可采性标准。目前有必要进一步完善具体的制度规范,积极改善司法环境,促进两个规定的贯彻实施．推动我国刑事法治向前发展。     

The Case for a Rational Reconstruction of Consent in Criminal Law

This article argues for consistency in criminal law and the need for 'rational reconstruction' of the law where necessary to achieve this. It focuses Parliament's failure to respect the need for consistency by passing a statutory definition of consent in the Sexual Offences Act 2003 which appears to apply only to sexual offences. As a result, the law on consent risks being a patchwork of statute and ad hoc case law, without any overarching principle to deal with new situations and different offences. The consequent lack of certainty, accessibility, predictability and fairness is compared to the standards of the European Convention on Human Rights. The statutory definition of consent in the context of the sexual offences is assessed critically as a model which could be used in offences against the person and property offences. The article concludes that until Parliament responds to the need for certainty and consistency by legislating on consent, there can be no rational reconstruction of consent under the Sexual Offences Act 2003.     

德国刑事诉讼中协商制度浅析

德国于上世纪70年代在刑事诉讼中引入了协商制度，但该制度在很长一段时间内都仅仅以非正式的形式存在。近年来，德国立法者试图通过立法来加强对非正式协商制度的规制，使协商制度有明确的法律依据可循。2009年8月，关于协商制度的《刑事诉讼法修正案》获正式通过。本文从德国协商制度发展过程中出现的问题出发，结合德国联邦最高法院的相关判例及联邦议院关于《刑事诉讼法》的最新立法修正案，阐释协商制度在德国刑事诉讼中的运作模式及相关程序性规定，并从功能比较的视角出发，比较了德国的协商制度与美国的辨诉交易，以期为我国的刑事诉讼程序的改革提供借鉴。