当事人主导抑或法院主导？——传统民事诉讼模式的误判与归位

将“辩论主义”或“对抗制”作为传统民事诉讼模式的识别标准,都存在以偏概全的缺陷。在“当事人主张论证一法院裁判”的基本构造下,从程序运作层面、案件事实层面和法律适用层面三个层面考察,无论大陆法系还是英美法系从来没有绝对的当事人主导或法院主导。诉权和审判权之间协调配置是各国传统民事诉讼程序设计的共同法理。     

Systemic Reform Litigation and Child Welfare Policy: The Case of Illinois

This study examines systemic litigation against the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). Focusing on B.H. , a 1988 class action suit, it looks at the litigation process, conceptualized as continual interaction among litigants, the court, and affected non‐litigants. Dividing the litigation process into five phases, it discusses the effect of B.H. on child welfare policy in Illinois. The study concludes that B.H. provided a stimulus for reform, yet has been unable to completely satisfy the hopes of the litigants in achieving significant systemic reform.     

Women in Prison as Litigants:

ABSTRACT

Current rules of evidence restrict the use of sexual history evidence in civil sexualharassment cases. This paper argues for an extension of those restrictions to civil product liability litigation. The discussion focuses on the use of questions regarding sexual history during discovery and at trial in medically-related mass tort litigation and the potential repercussions this has on women and their cases.     

论刑事诉讼中的当事人证据

诉讼中的当事人具有诉讼主体和知情证人的双重属性.英美法系与大陆法系国家对此的立法存有较大的差异.比较和研究这一差异,指出应当将当事人作为诉讼证据的证据形式,以便充分利用其通过大脑记忆的案件事实的有关信息来帮助查明案件事实.由此,还对诉讼当事人作为证据的条件和分类作了研究.     

合并与分离:刑事附带民事诉讼制度的反思与重构

刑事附带民事诉讼制度的立法目的在于减轻诉累 ,提高诉讼效率 ,保证正确处理刑事案件 ,维护司法判决的统一性和严肃性 ,维护国家、集体财产利益以及被害人的合法权益。但随着法制建设的不断进步 ,民事实体和程序法律的不断完善 ,刑事附带民事诉讼制度的实践价值受到质疑。同时由于我国在立法规范和制度设计上的缺陷 ,导致附带民事诉讼缺乏独立性、救济范围过于狭窄 ,从而造成了对被害人的利益保护不足。因此 ,总结我国的立法和司法实践 ,借鉴各国立法经验 ,强化刑事案件民事赔偿救济程序的独立性 ,逐步实现刑事诉讼与民事诉讼的分立 ,将成为重构我国刑事附带民事诉讼的立法趋势     

民事诉讼协同主义:在理想和现实之间

民事诉讼协同主义,是由当事人的真实义务和法院的阐明权(义务)等一系列诉讼义务构成的理想化的诉讼图景。协同主义的基础条件是民事诉讼制度的社会化、福利化,通过适当扩大法院职权,修正、补充辩论主义。协同主义并非是一种独立的诉讼模式,而是协调各方诉讼行为的一种诉讼理想,其作用在于协调法院、当事人和其他诉讼参与人之间的整体关系。在我国构建协同主义,必须兼顾其周边制度要素。     

News media reporting on civil litigation and its influence on civil justice decision making

The news media have the potential to act as a powerful influence on the civil litigation system, influencing decision making in particular cases and on the system more generally as media reports influence the decision making of various participants in the system. This paper reviews the research that has examined the relationship between news media reporting and civil litigation and proposes a framework that integrates this work and provides guidance for future research efforts. Specifically, we discuss the nature of media reporting on civil litigation, perceptions of the civil litigation system held by the public and legal actors, and the potential influence of news reporting about civil litigation on the decision making of jurors, judges, civil litigants, and policymakers. Overall, the research suggests that news reporting of civil litigation presents a systematically distorted picture of civil litigation and that this reporting can influence perceptions and outcomes of civil litigation in various ways. However, there are many gaps in the existing research that need to be filled. The proposed organizational scheme helps to identify ways that future research can provide links between the findings of existing research and to identify ways in which this research can be extended to new areas.     

以小见大:我国小额诉讼立法之透析

我国民事诉讼法修正案确立的小额诉讼的“二元标准”,决定了“对简单的小额案件适用简易程序并一审终审,对非简单的小额案件适用普通程序并两审终审”的“双轨机制”的必然采用.这既对民事诉讼当事人权利平等原则提出了挑战,也大为抑制了设置小额诉讼机制的目标和意义,难以有效解决由于我国第一审程序区分性能薄弱而导致的诉讼拥堵和司法效率低下、品质低劣的状况.因此,我国民事诉讼法应建构与纠纷自身及解纷诉求更具匹配性的司法替代性解纷机制,以真正体现其人性关怀和程序理性.     

Judicial Procedural Involvement (JPI): A Metric for Judges’ Role in Civil Litigation,Settlement, and Access to Justice

We examine judges’ role in civil litigation by studying empirically the relationship between judicial procedural involvement (JPI) and lawsuits’ mode of disposition (MoD). Furthermore, we propose JPI as a metric for the allocation of judicial attention to litigants. Applying the framework to Israeli trial court data, we find that 60 per cent of cases included JPI (through hearings and rulings on motions) whereas 40 per cent involved only the court's institutional function. By juxtaposing JPI and MoD data, we shed light on the scope of judicial involvement in settlements, the ratio between judges’ normative public-life function and their problem-solving function, and other pertinent questions. Since nowadays lawsuits are rarely adjudicated, trial rates are low, and litigants in person (pro se litigants) are common, we argue that access to justice should also be construed in terms of access to judicial attention throughout the proceeding, which is readily measurable through JPI.     

民事诉讼代表人制度中诉讼当事人制度论

我国现有的民事诉讼代表人制度中,将人数众多一方中的每个成员均视作诉讼当事人,但只将诉讼权利义务赋予代表人,被代表的当事人却无进行诉讼的权利和义务。这样的制度安排看似符合群体诉讼的特性要求,但却与民事诉讼制度原理相悖。考察相关国家的制度安排,发现我国现有代表人制度中的诉讼当事人确定既阻碍了诉讼当事人平等原则的贯彻,又不能使代表人充分进行诉讼,从而成为该制度不能被广泛适用的先天缺陷之一。因此,作为解决群体纠纷的诉讼机制,代表人制度中诉讼当事人的选择,既要满足群体诉讼的特殊要求,又应契合民事诉讼当事人制度原理的运行机制。     

刑事附带民事诉讼制度与民事权利保护

在我国的诉讼立法和实践中，处理民事诉讼程序和刑事诉讼程序之间的适用关系时，采纳的是附带诉讼的原则，其基本的理念是公益优先。但在市场经济体制中注重私权保护的背景下，追诉犯罪与权利保护应被置于同等重要的位置，“刑优于民＂的解纷格局因利益的变迁而受到冲击．在刑事附带民事诉讼中应当加强对民事权利的保护，为此，有必要强调刑事附带民事诉讼中的民事诉讼的独立地位。     

Litigation Dilemmas: Lessons from the Marcos Human Rights Class Action

How do activist plaintiffs experience the process of human rights litigation under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS)? Answering this question is key to understanding the impact on transnational legal mobilization of Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., in which the US Supreme Court sharply limited the scope of the ATS. Yet sociolegal scholars know remarkably little about the experiences of ATS litigants, before or after Kiobel. This article describes how activist litigants in a landmark ATS class action against former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos faced a series of strategic dilemmas, and how disagreements over how to resolve those dilemmas played into divisions between activists and organizations on the Philippine left. The article develops an analytical framework focused on litigation dilemmas to explain how and why activists who pursue ATS litigation as an opportunity for legal mobilization may also encounter strategic dilemmas that contribute to dissension within a social movement.     

民事权益受损者行政诉讼原告资格考辨

民事权益受损者本应通过民事诉讼获得救济,一旦其请求行政机关介入查处违法行为或解决民事纠纷时往往会引发行政诉讼原告资格问题.本文采实质诉权说认为,民事权益受损者起诉权的认定应以公法请求权为基础,故需以保护规范理论为工具探寻公法规范中是否包含保护私人利益的指向,而非简单以侵权行为影响论或行政行为影响论判断受害者的行政诉讼原...     

Technological Disasters,Litigation Stress,and the Use of Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms*

The legal system in the United States is uniquely conflict‐oriented, expensive, and legalistic. From the perspective of victims, we contend that adversarial litigation is particularly ineffective as a means of resolving conflicts that typically ensue in the aftermath of technological disasters. The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, we discuss why the psychosocial impact of litigation on litigants following a technological disaster is particularly damaging. Second, examining longitudinal data collected following the Exxon Valdez oil spill, we demonstrate that the litigation process itself functions as a source of secondary trauma for litigants. Third, we provide suggestions for bypassing the litigation process altogether, via alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. Although it may be that we have exchanged swords and cudgels for subpoenas and depositions, an aura of combat continues to hover about the judicial process, and combat produces casualties. Strasburger (1999 : 203)     

THE SELF‐REPRESENTED LITIGANT: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE BENCH AND BAR

It is widely accepted that the number of self‐represented litigants has skyrocketed nationwide, especially in family law cases. Although nationwide comprehensive data on the number of self‐represented litigants do not exist, anecdotal evidence supports the belief that self‐representation is increasing. The challenge for courts and the entire legal profession is how to respond. Most observers in Indiana would agree that the traditional model of family law litigation—both spouses represented by lawyers settling their disputes before a judge—is no longer the norm in family law cases. Judges face a dilemma: assisting a self‐represented litigant to level the playing field against a represented party is seen by many as violating impartiality, even if the assistance is rendered to create a just result. In an effort to address the situation, the Indiana Supreme Court created the Pro Se Advisory Committee in April 2001. This article explores the long‐range implications of the issue of self‐represented litigants on Indiana's court system in hope that it will provide some insight for other jurisdictions. The first part of the article addresses the numbers of self‐represented litigants by tracking growth or declines in self‐represented cases and assessing whether there are any pockets of self‐represented litigants geographically or in certain case types. The second part of the article puts Indiana into context with the rest of the nation and reviews national trends. The third section reviews Indiana's response to self‐represented litigants over the last decade. The fourth section reviews current and ongoing projects in Indiana. The article concludes that the issue of self‐represented litigants will not fade away and that the challenge that guides the legal profession is how we provide equal access to justice for all who enter our courthouses.     

民事公益诉讼的功能承担与程序设计

民事公益诉讼的原告资格问题不属于诉讼担当,而属于实体适格问题。为此,立法者应当在实体法律规范中赋予"法定机关和有关组织"具体的实体请求权。而且,为了避免金钱损害赔偿带来的证明与分配上的困难,以及保证有关组织的独立地位,我国民事公益诉讼的请求权内容未来应当限定在"非金钱损害赔偿请求权"之上;仅例外情形才允许通过民事公益诉讼的途径主张"没收不当收益"请求权并上缴基金,这对于纠正市场失灵亦具有重要意义。此外,为了实现高水准的公益保护,我国还有必要增设有关既判力扩张与禁止滥诉的规定。总体而言,民事公益诉讼承担着"预防保护与监督"的功能,其与任意的诉讼担当、代表人诉讼、债权让与等制度共同存在,并分别在实现不确定人群的集合利益、少量确定人群的个体权利、大量不确定人群的大规模损害赔偿请求权以及大量不确定人群的小额损害赔偿请求权等领域发挥作用。     

The Biggest “Have” of Them All: Wal‐Mart and Its Litigation Outcomes in Slip‐and‐Fall Cases

Scholars have theorized that resource‐rich litigants known as the “haves” tend to succeed disproportionately in litigation when the adverse party is a “have‐not.” The traditional theory suggests that haves are able to use their wealth to secure better attorney representation and can use their frequent experience in litigation to tip the scales of justice in their favor, particularly when faced with “one‐shotters” whose involvement in litigation is infrequent. A remaining question, however, is whether some haves fare better than other similarly situated haves. Specifically, this article posits that the litigation strategy used by the defendant may also play a role in litigation outcomes. Companies that tenaciously fight claims that, in the short term, would be cheaper to settle might discourage otherwise valid claims in the future from being filed out of fear that the litigation will be a protracted battle. This article examines Wal‐Mart Stores, Inc. (Wal‐Mart)—the largest revenue‐generating company in the United States—to explore whether it fares better than other resource‐rich defendants. Wal‐Mart in particular has a reputation against settling cases and thus is an excellent vehicle to investigate this hypothesis. Appellate cases in an eleven‐year period involving slip‐and‐fall litigation were compiled, and the results show that Wal‐Mart did win at a higher rate than other defendants. Although more research is needed to explore fully the effect of litigation strategy on win–loss rates, this sample of cases demonstrates that Wal‐Mart is a more effective and victorious litigant.     

Marginality or Neglect

Abstract

While the number of females imprisoned in America is significantly smaller than that of their male counterparts, the growth rate of incarcerated women over the last two decades has outpaced that of men. This increase can largely be attributed to stringent crime control policies, particularly regarding drug-related offenses. Within the same period of time the number of aging inmates has also increased. An exploratory telephone census of all state Department of Corrections and the Federal of Bureau of Prison reveal a pattern of malign neglect toward aging female inmates. Despite the growth in the female inmate population, federal and state policies and programs neglect the unique living environment, health care and programming needs of aging female inmates. After reviewing the growth patterns and projections for female inmates, state and federal policies will be examined to determine which, if any, are arguably gender-specific.     

“The Judge Didn't Sentence Me to Be Raped”: Tracy Neal v. Michigan Department of Corrections: A 15-Year Battle Against the Sexual Abuse of Women Inmates in Michigan

This research traces the history of Tracy Neal v. Michigan Department of Corrections, a class action lawsuit against the Michigan Department of Corrections that alleged the sexual abuse of women prisoners spanning more than two decades. The litigation resulted in combined jury verdicts of more than $30 million for the plaintiffs and a $100 million settlement that included extensive injunctive relief. This article examines the abuses and conditions suffered by female inmates in Michigan prisons, the court decisions, jury trials, and settlement. Drawing on interviews from several lead attorneys for the plaintiffs, the article provides an examination of the circumstances, discusses litigation strategy, and highlights lessons from Neal that could be relevant to civil rights scholars and advocates. The article concludes with a discussion of the impact and future implications of this case.     

The Alien Tort Statute: Blackstone and Criminal/Tort Law Hybridities

The importation of criminal law concepts into the area of civillaw is attracting increasing interest. The United States’Alien Tort Statute (ATS), though principally known for enablinginternational human rights suits to be filed in the domesticcourts of the United States, also imports criminal law notionsinto civil litigation. This article explores the hybrid natureof the ATS in the context of the development of internationallaw, and raises the question of whether ‘grandeur’is a principal reason for the ATS’ existence.