Higher Fines—Fewer Traffic Offences? A Multi-Site Observational Study

Assess the impact of a 100-per cent increase of fines on compliance with speed-limits (50 km/h) and parking regulations in urban areas. Norm violations were measured through standardized observations in all five major cities in Switzerland before and after fines had been raised by 100 % or more at two pre- and two post-intervention periods. The speed of 20,000 cars was measured, and 10,000 parked cars were controlled. Levels of police controls remained stable over the entire period, but enforcement activity varied considerably across cities. Violations of parking regulations decreased by 32 %. Speed-limit violations remained unaffected in the longer run by higher fines. When cities without relevant enforcement activity were excluded, a reduction by 17 % was observed. No causal inferences can be drawn given the absence of a control area. However, the data suggest that higher fines deter traffic violations, provided enforcement activity remains at relevant levels.     

注意规范保护目的与交通过失犯的成立

交通过失犯的本质应是结果回避义务,判断该义务之有无应以预见因果关系为内容的结果预见可能性为前提;注意规范保护目的是判断此种因果关系成立与否的理论,只有当行为人违反了注意规范保护目的而致损害法益结果发生时才能成立交通过失犯。注意规范保护目的是以作为刑法规范下位规则的交通法规为基础的可普遍适用于交通过失犯的判断标准,它属于交通过失犯中的违法要素,使用它无须通过客观归责理论。注意规范保护目的理论能合理限定交通过失犯的成立范围,有效克服我国司法实践中普遍存在的以交通事故责任书直接作为刑法上交通过失犯成立依据的不妥做法。     

再议交通事故认定行为的法律性质

对于交警部门在履行处理交通事故职责中作出的交通事故责任认定究竟为何属性,众说纷纭,因为它直接关系到当交通事故认定出现偏差时,可否司法审查进而有效地维护交通事故当事人的合法权益,监督交警部门依法履行职责,正确处理交通事故的问题。根据交通事故处理法律、法规的规定,交通事故认定行为的法律性质是具体行政行为。     

Special report on patient care. The new federal patient-dumping regulations: some commonly asked questions and answers

Until both providers and government surveyors become more familiar with the new EMTALA regulations, there will be an uncomfortable period of adjustment, and perhaps some turmoil as well, particularly regarding the new requirement that facilities who receive suspicious transfers report those transfers to HCFA. Providers should carefully examine their internal policies on discharge and transfer of emergency patients to assure that those policies are consistent with the new regulations. Particular attention should be given to inservice training for medical and support personnel in the emergency department, because they must precisely comply with the law and their errors can subject the hospital to costly investigations and potential fines of $50,000 for each violation.     

Post-mortem blood alcohol concentration of the traffic accident victims and changes in DUI legislation in Slovenia 1980–2006

This study aims to contribute to the analysis of the impact of alcohol consumption on road traffic safety in Slovenia and to evaluate the effectiveness of the changes in road traffic safety legislation concerning this issue within the period 1980–2006. For this purpose we have performed a retrospective analysis of 1913 autopsy reports on traffic casualties, with an emphasis on their blood alcohol concentration (BAC), mode of participation in traffic (drivers, pedestrians, etc.) and the impact of legislation changes. In addition, we have analysed the relations between BAC, the time and day of death and the gender of victims. Changes in the legislation were made in 1981, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1998 and 2005, yet only those made in 1981, 1990 and 1998 resulted in the increase of the actual fines. Within the observed period there was a substantial reduction in the average BAC in almost all of the categories of traffic participants (pedestrians: from 1.20 to 0.73; passengers: from 1.08 to 0.56; cyclists: from 1.11 to 0.56; motorcyclists: from 0.68 to 0.33) except in the category of drivers (negligible reduction from 0.81 to 0.76). Insufficient improvement in the latter category is extremely important, because many sober vulnerable traffic participants become victims of drunk drivers. Further concern arises from the finding that heavily drinking drivers are not responsive to penalty increases. We came to the conclusion that, in addition to raising fines and expanding penalty points, the introduction and effective enforcement of complex legislative measures together with wide community action are necessary to resolve DUI problems in Slovenia.     

Fines and Justice Administration: The Experience of the Federal Republic of Germany

As part of the penal code revised in 1969, the Federal Republic of Germany increased its reliance on fines, including the introduction of day-fines, in lieu of short-term imprisonment for minor offenses. The previous trend toward the use of fines was accelerated by the requirement that courts order imprisonment only in exceptional cases. Traffic cases were particularly affected. The qualities of the offense and the absence of previous offenses, rather than an individualized study of the offender, continued to be the dominant criterium influencing the choice of a fine. The chief effect of day fines was higher amounts applied to the more affluent defendants; the amount of the fine appeared to have no effect on subsequent recidivism. For first offenders, fines were superior to imprisonment in avoiding reconviction. Day-fines were no more effective (but not less effective) than imprisonment in the instance of traffic offenses. Fines were superior to other sanctions for petty property offenders but not for career thieves.     

滥伐林木行为承担法律责任的现状及其缺陷分析

对滥伐林木行为追究刑事责任时存在因法律规定不协调而导致行为人规避法律,量刑偏低,罚金畸轻的缺陷;对滥伐林木行为追究行政责任时存在行政处罚的执法阻力较大,征收罚款的理论依据不足的缺陷。加之用罚金或罚款代替民事赔偿、罚金和罚款的管理使用未考虑生态保护因素等缺陷,致使无法有效遏制滥伐林木行为。有必要重新界定民事责任与行政责任、刑事责任的界线,重新设计有效率的民事责任制度。     

旅游合同履行中第三人侵权时的责任承担探究——以旅游交通事故为视角

当前,中国的旅游业蓬勃发展,但对旅游合同的研究仍是目前我国法学研究领域相当薄弱的环节。例如,在现行法律中有关旅游关系调整的立法还不够健全,实践中的旅游纠纷多依靠行政法规和与之相关的部门规章予以解决,并无直接的法律依据可遵循。本文以一则真实案例为出发点,着重从旅游合同履行中发生意外交通事故角度来探讨旅游纠纷时的责任承担,从实践方面提出解决的措施。     

“交通肇事逃逸”责任认定实务问题研究

在我国道路交通事故中,交通肇事逃逸事故所占比重一直较高。交通肇事逃逸行为使受害者得不到及时救助而处于危险境地,更有甚者因失去救助机会而死亡。交通事故因现场证据的变动或消失而难以得到准确的认定和处理,各地出台的条例对逃逸事故认定的极端性以及出现同一类型的交通肇事逃逸事故因发生的辖区不同而出现截然不同的处理结果等问题都是导致受害者家属得不到及时赔偿而不断信访投诉的原因。结合自身多年处理交通事故的实践经验,研究分析了"交通肇事逃逸"事故责任认定现存的缺陷,提出了完善"交通肇事逃逸"事故责任认定的建议和意见。     

欧盟卡特尔案件宽大制度及启示

欧盟宽大制度是一种减轻或免除卡特尔行为人罚款责任的制度。自1996年欧盟引入该项制度以来,现已历经2002年和2006年两次修改。现行宽大制度包括罚款全额免除和部分减免两方面：前者适用于最先提供可使欧盟委员会展开调查或发现违法行为证据的企业;后者适用于提供对欧盟委员会已掌握之证据具有显著附加价值证据的企业。同时,为保证宽大制度的有效实施,欧盟在宽大制度程序保障机制及规制机关自由裁量权控制等方面做出了完善规定。     

Incorporating Co-offending in Sentencing Models: An Analysis of Fines Imposed on Antitrust Offenders

Analyses of sentencing (and other criminal justice processes such as the decision to prosecute, plea bargaining, and contact with the police) often use the isolated individual as the unit of analysis. However, the criminal justice system often processes either offenses or court cases rather than persons. If court cases always involved one individual, this would have little impact. However, offenses involving co-offending—two or more persons acting together—comprise a substantial proportion of criminal activity (Reiss, 1980, 1986). Depending on the prevalence of co-offending, it may be very likely that two or more individuals involved in the same case will be selected as members of the same sample of criminal justice or criminological data. Unless it can be shown that both the individual-level variables of co-offenders and their error terms are mutually independent, analyses based on methods such as ordinary least-squares multiple regression would violate the underlying assumptions of such models. However, alternatives to linear models assuming either type of independence are available. Among the most useful of these are mixed models, specifically those assuming compound symmetry. This is illustrated with an analysis of fines imposed on criminally convicted antitrust offenders. These models may yield results which are substantially different than those from models which ignore co-offending. In a model of fines imposed on antitrust offenders, models which ignore co-offending generally overstate both estimates and statistical significance of offense-level variables and understate those of offender-level variables.     

交通行为控制与引导策略

对交通行为进行有效引导与控制是解决当前交通事故高发,交通拥堵日益恶化的有效方法。通过交通出行信息系统来引导出行者选择有效出行方式。通过交通道德建设和教育以加强出行者对自身交通行为控制的自觉性。加强交通安全知识的研究和教育,提高对险情的应对能力。严格执法和加强交通设施建设,对危险交通行为者进行物理强制和心理震慑。通过内外双重机制的约定与引导,确保交通行为处于安全有序的状态。     

Economic analysis of the removal of illegal gains

The purpose of the present paper is to explore both the motivation for confiscating illegal gain and also to look at some of its legal aspects and economic effects. It is argued that the removal of illegal gain may be able to play a significant complementary role, if only by closing the gap between the maximum punishment the law will allow and fines sufficient to represent a credible deterrent. The paper develops a deterrence model and applies it to confiscation powers introduced to help combat drug trafficking.     

Effects of the criminalizing policy of sex work in Spain

The aim of this study is to analyse the effects on sex workers of new regulations that ban the practice of street prostitution in Spain. This country has not traditionally maintained a clear policy regarding prostitution. However, in recent years there has been a clear turn towards the criminalization of behaviours related to voluntary prostitution. The city councils of several Spanish cities have banned the practice of street prostitution and sanctioned it with fines issued to both prostitutes and clients. Even if few studies on prostitution have been carried out in Spain, none of them had yet analysed the effects of the adoption of civic ordinances on sex workers.In this paper we present the results of an empirical research carried out with a sample of 79 sex workers – in 20 cases with in-depth interviews – to explore the effects of the new regulation on their labour conditions.     

法国法上的重大过错——兼论对中国法的参照意义

法国法上的重大过错包括重大过失、不可原谅之过失以及故意或欺诈性过错。重大过失主要意义在于部分场合下排除责任限制条款的适用;不可原谅之过失主要适用于劳动事故及职业病、运输损害、交通事故领域,用以加重行为人责任或削减受害人权利;故意或欺诈性过错之意义在于一般性地排除责任限制条款的适用。三种过错的识别,从侧重客观因素的考察到侧重主观因素的考察。基于法国法的相关经验,我国《合同法》第113条及《工伤保险条例》相关规定均有值得检讨之处。     

古代中原地区与少数民族地区的赎刑制度探析

赎刑是中国古代独特的法律制度,中原地区的赎刑制度在秦及汉初具有替代刑和独立刑种的双重属性,唐代以后赎刑发展成为刑罚适用的一般原则。罚金刑在中国古代法律中多处于与赎刑合而为一的并存状态。以藏区“赔命价”制度为代表的少数民族地区的赎刑制度,在古代以成文法的形式出现,在现代则表现出明显的和解性质。赎刑制度中的价值理念和合理规则,对于我国刑罚替代措施和死刑的司法控制等方面仍有借鉴意义。     

刍议伤残程度评定标准

伤残程度评定在法医鉴定中极为常见,很长时间以来,法医界除“医出多门”、各唱各的调、多重鉴定频出外,还在适应标准的不一致上让受检者无所适从。近两年,在法院系统有了除交通事故适用“道路标准”外,其余损伤均适用“工伤标准”的“要求”。本文就实施该“要求”两年来,在法医临床检案中所遇到的问题,对“工伤标准”及适用“工伤标准”谈了自己的看法,认为“工伤标准”本身还存在很多弊端:一是定残的基点过低;二是同一残级的不同部位伤残及本标准与其它标准同类伤残缺乏均衡比较;三是残级间缺乏连贯性,层次感不强。而让非工伤检案套用“工伤标准”定残、套用“道路标准”赔偿,给部门与部门间及当事者造成了不少麻烦。作者呼吁尽快出台全国通用《人体纠纷损伤致残程度鉴定标准》及配套赔偿办法,并提出了初浅的建议。     

交通事故立法疏漏之研究

在我国处理道路交通事故几乎都是依照国务院《道路交通事故处理办法》进行处理的 ,由于包含着民事赔偿规范 ,这一行政规范成为审判机关审理这类案件的主要依据 ,这显然是存在问题的 ;另外 ,在体系上和原则上严重违反了《民法通则》的精神 ,一些规范的设定存在重大疏漏。     

Credible Criminal Enforcement

Economic models of crime and punishment implicitly assume that the government can credibly commit to the fines, sentences, and apprehension rates it has chosen. We study the government’s problem when credibility is an issue. We find that several of the standard predictions of the economic model are altered when commitment is taken into account. Specifically, when only fines are used, commitment results in a lower apprehension rate and hence a higher crime rate. However, when jail is used (with or without fines), apprehension rates and jail terms may be higher or lower compared to the optimal static policy.JEL K14, K42     

Software interoperability, intellectual property and competition law — Compulsory licenses for abuse of market dominance

Innovation is a shared purpose of both intellectual property (IP) and competition law. However, sometimes competition law conflicts with the interests of IP holders. This paper searches for an adequate criterion of practical concordance, which consists of evaluating, in the concrete situation, which of those regulations best performs the purpose of promoting innovation. It is considered that requirements of competition law shape IP regulations, but the internal limits of protection therein identified are not enough to safeguard concerns of competition law. In particular, European courts held that, in exceptional circumstances, IP holders with market dominant position can be compelled to grant licenses of IP protected goods, such as copyrighted information and software. Such lifting of the IP exclusion power finds its rationale in preserving competition and promoting innovation, which is particularly sensitive within the dynamic software market.