Death penalty politics and symbolic law in Russia

In contemporary Russia there is widespread support for the death penalty. Recent Russian presidents have endorsed the nation’s entry into the European Community (EC). The dilemma is that the price of membership into the EC is total abolition of capital punishment. The Russian Duma is much less popular than the president, even though it sides with public opinion in supporting capital punishment. Since 1997, these conflicting political positions have been temporarily neutralized by leaving capital punishment legislation in place but allowing the Russian president to offer clemency to all sentenced to death. In 1999, the Constitutional Court of Russia placed a moratorium on all death sentences until jury trials are re-introduced throughout the nation.     

Death penalty sentiment in the United States

Pro-death penalty sentiment, at its all-time low in 1966 at 42% of the country's adult population, steadily rose to 71% in 1986. This average percentage varies widely for various subgroups of the population-as widely as between 43 and 93% at the extremes: political leanings, ethnic background, sex, and economic status are the main determinants. Death penalty sentiments are not of uniform strength: about one-third of the pro-death penalty population might give up their position if the alternative were life without parole and if they were convinced that the death penalty is not a deterrent. In the main, death penalty sentiment is not determined by utilitarian considerations but by moralistic ones, which in turn are part of the liberal-conservative dividing lines.     

Death penalty views in China, Japan and the U.S.: An empirical comparison

Many nations impose the death penalty, yet most of the literature on capital punishment has focused on Western nations, particularly the U.S. China and Japan are two retentionist nations. Based on the data collected in 2005, this study examined the level of death penalty support and views on capital punishment among college students from China, Japan, and the U.S. It was found that Chinese respondents reported the highest level of death penalty support, followed by Japanese and U.S. students. Respondents from China and Japan were more likely to believe in the deterrence value of capital punishment than their U.S. counterparts. Views on retribution differed among the respondents. U.S. students were most likely to feel that innocent people are sentenced to death. In multivariate analyses, deterrence was the strongest correlate of death penalty views among Chinese and Japanese respondents, followed closely by retribution. For both Chinese and Japanese students, the barbarity of government taking the life of a person was the strongest predictor for opposing the death penalty. For U.S. respondents, retribution was the strongest reason for supporting capital punishment and the barbarity of executions was the strongest reason for opposing the death penalty.     

Death penalty attitudes and conviction proneness

Attitudes toward the death penalty are consistently predictive of jurors' verdicts in criminal trials. Two studies were conducted to find out why. In Study 1, eligible jurors viewed a videotape showing conflicting testimony by a prosecution and defense witness in an assault case. Death-qualified subjects (those permitted to serve on capital juries) interpreted testimony in a manner more favorable to the prosecution than excludable subjects (those excluded from serving on juries in capital cases due to their opposition to the death penalty), suggesting that differing interpretations of evidence may mediate the relationship between attitudes toward the death penalty and verdicts. In Study 2, the same jurors indicated their reactions to a number of hypothetical situations in which a jury had convicted an innocent defendant or acquitted a guilty one. Death qualified subjects expressed less regret concerning erroneous convictions and more regret concerning erroneous acquittals than excludable subjects. Theoretical interpretations of this pattern of results suggest that death qualified subjects may have a lower threshold of conviction than excludable subjects; thus the relationship between attitudes toward the death penalty and verdicts may also be mediated by differing thresholds of conviction.During the course of this research, William C. Thompson was supported, in part, by a National Science Foundation graduate fellowship.     

Death penalty attitudes and the tendency to convict or acquit

Three studies examined whether attitudes toward the death penalty were related to conviction or acquittal proneness. They were not, even in a case where it was clear that the prosecution was asking for death. Two questions asked whether attitudes toward the death penalty were related to changes in the threshold of guilt or in the amount of evidence required to find guilt when death as compared to life imprisonment was the potential sentence. They were so related, but answers to such questions were unrelated to verdicts in a death case. In one study, strong opponents of the death penalty were no different from others in attitudes toward attorneys and witnesses, in recollection of the facts of a trial, or in their subjective impressions about the trial. The basis of any attitude-behavior relation in this area is questioned.     

刑事权力学的维度：死刑存废

关于死刑的存废问题,在我国乃至世界范围内一直都有很大的争议。本文拟从不同于传统的另外一个角度重新审视死刑以及刑事权力的运作机制,试图通过分析刑事权力的运作,进而得出死刑是存是废的结论。     

Having the cake and eating it too: efficient penalty clauses in Common and Civil contract law

In this paper we examine one of the areas where there is a marked difference between Civil and Common contract law, that of the enforcement of liquidated damages and more particularly of penalty clauses. Common law judges are quite reluctant to enforce liquidated damages, especially if they believe that they include penalty clauses which are not enforceable. On the contrary, in almost all European contract laws liquidated damages are readily enforced, as are penalty clauses when they are not manifestly excessive. Although most law and economics scholars have criticized Common law courts for the non-enforcement of penalty clauses, there is a sizable minority of scholars who have defended the Common law “non-enforcement” policy on the ground that penalty clauses are inefficient because they hinder efficient breach. However, and despite the merits of the arguments advanced by advocates of the non-enforcement of penalty clauses, we believe that Common law’s rejection of penalty clauses is inefficient. We further show that the Civil law solution to the problem is not only comparatively more efficient, but that it can also appease the worries of those scholars who are afraid that efficient breaches will be deterred. The solution that Civil law systems give to the problem manages to enforce the parties’ wishes and to avoid deterring efficient breaches. However, we point out that in order for the Civil law systems to take advantage of this superiority, the interpretation of their Civil Codes should be guided by economic analysis and the respect to the wishes of the contracting parties.     

Substantive rules of argumentation for value judgment in civil law: In the context of academic practice of civil law in China

Value judgment is at the core of civil law. This paper explores how scholars of civil law reach mutual understanding and consensus on specific value judgment by rational discussion in the context of multiple value orientation. Based on a brief evaluation of the theory of legal argument and with the basic value consensus of Chinese civil law scholars as the premise, this paper proposes two substantive rules of argumentation for scholars of civil law to discuss value judgment: First, a strong of equal treatment should be carried out in the absence of sufficient and justified reasons or otherwise; Second, the freedom of civil subject should not be restrained in the absence of sufficient and justified reasons or otherwise. To reach mutual understanding, and on the basis of that to reach new consensus on specific value judgment further, scholars of civil law should base their discussions on substantive rules of argumentation for value judgment, follow rules and forms of argumentation as procedural techniques, and apply proper methods of argumentation. This paper also explores the application of substantive rules of argumentation on two specific value judgment issues of civil law scholars.     

实践中的证据法——中国证据法实施情况调查研究

证据制度是本次中国司法文明指数体系的一个重要一级指标,我们选取了四项二级指标进行了评估,通过问卷调查和数据分析,并结合中国证据法治指数问卷调查的数据,可以得出以下结论:当事人证据权利缺乏有效保障,侦查人员的证据意识有所增强,非法证据排除规则有待落实,以及司法证明过程缺乏合理规范。     

Consent forms in genomics: the difference between law and practice

Consent forms are the principal method for obtaining informed consent from biomedical research participants. The significance of these forms is increasing as more secondary research is undertaken on existing research samples and information, and samples are deposited in biobanks accessible to many researchers. We reviewed a selection of consent forms used in European Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) and identified four common elements that were found in every consent form. Our analysis showed that only two of the four most commonly found elements in our sample of informed consent forms were required in UK law. This raises questions about what should be put in informed consent forms for research participants. These findings could be beneficial for the formulation of participant information and consent documentation in the future studies.     

依法治国的理论与实践

一、如何理解依法治国 从抽象的角度来理解,依法治国是指通过法律来治理社会和国家,实现法律的全面统治。社会和国家是法律在统治,而不是人在统治。 从法学理论的角度来理解,依法治国是指依靠体现最广大人民群众的意志和利益、合理地配置权利、权力、义务和责任的法来制约国家权力,规范社会主体的活动,调整各种社会关系,管理各项社会事务,从而形成公正、高效、公平、稳定的社会秩序。它的直接要求就是“有法可依、有法必依、执法必严、违法必究”。     

Death penalty beliefs and jurors' responses to aggravating and mitigating circumstances in capital trials

Two studies explored the relationship between attitudes toward the death penalty and support for or rejection of aggravating and mitigating circumstances in a capital trial. Jurors serving on jury duty voluntarily completed questionnaires in the jury lounge. In Study 1, jurors strongly opposed to the death penalty were significantly more receptive to mitigating circumstances than were the remaining jurors. In Study 2, jurors who would have been excluded for their opposition to the death penalty under theWitherspoon standard were significantly less receptive to aggravating circumstances than were the other jurors. It is suggested that the present system of death qualification in capital cases results in biases against the interest of the defendant at all stages of the trial process—jury selection, determination of guilt, and sentencing.     

Camera/video phones in schools: law and practice

The emergence of mobile phones with built-in digital cameras is creating legal and ethical concerns for school systems throughout the world. Users of such phones can instantly email, print or post pictures to other MMS1 1. MMS stands for Multimedia Messaging Services. MMS is frequently used to send photos from camera phones to other MMS phones or email addresses. View all notes phones or websites. Local authorities and schools in Britain, Europe, USA, Canada, Australia and elsewhere have introduced outright bans on their use because of the problems or risks they pose if misused. Risks concerned with pupils surreptitiously photographing other pupils in changing rooms or photographing examination papers are obvious examples. The article examines some worldwide examples of the misuse of camera phones in schools and the issues and problems that emerged. A landmark decision concerning the European Data Privacy Directive (Directive 95/46/EC) in the case of Bodil Lindqvist by the European Court of Justice is explored and the implications for camera phones considered. The article concludes by stating that because of their ubiquity and social potency, it is probably a mistake and an overreaction for education authorities or schools to introduce blanket bans on the possession of camera phones. Rather they need to devise sensible agreements and policies on camera phone usage.