W.A. Schabas,Nowak’s CCPR Commentary: U.N. Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 3rd rev. edn.

Netherlands International Law Review -     

As easy as A, B and C: will A, B and C v. Ireland be Ireland's wake-up call for abortion rights?

This article examines the development of Ireland's abortion policy from 1861 to the present day. It explores the reasoning for this policy as well as the inherent problems with this policy. It examines in detail the A, B and C v. Ireland judgement and its impact, (if any) on Irish abortion law. Finally, it discusses the margin of appreciation doctrine used by the European Court of Human Rights in deciding cases of a moral nature.     

His master’s voice: H.L.A. Hart and Lacanian discourse theory

H.L.A. Hart’s jurisprudence seems antithetical to Jacques Lacan’s psychoanalysis. Professor Schroeder argues that, in fact, Hart’s concept of law has surprising similarities to Lacan’s ‘discourse of the Master’. Both reject a command theory of law: subjects do not obey law out of fear. Moreover, both insist that the authority of law is completely independent from its content. Anyone seeking to develop a psychoanalytically sophisticated critical legal theory should reconsider Hart. As insightful as his concept of the symbolic is, Lacan has no expertise in legal systems and does not discuss positive law per se. Although he posited a theory of ethics in his Seventh Seminar and the seeds of a jurisprudence are implicit within his theory, he offers no account of legal right, justice or what Hart misleadingly calls ‘morality’. A Lacanian jurisprudence must, therefore, be supplemented by other sources. Moreover, legal positivists should not dismiss psychoanalysis. As insightful as Hart’s jurisprudence is, his theories of legal subjectivity and linguistics are simplistic and his concept of law too narrow. He describes only one aspect of legal experience: obedience to law. He ignores what most legal actors do: Hart’s concept of law excludes the practice of law. Although Lacan’s ‘master’s discourse’ surprisingly parallels Hart’s jurisprudence, Lacan does not restrict the symbolic to the master’s discourse. It requires three other ‘discourses’. Lacan, therefore, supplements Hart. Specifically, Lacan’s fourth discourse describes the excluded practice of law and provides the mechanism by which ‘morality’ can critique law.

S.W.A.T.:光荣与梦想

目前市面上正流行一部由克拉克·约翰逊执导的DVD影片:《S.W.A.T》,其中文译名有多种,比如《反恐特警组》和《洛城特警》等。这张DVD碟片由美国八大影业之一的哥伦比亚/三星(Columbia/TriStar)公司于2004年6月1日正式发行。很多人看过后都说很过瘾,故事情节当然是虚构的,不过,原型却是真实存在的,那就是位于洛杉矶东六街251号的洛杉矶警察局特别武器战术小组。S.W.A.T实际上是SpecialWeaponsAndTactics的首字母缩写,意思就是“特别武器和战术小组”。影片根据20世纪70年代的同名电视剧集改编而成,正是这部电视剧让洛杉矶警察局特别…     

Injustice in School and Students’ Emotions,Well-Being,and Behavior: A Longitudinal study

School can be regarded as an important factor in the development of children’s values and attitudes. Given this great importance of justice experiences for students’ development, this study aimed at examining the influence of perceived injustice in school on students’ emotions, well-being, and behavior with an experimental longitudinal design. In total, 196 students participated in this study and came to the university with their classes to receive extra teaching once a week for six consecutive weeks. To manipulate justice perceptions, a scenario of arbitrary privilege was chosen to lead students of the experimental group to experience injustice from a beneficiary perspective. We found that students in the experimental group reported higher well-being and a higher appreciation of the opportunity to learn than the control group did. Additionally, they showed an increase in justice-related negative emotions over time; that is, they expressed more of a bad conscience and stronger feelings of anger the more they became aware of their privilege. This study shows that even subtle experiences of injustice in school can have an impact on students’ outcomes. These results are discussed with regard to practical implications.