The Strictness of Strict Liability

This article conceptualizes what strict liability is in the criminal law. Four properties are found to be individually necessary, only jointly sufficient, for there to be the kind of moral blameworthiness that must underlie any just punishment: prima facie wrongdoing, absence of justification, prima facie culpability, and absence of excuse. Whenever criminal liability is imposed without the presence of one or more of these properties, the liabuility is said to be strict.     

严格责任的中国命运

严格责任是在某些特殊案件中没有主观过错或起诉定罪不问主观过错的刑事责任制度,但它的内容不断在司法实践中得到修正。严格责任与我国的罪刑法定原则、主客观相统一原则、刑罚目的、刑法谦抑这些制度是能够相容的。在我国刑法中引入严格责任是现代刑法机能的内在要求,是发展罪过理论的需要,是司法实践的现实需要。     

The Proposed Framework for Environmental Strict Liability in Europe: The Polluter Pays…Possibly

On January 23, 2002, the European Union took a bold step toward developing a common approach to environmental liability, one that imposes a strict liability standard aimed at ensuring that the “polluter pays”. However, opinion is divided both on the merits of this standard and on the approach taken at the EU level. This article examines how the EU's proposal and the imposition of environmental strict liability may herald a new era for environmental experts, insurers, and lawyers across Europe.     

论英美刑法中的严格责任及其借鉴

严格责任是英美刑法中一种特殊的刑事归责方式,是一种无罪过责任,即罪过不是犯罪构成的必要条件。而我国 学者对严格责任的认识各不相同,有的学者认为严格责任就是绝对责任;有的学者认为严格责任不同于绝对责 任,但英美刑法中既有严格责任,也有绝对责任。通过对二者的实质性探讨,从公共政策、诉讼效率及诉讼成本的 视角来考察,严格责任有其存在的必要性,英美刑法中的一些做法就值得我们借鉴吸收,我国刑法应该在一定范 围内确立严格责任犯罪。     

严格责任在交通肇事罪中的适用

交通事故发生后当事人往往采取逃离事故现场,破坏现场,伪造现场,毁灭证据等行为,致使无法认定事故当事人的过错情况,给追究事故当事人责任带了极大的障碍,增加肇事者的侥幸心理。解决的对策是改变交通肇事罪中单纯适用过错责任的沿袭,对于违背现场保护义务人应适用严格责任来追究其刑事责任。同时,适用严格责任符合刑法的谦抑性要求,允许当事人自证其无过错以阻却其刑事责任,量刑应从轻。     

也论刑法中严格责任的若干问题

严格责任作为归责制度，一直被理论界视为无过错责任原则。严格责任有其特定的内涵，其本质是一种推定过错责任。同时严格责任是一种公平与效率并重的归责制度，其内在的缺陷可以通过立法与司法方式加以弥补。     

美国环境犯罪严格刑事责任的演化与评析

为了确保食品、药物及环境等涉及公共福利领域的安全,美国法院发展并确立严格刑事责任制度,该制度包括公共福利犯罪原则和有责任的公司管理人员原则。确立环境严格刑事责任的目的是确保刑法在保护环境和促进环境法遵守方面的效率。公共福利犯罪原则和有责任的公司管理人员原则减轻了美国起诉部门的证明责任,降低了司法成本,同时提高了犯罪的成本,增强了刑法的威慑力。这体现了美国环境刑事政策的价值取向是社会利益保护优先和效率优先。     

The Empire Strikes Back: Press Judges and Communication Advisers in Dutch Courts

Judges in many jurisdictions are today prepared to utilize the media to promote a better public understanding of their role. Understandably, they wish not to be perceived as 'spin doctors' intent on a cynical manipulation of public opinion. Judges' professional reputation, their public image, and public confidence in their role hinge on a belief in their neutrality and impartiality. Court communicators are also aware that their success in the media arena depends on a degree of skill and strategizing to ensure that the integrity and complexity of their message are preserved in media reports. This paper discusses how press judges (judges who also act as media spokesperson) and communication advisers in Dutch courts address this. It is argued that the media liaison function embraced by Dutch courts may be an expansion of law's empire or, at least, a possible attempt by law's empire to strike back against the pressures of an increasingly inquisitive media.     

New York Lead-Paint Case Update

The contaminated water supply in Flint, Michigan, highlighted lead issues in a relatively new context: drinking water. Lead-paint lawsuits, however, have filled court calendars for many years in many jurisdictions. This article examines a variety of recent lead-paint decisions issued by courts in New York—from trial level, to appellate, to the state's highest court, the New York Court of Appeals. As these cases suggest, lead-paint complaints against landlords and property owners are likely to continue to be filed in New York courts for quite some time to come.     

效率与公平——严格责任在刑法领域运用中所体现的两种不同价值

严格责任是存在于英美法系国家的一项重要的刑法制度。它强调举证责任的转移,即检察官只需对犯罪行为的存在以及犯罪行为与被告的关系进行证明,而被告是否具有犯意的证明则交由被告进行。严格责任主要适用于侵犯公共福利犯罪。它是现代社会追求效率的产物,但其公平性却时常受到指责。     

Fractured: Cracks in the Hydraulic Fracturing Regulatory Structure

The acquisition of energy resources is a necessity to power the nation, fuel its economy, and support its people. The introduction of hydraulic fracturing has created an energy boom in North America, revolutionizing the supply and demand of energy for the country. This article explores the fundamentals of the hydraulic fracturing process, the economic benefits, and the corresponding environmental impact of the practice. Furthermore, the article discusses the regulation of fracking on a local and federal level and offers a practical, balanced approach to limit the adverse environmental impacts of hydraulic fracturing while retaining its economic advantages.     

A. P. Simester (ed): Appraising Strict Liability

The article is a review of A.P. Simester, ed., Appraising Strict Liability. We strongly recommend the book for the sophistication of the contributors’ analyses, and the contribution the book makes to clarifying the normative issues at stake in strict liability legal regimes. The review focuses on the more philosophical essays in the book. The specific issues from the book identified in the review are: the rights-based character of the prohibition on conviction without moral fault; the importance of the principle of proportionality; due diligence defences; the instrumental worth of strict liability in relation to quasi-criminal regulation; the faultiness of genuinely creating risks.     

英国性犯罪视角中严格责任之考察

无罪过不为罪是中国刑法的基本原则,然而这个原则却面临主要适用于英美法系的严格责任理论〔1〕的挑战。这种理论也是国内多数学者用来论证行为人与幼女发生性关系,即使确实不知其真实年龄,也应论之以犯罪的主要理论根据。由于严格责任肇始于英国,因此细致地探讨英国严格责任尤其是在性犯罪领域的适用现状,对我们考虑是否应当在强奸(奸淫幼女)罪〔2〕中嫁接该归责原则很有裨益。一、严格责任的基本内涵一般认为,严格责任(strictliability)是指在考虑犯罪行为的一个或多个要素的时候,无需考虑犯罪心态的犯罪。严格责任不能被理解为绝对责任(a…     

跨界损害责任制度的新发展

跨界损害责任是国际责任制度的一个重要问题。2001年《关于预防危险活动的跨界损害的条款草案》和2006年《关于危险活动造成的跨界损害案件中损失分担的原则草案》两个文件标志着联合国国际法委员会的这一编纂工作告一段落。该种责任与传统国家责任之间的关系、两个草案的性质、主要内容及存在的问题,以及其对国际法中责任制度的影响值得探讨和分析。     

过错主义归责原则在校园伤害事故案件中的运用

随着中小学校园伤害事故频发,学生家长要求学校赔偿的诉讼逐年增多,学校应否承担责任和承担多大的责任成为社会关注的焦点.从校园伤害事故的概念、类型入手,论述该类案件属传统侵权案件,应适用过错主义归责原则而不适用无过错主义原则,在特殊情况下可适用公平责任原则.在此基础上提出将保险责任引入校园伤害事故案件中,以利于在不影响正常教学秩序的同时充分维护学生的合法权益.