青少年法律保护和犯罪防治要与时俱进

胡锦涛同志在党的十七大政治报告中指出，“新时期最突出的标志是与时俱进”。与时俱进是马克思主义的理论品质，是共产党人适应社会形势发展的必然选择。正是由于马克思主义的与时俱进，我们才创建了具有中国特色的社会主义理论，同样，正是由于青少年法律保护和犯罪防治工作的与时俱进，我们才为青少年创造了一个比较好的成长氛围。然而，我们也应当看到，随着社会的发展，现阶段我国青少年成长环境和条件发生了重大变化，青少年法律保护中遇到了许多新的矛盾和问题，青少年犯罪的数量、类型、手段和危害等也在不断变化，如何在新形势下确保青少年一代健康成长作为富有挑战性的崭新课题，按照传统观念和习惯性做法是很难破解这一历史性课题的，迫切需要我们与时俱进来思考并拿出解决的方案和对策来。从这意义上说，青少年法律保护和犯罪防治与时俱进是适应社会形势发展的必然选择。     

Harmonisation by Example: European Laws against Unfair Commercial Practices

This examination of the implementation of the European Union's Directive on Unfair Commercial Practices in the United Kingdom by the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 assesses the likely impact on the national law governing the marketing practices of rogue traders, including its ambition to simplify and extend legal protection, and the likely success of the Directive in achieving the harmonisation of the laws and practices regulating marketing in Europe. In particular, the discussion evaluates the regulatory strategy of the Directive in its attempt to secure uniform laws through the combination of principles, rules, and concrete examples of prohibited practices. The paper also investigates the likely impact of the Regulations on the private law of contract and tort and the possibilities for improvements in a consumer's personal right of redress.     

The Wasted Costs Jurisdiction

The wasted costs jurisdiction is flawed for six reasons, based on an analysis of all reported cases in the last nine years and five years of statistics provided by the Bar Mutual Insurance Fund Limited, and despite the guidance laid down by the Court of Appeal in Ridehalgh v Horsefield [1994] Ch 205. First, it is very costly proportionate to the amount recovered. Secondly, judges can initiate a wasted costs enquiry, which is unfair and even more disproportionately costly. Thirdly, it is procedurally complex. Fourthly, it is unpredictable whether the client will waive privilege, and what the consequences will be whether or not privilege is waived. Fifthly, it is not possible for solicitors and barristers to make contribution claims against each other. Sixthly, it is mostly used against lawyers representing legally aided litigants from whom costs cannot be recovered.     

法律保护和犯罪预防中的儿童参与权

尽管成年人在履行保护儿童的天赋职责时，总是按自己的标准和要求来实施对儿童保护和犯罪预防的传统思维定势已开始扭转，但我们不得不承认，从整体上看，我们在儿童法律保护和犯罪预防中的着重点很大程度上还停留在灌输性说教上，儿童并没有真正参与进去。其实，儿童参与早已成为国际社会的共识，并在《儿童权利公约》中将其作为儿童的一项基本权利予以规定。