The Place for Custody Evaluations in Family Peacemaking

Custody evaluations can serve the dual purpose of providing neutral, objective information to the court while also contributing to the possibility of earlier settlement, which coincides with the therapeutic jurisprudence goal of more positive outcomes for children and families. Research suggests that most cases settle after custody evaluations. However, most of the literature is focused on the use of custody evaluations for litigation. Evaluators, attorneys, and mental health consultants can influence parents to focus more on children's needs and less on their conflict as they go through the evaluation process. This article urges family courts to develop processes and require professionals to learn skills needed for an interdisciplinary process to utilize evaluations in peacemaking.

Key Points for the Family Court Community:
• All custody evaluation processes should aim to reduce and/or shorten children's exposure to parental conflict.
• Evaluators, attorneys, and mental health professional consultants should use the evaluation process to influence parents to be more aware of their children's needs and less invested in their adversarial positions.
• Evaluators should learn to write and orally present information and state opinions with consideration of the parents themselves as consumers of the custody evaluation as well as the court.
• Attorneys and mental health professional consultants should help clients review the report, process their emotional reactions, and consider their options for settlement versus litigation in terms of emotional and financial costs to the family.
• Court processes should be developed to contain the time and cost of custody evaluations and provide dispute resolution after custody evaluations.

     

Family Peacemaking with an Interdisciplinary Team: A Therapist's Perspective

Interdisciplinary teams provide an unparalleled opportunity for peacemaking in families within the consensual dispute resolution continuum. This interdisciplinary environment was born out of the integration of Collaborative Law, in which lawyers limit the scope of their services to settlement by way of a signed agreement, and Collaborative Divorce, a team approach to divorce services that includes a lawyer for each party along with a Collaborative Divorce Coach for each party, a neutral financial specialist, and a neutral child specialist. Taken together, Interdisciplinary Collaborative Practice supports the resolution of legal issues out of court as well as addressing any emotional, relational, or behavioral problems that create obstacles to the successful resolution of the separation process.

Key Points for the Family Court Community:
• Collaborative Practice creates legal representation in a consensual environment limiting services to settlement negotiations by way of a written agreement.
• The International Academy of Collaborative Professionals includes 5,000 members in twenty‐five countries.
• Legal representation in a consensual environment together with interdisciplinary teams create endless possibilities for dispute resolution processes.
• Collaborative Lawyers, Collaborative Divorce Coaches, child specialists, and financial specialists can create custom‐fit interdisciplinary teams that work together out of court to support families through marital transition.
• Interdisciplinary teams are family centric, bridging appropriate disciplines and resources to the needs of the family to address the vast majority of divorce‐related problems.
• Divorcing families are moving targets, learning and evolving through the process.
• Therapeutic teams support families with more complex relational, emotional, and mental health problems to find resolutions out of court.
• Divorce is a mainstream event in Western culture; we need supportive processes to encourage the best possible outcomes for all family members, especially the children.

     

China’s Response to the Ebola Virus Disease in West Africa

This article examines the Chinese response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, first surveying Chinese interests in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Many Chinese workers have been evacuated and projects postponed. For the first time, China has extended humanitarian aid to countries facing a public health emergency. China is under pressure to ‘do something’ but faces its own developmental challenges as well as problems of logistics. Chinese knowledge of Africa is still relatively weak and uninformed. Although China’s assistance dwarves that from the other BRICS, the Ebola crisis has revealed problems in Sino-African relations, not least the gap between rhetoric and reality.     

日本知识产权高等法院研究

知识产权高等法院的设立是日本“知识产权立国”政策最大的亮点,其主要目的是建立技术类知识产权案件二审的专门法院,并设立了大合议、法院调查员和专门委员制度。由于特许厅在专利的数量控制上占优势,故特许厅的审判前置在确保专门性这一点上仍具有独立的价值。另一方面,知识产权高等法院为实现多元集中化进行了各种尝试,然而该尝试时常受到大合议的干扰,因此需要避免大合议过早干预,同时须处理好知识产权高等法院与最高法院的关系,形成良好的运行机制。     

Congressional Activism in the Foreign Policy Arena: A Case Study of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide

This article analyzes congressional activism during an international crisis. Using the 1994 Rwandan genocide as a case, this study explores executive–congressional relations during a time when immediate policy responses are needed. A content analysis of policy statements made during committees, on the House floor, and on the Senate floor is used to investigate the specific policy ideas proposed by members of Congress. The models presented pay particular attention to the actions of Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) members, in relation to other more common predictors of congressional activism. In addition to the results for CBC members, other conclusions indicate that foreign policy leaders in Congress are international affairs policy experts without serious concerns of being defeated in their next election.     

关于修改后刑事诉讼法执行情况的若干思考

The revised Law of Criminal Procedure, of which the key idea is to tighten the restraint on and supervi-sion over public power and protect the private rights effectively, shows the pursuits of refined,...     

从国际私法的角度谈WTO协议在我国的实施

我国加入WTO后如何实施其协议规则 ,是一个迫在眉睫的问题。本文从国际私法的角度分析了WTO规则的非直接适用性 ,指出必须通过“废、改、立” ,把它转化成国内法 ,才能在我国实施。针对目前我国正在清理法律法规 ,相关新法还没有出台的情况 ,本文提出应适用“国际惯例补缺”的原则处理涉及WTO规则的涉外案件。     

例以辅律 非以代律——谈《清史稿·刑法志》律例关系之说的片面性

《清史稿·刑法志》夸大了清代律与例之间的冲突 ,一味抬高了例的地位 ,认为例优于律 ,甚至“以例破律” ,“以例代律” ,而律则“多成虚文”。本文引证史料 ,对此观点提出质疑 ,论证了律为主导 ,“以例辅律”才是律例关系的主流。     

所队关系变局下的刑侦基础工作

刑侦改革后,受有关职责定位模糊、思维惯性和磨合期综合症等因素的影响,派出所与责任区刑警中队之间的关系不够协调。刑侦基础工作的推进因此受到制约。正确认识所队关系,树立“双赢”观念;建立动态、开放、共享、互补的新型刑侦基础工作关系;积极拓展基础工作的新领域,开创新局面,是解决问题的主要途径。     

刍议现场意识在刑事案件侦破中的衔接作用

当前刑事案件侦破难度较高,侦查主体现场意识衔接作用对侦查破案尤显重要,所以,必须 强化侦查人员现场意识的确立和运用。