羌族继承习惯法试析

少数民族习惯法是目前我国民族法学研究的热点问题。羌族继承习惯法源远流长 ,无论是继承法的基本原则 ,主要内容 ,还是对继承关系的法律调整 ,都有自身的特点和规律 ,并得到羌民的普遍承认和严格遵循 ,在羌族地区发挥着调解社会矛盾、维护民族团结、促进地方安定的积极作用     

THE COLLABORATIVE DIVORCE PROJECT: A Court-Based Intervention for Separating Parents with Young Children

The role the legal process of separation and divorce plays in affecting outcomes for young children and their families was examined in the Collaborative Divorce Project (CDP), an intervention designed to assist the parents of children six years old or younger as they begin the separation/divorce process (married and unmarried couples). Evaluation and outcome data were collected from 161 couples, their attorneys, teachers, and court records. In addition to positive evaluations from both parents, intervention families benefited through lower conflict, greater father involvement, and better outcomes for children than the control group. Attorneys and court records indicate that intervention families were more cooperative and were less likely to need custody evaluations and other costly services. The CDP illustrates how prevention programs can be located within the courts, can be systematically evaluated, and can aid in helping the legal system function optimally for families with young children.     

COMMENTARY ON "EMPIRICAL AND ETHICAL PROBLEMS WITH CUSTODY RECOMMENDATIONS:"

Whether or not custody evaluators, testifying as expert witnesses, continue to make specific custody recommendations, custody decision making will continue to be based upon inadequate and untested evidence unless and until we reform the family court system in American courtrooms. Judges and lawyers must have specialized knowledge and training about such things as the developmental needs of children, the effects of divorce on children, domestic violence, and child safety issues; lawyers must develop litigation as well as mediation and negotiation skills; specialized family courts utilizing individual calendars and case management techniques must be established; and the complexities and intellectual challenges of family law cases needs to be recognized.     

关系的探究与调整：西方家庭治疗的新视角

传统心理疗法一直注重对个体的考察和干预,这种抽象化的治疗方式在二战后受到以一般系统论代表的新思维模式的冲击,家庭治疗在这种背景下应运而生.家庭治疗强调人际关系,特别是家庭关系,认为个体不是孤立的,只有当其处于一定关系中才能得到说明和理解,个体的心理问题实际上是关系的问题,所以它的解决有赖于关系的调整和变化.在这样的前提下,家庭治疗家们从不同的侧面进行了深入的探讨,提出了一些颇具启发意义的理论观点和应对技术.家庭治疗是对传统心理疗法的重要补充和扩展,当有很大的发展空间.     

FAMILY GROUP CONFERENCES

Family group conferencing has emerged as a child welfare system–transforming practice that fosters new collaborations between families, child welfare practitioners, and the courts. The key components of the model are explained. This article highlights the strengths and challenges associated with incorporating family group conferencing into traditional child welfare agency and court practice. It suggests future practice considerations and outcome-based study that are necessary to strengthen and sustain family group conferencing as a prevention/intervention strategy.     

UNIFIED FAMILY COURTS

Fragmented court systems are especially problematic for domestic violence victims because they typically are involved in more than one proceeding that stems from the same pattern of abuse. The proceedings are handled in different courts and before different judges, who are often unaware of these orders being issued in other proceedings. Consequently, conflicting orders are prevalent and the protection and needs of victims are often not met. A unified family court, on the other hand, provides one court with the subject-matter jurisdiction to handle all family-related matters and one judge to hear all cases that involve a single family, resulting in conflicting orders being issued less frequently. Additionally, the needs of victims are better served as a result of the services component. Given the fragmented state of the court systems in New York and Pennsylvania, United States; Alberta, Canada; and Australia, unified family courts should be implemented in each locality.     

The reduction of violent crime through economic equality for women

Normally we do not link the reduction of violent crime with equal rights for women, this paper traces such a linkage. Central to the logic of this argument is that the distribution of the frequency of violent crime is often described by a bimodal curve which supposedly distinguishes between minor, unimportant offenders and a distinct group of serious offenders: the target for many policies being the latter. In fact, this bimodal distribution does not exist; therefore, policies based on it will be fruitless. The larger group of minor offenders is basically ignored. The distribution of violence is better described as a continuous skewed curve which retains its shape. Thus, an effective policy to reduce violence would have to shift the entire curve to the left. Reducing the more numerous acts of lesser violence rather than concentrating on the rarer cases of extreme violence would be more effective. Since much violence is nurtured in family settings, policies that decrease stress in family settings would have a meaningful impact on future violence. Stress could be reduced with greater economic equality for women, making it possible for them to leave potentially violent domestic settings. In the long term this would have an impact on violent crime.