检察机关以非公诉方式参与民事诉讼刍议

以支持起诉、监督起诉和刑事附带民事诉讼为表现形式的非公诉方式是检察机关以非公诉方式参与民事诉讼的适当方式,它既有现实需要的必要性,又有理论上的正当性。在确定检察机关参与民事诉讼的范围时,一定要把握保护国家利益和公共利益的需要这一基本原则,在参与方式上注意其自身的形式和程序要求。     

略论网络环境下诽谤罪认定中的若干问题

近年来,网络环境下的诽谤案件几呈井喷之势,令司法机关遭遇诸多困境。文中从网络诽谤的特点入手,重新梳理相关法律规范。作者认为,相较于传统诽谤行为,网络诽谤行为的入罪标准应更为严格,应更多地采用民事手段规制;对＂公众人物＂的网络言论一般应排除在诽谤罪之外,公诉手段应受到严格限制。     

公诉环节风险评估预警机制的科学构建

公诉环节风险评估预警机制对于化解社会矛盾、维护稳定、促进和谐具有重要意义。公诉环节风险评估机制具有容纳冲突、预测风险等内在价值,通过明确和规范其适用程序、责任追究机制及完善内处部门协调联动机制、加强释法说理等工作可以构建科学、合理的公诉环节风险评估预警机制。     

审查起诉阶段隐性超期羁押研究

羁押是指判决生效执行前的一种持续限制犯罪嫌疑人或被告人人身自由的特殊强制行为。它虽然在某种程度上保障了诉讼的正常进行,但对于人权的侵害却是非常严重的。文章分析了司法实践中在审查起诉阶段出现的隐形超期羁押的现状以及监督难的原因,并提出了解决对策。     

从检察制度的历史与比较论我国检察官之定位与保障

改革开放以来,我国与国际社会交流频繁,特别是受美国制度影响,一直有将检察官行政官化的呼声。但是,从检察制度的历史渊源以及各国检察官类型的比较研究可以得知,纯粹行政官化的检察官并不契合我国社会。我国应将检察官定位为司法官,并仿效大陆法系国家,给予其充分的身份保障。     

美国选择性起诉抗辩的证明困境及原因

选择性起诉是政府基于恶意,歧视性地进行刑事起诉裁量的行为,因其目的之恶以及违反法之平等精神而受抗辩。美国司法有两种抗辩途径:通过禁令救济提起民事侵权之诉和在刑事诉讼中提起选择性起诉抗辩。然而,美国法院对这两种救济都确立了难以逾越的证明责任,并且将其分配给了申请人。其中民事抗辩的"现实的、迫在眉睫的侵害的威胁"证明,刑事抗辩的不正当起诉标准证明,几乎将所有的申请人阻挡在抗辩门外。美国法院的这种态度是因为其实际并不愿意介入此种审查,根源主要在于司法系统对于分权原则下司法权的克制和对检察官自由裁量权的尊重传统。     

Editors’ introduction: critical terrorism studies: practice,limits and experience

The articles in this special issue are drawn from papers presented at a conference titled Critical Terrorism Studies: Practice, Limits and Experience. The conference was organised by the Critical Studies on Terrorism Working Group of the British International Studies Association (BISA). The event was supported by both a BISA workshop grant and by Loughborough University’s Centre for the Study of International Governance (CSIG) and was held at Loughborough University from 9–10 September 2013. The conference aimed to explore what we know about terrorism and counterterrorism and importantly to ask how we know it. Reflecting the recent “materialist”, “everyday”, “experiential” and “narrative” turns in the fields of International Relations (IR), Geography and Cultural Theory, the event brought together scholars and practitioners to reflect on practices of research and knowledge production in Critical Terrorism Studies and related fields. The articles in this special issue reflect those aims.     

The Jenin Initiative: Counterinsurgency by Capacity Building

In late 2008, as negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians faltered, the US directed the Jenin Initiative on the ground in the West Bank. Designed to inspire confidence in Washington’s security-driven ‘West Bank First’ strategy, the Jenin Initiative married economic development to security sector reform under the Palestinian Authority. Drawing on the perspectives of those responsible for implementing the Jenin Initiative, this article reveals how counterinsurgency doctrine transplanted from the ‘war on terror’ shaped US interventions that built capacity in the Palestinian Authority. The Jenin Initiative exposes the extent of US intervention to create an effective apparatus of Palestinian self-policing to enhance – but not replace – that of the Israeli occupation.     

From Warfare to Imagefare: How States Should Manage Asymmetric Conflicts With Extensive Media Coverage

Conflicts in the 21st century differ from past conflicts based on two central factors: the level of asymmetry and disparity between the actors taking part in the conflict and the amount of foreign media coverage that a conflict receives. This article aims to develop a new theoretical perspective on the implications of these two factors on how the involved states manage a conflict. Most actors in current conflicts have vast levels of disparity and receive extensive media coverage; events in those conflicts are referred to as occurrences in the “information space” because a conflict's borders are anywhere people can receive information about it. “Imagefare”—the use of images as a guiding principle or a substitute for traditional military means to achieve political objectives—is argued to be the main tool for better facing adversaries in the information space.     

Opening Pandora’s Box: How Does Defendant Race Influence Plea Bargaining?

Minority overrepresentation in the criminal justice system has long been an important topic of research and policy debate. In New York City, recent changes in the Rockefeller Drug Laws and the controversy around police stop-and-frisk practices have placed an even greater emphasis on the need for studying the possible impact of defendants’ race and ethnicity on criminal justice outcomes. Relatively little contemporary research, though, examines plea-bargaining outcomes. Using unique data on misdemeanor marijuana cases, this study examines the impact of defendants’ race on prosecutors’ decisions to make (a) plea offers for a lesser charge and (b) sentence offers for non-custodial punishments. Preliminary findings indicated that black defendants were less likely to receive reduced charge offers, and both black and Latino defendants were more likely to receive custodial sentence offers. However, these disparities were largely explained by legal factors, evidence, arrest circumstances, and court actor characteristics, though black defendants were still more likely to receive custodial sentence offers after including these controls. No differences were found between white and Asian defendants. Implications for research and prosecutorial practices are discussed.