死刑复核程序的启动与复核方式

我国现有的死刑复核程序的启动方式是做出死刑判决的人民法院主动报请,不符合司法的被动性的要求,死刑复核程序应当采用二元的启动方式,即主要由被告人及其辩护人提出申请启动死刑复核程序,其余的由做出死刑裁判的人民法院依职权报请。最高人民法院根据死刑复核程序的启动方式的不同,能够很直观地对案件加以区分,采用不同的死刑复核方式,公正、高效地复核死刑案件。     

Forensic DNA evidence and the death penalty in the Philippines

The death penalty remains a contentious issue even though it has been abolished in countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, European Union member nations and some Asian countries such as Cambodia, East Timor and Nepal. Many argue that the irrevocability of the death penalty, in the face of potential erroneous convictions, can never justify its imposition. The Philippines, the first Asian country that abolished the death penalty in 1987, held the record for the most number of mandatory death offenses (30 offenses) and death eligible offenses (22 offenses) after it was re-imposed in 1994. Majority of death penalty convictions were decided based on testimonial evidence. While such cases undergo automatic review by the Supreme Court, the appellate process in the Philippines is not structured to accept post-conviction evidence, including DNA evidence.Because of the compelling nature of post-conviction DNA evidence in overturning death penalty convictions in the United States, different groups advocated its use in the Philippines. In one such case, People v Reynaldo de Villa, the defendant was charged with raping his 13-year-old niece that supposedly led to birth of a female child, a situation commonly known as ‘criminal paternity’. This paper reports the results of the first post-conviction DNA test using 16 Short Tandem Repeat (STR) DNA markers in a criminal paternity case (People v Reynaldo de Villa) and discusses the implications of these results in the Philippine criminal justice system.     

行政处罚决定法制审核与案件审核辨析

2021年1月,修订后的《行政处罚法》第五十八条正式明确了“法制审核”概念,然而对于法制审核制度中审核人身份和审核时间节点等方面的理解仍然存在争议。为促进依法行政,完善行政机关内部监督机制,建议基层行政机关普遍配置内设法制机构,明确法制审核的时间节点应在行政处罚事前告知之前,未来行政执法实务中应适度扩大法制审核范围,细化需要负责人集体讨论的情形。     

行政处罚中择一重罚规则的体系化阐释

择一重罚规则的适用面临执法管辖权与高额罚款权归属主体不一的难题。综合执法制度可以部分解决该问题,在综合执法之外,则需分情况适用不同的解决方案。在识别“罚款数额高的规定”时,应根据法定罚的上限而非决定罚来比较罚款的轻重。根据法定罚款额高的法律作出的决定罚,其数额不能低于法定罚款额低的法律所规定的罚款下限。行政机关错误适用择一重罚规则作出罚款决定,人民法院可以作出变更判决,但变更判决要受禁止不利变更规则的约束。在被人民法院判决撤销并责令重作的情形中,行政机关加重对当事人的罚款,通常应证明其加重罚款没有恶意,因裁量逾越被判决责令重作的除外。     

“引经决狱”与儒法法律文化的融通

两汉时期的引经决狱体现了儒法两种法律文化双向互动的关系。董仲舒在推动儒学成为官方意识形态的过程中,对现实政治以及当时通行的法家文化作了让步,对儒家进行了一定程度的法家化解释,这种法家化解释在具体的引经决狱实践中也多有体现。同时,儒家又坚持了其核心价值,并在既有的法律体系中灌注了慎刑等人文情怀以及亲亲尊尊等宗法原则,开启了法律儒家化的历程,使西汉以来的法律体系具有了厚重的文化底蕴,重新实现了法律体系与民族核心价值观的有机融通。     

死刑废除的必要性和可行性

从国际司法的普遍情况来看,废除死刑是一个必然的趋势。近年来,我国在废除死刑的进程中做出了很多努力和积极的尝试,死刑的废除具有必要性和可行性。     

Contemporary Regional Differences in Support by Whites for the Death Penalty: A Research Note

Despite good theoretical reasons to expect strong differences between Southern whites and non‐Southern whites in death penalty support, prior research with 1990 General Social Survey (GSS) data found only a small difference that lacked statistical significance. This paper investigates the possibilities that this null result was a statistical anomaly due to sampling vagaries or that a regional difference has emerged since 1990. Examining GSS data from 1974 through 2006, we initially found that a South/non‐South regional difference among whites did not exist before 1993 but has existed since then. However, further analysis revealed that a Northeast/non‐Northeast difference among whites has also existed during this same period. These findings suggest that future research on death penalty opinion should use both such differences as regional controls rather than just the customary South/non‐South division.     

一篇难得的刑法学优秀博士论文——邱兴隆《关于惩罚的哲学——刑罚根据论》序

《关于惩罚的哲学———刑罚根据论》是一篇难得的刑法学优秀博士论文 ,其结构合理 ,内容丰富 ;文论新颖 ,颇多创见 ;锐意开拓 ,构建新说 ;论证充分 ,论据有力 ;文笔畅达 ,清新可读。     

退赃对刑罚适用的限制

退赃能够反映犯罪人的主观悔罪表现,能够限制刑罚的适用,在适用刑罚时应当予以足够的重视。这种限制力表现在理论层面、法律层面和道德层面。在运用退赃限制刑罚适用时应当区别对待不同类型的退赃行为,对之分别适用不同的刑罚,并且充分考量退赃的外围因素。     

对可以教育改善的罪犯执行死刑之否定

生命权是公民的最高权利，国家必须给予最严格的保护，只有在公民实施了最严重罪行且无法对其教育改善的情况下国家出于无奈，才能被迫对其执行死刑。实践证明，绝大多数罪犯都是可以教育改善的，只有极个别罪犯是无法教育改善的。罪犯是否“可以教育改善”并不是无法预测和测量的，完全可以根据罪犯的罪前、罪中、罪后的个人具体情况对其做出是否可以教育改善的预测和判断，当然，真正得出肯定的结论需要国家机关依照法定程序对罪犯进行长时间的考察后才行。