The inadequate legislative response to e-signatures

This article examines the two most influential international initiatives on electronic signatures (UNCITRAL’s 1996 Model Law on Electronic Commerce and the 1999 EU Electronic Signature Directive). It considers whether the legislative approaches in Australia and the United Kingdom based on these initiatives are helpful in deciding whether lower level signature methods such as simple email messages are likely to satisfy a legal requirement for a signature. The conclusion reached is that they are unhelpful. The article goes on to consider whether legislative amendments based on UNCITRAL’s 2001 Model Law on Electronic Signatures or the 2005 UN Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts would improve the identified weaknesses. It concludes that such an update would clarify some issues, but that overall it will not solve the difficulties. The article ends with a brief speculation on the likely attributes of a more helpful approach.     

An ID card for the Internet – The new German ID card with “electronic proof of identity”

The personal ID card is a document carried by most Germans, but rarely used. This could change in the future: According to the new law on identification cards and electronic proof of identity (Gesetz über Personalausweise und den elektronischen Identitätsnachweis, PAuswG), the ID card, with its proof of identity, will gain a new functionality, making it applicable for diverse Internet transactions. Functionally, the electronic proof of identity corresponds to existing non-electronic personal proof of identity guidelines in legal and business connections. However, its concrete, technical application opens up many issues regarding contracts and data privacy laws. On both the legal and the technical level, the German approach departs from other European countries, as it strictly distinguishes the electronic proof of identity from the electronic signature function, which the new ID card also provides. It remains to be seen whether the various projects of the EU Member States will become legally and technically interoperable in the near future.     

微量物证的刑事诉讼价值探析

微量物证概念的界定是研究微量物证的逻辑起点,也是进一步认识其诉讼价值的关键。在刑事诉讼各阶段,微量物证的诉讼价值都能得到很好的体现,而更好地实现微量物证的诉讼价值有赖于微量物证鉴定的标准化和规范化,相关仪器的配备与维护,以及微量物证数据库和样品库的建立。     

试论网络犯罪的证据立法

网络的高速发展使得以网络为手段的网络犯罪四处泛滥,其手段也不断更新,危害也日益严重。与此同时,由于其犯罪主体智能化,犯罪手段隐蔽,特别是证据难以采集等,此类犯罪破案率低,立案率更低。为此,各国纷纷加强立法对策,并通过国际公约针对网络犯罪规定了新的证据规则以应对。我国并没有针对网络犯罪的专门证据立法,使得理论与实务界对电子证据无法统一认定,有必要借鉴外国及国际公约建立起我国的电子证据立法。     

The Cybercrime Convention Committee's 2017 Guidance Note on Production Orders: Unilateralist transborder access to electronic evidence promoted via soft law

This article provides a critical analysis of the Council of Europe Cybercrime Convention Committee's Guidance Note of Production Orders, published on 1 March 2017. The article looks at the legal controversies surrounding production orders with a cross-border element. It explains the Guidance Note's background and origins, the basic provisions in the Cybercrime Convention allowing the law enforcement authorities to order and obtain certain information and discusses the requirements that follow from the relevant provisions of the Convention. This analysis is complemented by four critical remarks on the way the Guidance Note pushes the boundaries of acceptable treaty interpretation on the necessity of the Guidance Note, its position in regard to extraterritorial enforcement jurisdiction and sovereignty, its reticence towards fundamental rights and its refusal to define or clarify the important notion of “subscriber information”. The article argues that unilateralism is not a solution. Instead of soft law plumbing, what is needed is an agreement between sovereign states checked by their constituencies.     

Innocent of the crime under investigation: suspects’ counter-interrogation strategies and statement-evidence inconsistency in strategic vs. non-strategic interviews

ABSTRACT

The study examines the counter-interrogation strategies applied by mock suspects (N?=?94), who are innocent of a mock crime under investigation but who were present at the scene, for different reasons, at around the time the crime occurred. Half were present at the crime scene to carry out a lawful act, the other half to carry out an unlawful act. Furthermore, this study examines the effect of the Strategic Use of Evidence (SUE) technique as a strategic interviewing technique (vs. a non-strategic technique), on suspects’ statement-evidence inconsistencies. Participants were randomly assigned to the two interview conditions (strategic vs. non-strategic) and were interviewed as suspects of a crime, which none of them had committed. The results show that the most commonly used counter-interrogation strategy in both groups was to be honest. However, 26.1% of the innocent suspects, performing an unlawful act, reported the strategy to be deceptive. In addition, the statements of suspects executing an unlawful act were significantly more inconsistent with the evidence in the strategic than the non-strategic interview condition. The increased statement-evidence inconsistency rates potentially put these suspects at risk of being assessed as guilty of a crime they did not commit.     

人民检察院适用非法证据排除规则的程序化构建

2012《刑事诉讼法》及《人民检察院刑事诉讼规则（试行）》继《关于办理刑事案件排除非法证据若干问题的规定》之后对人民检察院在审前程序中适用非法证据排除规则作了相关的规定,这对于强化对侦查行为合法性的监督、保障犯罪嫌疑人的人权具有重要作用,但是当前的规定还是存在一些不足之处,这将制约其作用的发挥。因此,有必要对其进行“程序化”,构建专门的听证程序,明确相关的程序性规定,增强其可操作性。     

Argument Repertoire as a Reliable and Valid Measure of Opinion Quality: Electronic Dialogue During Campaign 2000

A new measure of opinion quality that we name "argument repertoire" (AR) is introduced and evaluated. AR refers to the relevant reasons that one has for one's own opinions and the relevant reasons that others with opposite opinions might have. The measure is shown to be reliable and to have construct validity. Those with elevated AR also were more likely to attend on-line deliberative groups during the presidential election and to contribute to those conversations. Those who participated in online deliberations tended to have higher AR scores on particular issues that were discussed. The role of AR in deliberative political groups is explored.     

未成年人毒品犯罪的现状、原因、对策分析及相关审理疑难问题探讨——以2010—2013年上海未成年人毒品犯罪为例

近年来,青少年吸毒、参与贩毒等现象不断出现,已成为危害社会秩序以及青少年健康成长的一大祸患。以2010年至2013年四年期间上海市各级人民法院审理的一审未成年人毒品犯罪案件为例,对上述犯罪呈现的特点、个体及社会之原因、处理情况以及审理中遇到的问题进行分析,并在此基础上,有针对性地对我国青少年毒品犯罪防控模式提出相关的建议和对策,以期对控制我国青少年毒品犯罪有所裨益。     

QQ盗号黑色产业链犯罪研究

我国已形成制造木马、传播木马、盗窃QQ账户信息、第三方平台销赃、洗钱等分工明确的网上黑色产业链。QQ盗号黑色产业链犯罪侵犯QQ用户的个人信息、虚拟财产和现实财产,严重危害了我国网络环境的健康运行。对QQ盗号黑色产业链犯罪的认定及应对是目前亟待解决的问题。