Electronic evidence: A proposal to reform the presumption of reliability and hearsay

There is a general concern amongst judges, lawyers and legal scholars that evidence in digital format is not to be trusted, given that it can be altered and manipulated with ease. Some jurists have called for a UN Convention on matters relating to the authentication and admissibility of electronic evidence. It is debatable whether such a Convention is necessary, but guidance of an international nature might be welcome, providing that any such guidance remains guidance, and does not ossify into legal requirements that fail to take into account the dynamic and constantly developing changes in information technology. In any event, the accuracy of the presumption in England & Wales that a computer is in order at the material time is highly debatable, and it is suggested that this presumption ought to be reformed.     

Personal budgets in adult social care: the fact and the fiction of the Care Act 2014

ABSTRACT

Personal budgets have been heavily promoted in government policy in England as a means of increasing the personalisation of public services, particularly in the field of adult social care. The Care Act 2014 for the first time creates a statutory requirement for personal budgets to be allocated to all individuals using state funded social care. This article examines how a particular rhetoric has developed in social care policy around personal budgets, which draws freely on the language of the disabled people’s movement and suggests that grassroots ideas are the central purpose for the introduction of personal budgets into policy. It considers whether the promises made in policy are embedded in the 2014 Act and finds that there is a mismatch between claims in social care policy on the one hand and the model of personal budgets created by the 2014 Act on the other. It concludes that the policy rhetoric around personal budgets directly appropriates the language and ideas of the disabled people’s movement while promoting a wholly distinct agenda of public sector marketisation.     

‘That splendid body of women’: nursing,professional registration,and suffragette militancy

ABSTRACT

In the decades before World War One, a group of women fought for their right to control their own futures, claiming that their governance was in the hands of men whose interests lay in keeping women subservient. Initially articulated by an educated, middle-class few, the women's demands were embraced by widening numbers of both women and men. They saw their hopes dashed on several occasions by political manoeuvring, and only after WWI did their demands begin to be met. This is not an account of the women’s suffrage movement, but rather of the fight for the registration of trained nurses. Both movements claimed the right of women to be actors in their public lives and both faced public condemnation for transgressing social boundaries. The two movements interacted, with nurses connecting their struggle to the wider call for women's rights, and with the suffrage movement foregrounding nurses as disenfranchised women professionals.     

日本的皇位继承制度与《皇室典范》

《皇室典范》是基于宪法制定的天皇皇位继承等有关皇室事务的法律。明治时代出于建立天皇专制主义政权的需要,于1889年颁布的《皇室典范》结束了皇位继承混乱无序的历史,作为与宪法具有同等效力的最高法规,确立了天皇至高无上的地位。第二次世界大战结束后,根据新宪法制定的新《皇室典范》,天皇的地位和性质发生了本质变化,但在皇位继承制度方面依然沿袭了明治《皇室典范》的基本原则。这一战后改革不彻底的后果,束缚了皇室的发展,也是当今日本皇室出现继承危机的根源。     

Casting Aside Clanking Medieval Chains: Prerogative,Statute and Article 50 after the EU Referendum

This article confronts the controversies surrounding Article 50 by analysing the relationship between statute and prerogative in the UK. The piece focuses on domestic constitutional issues and suggests a new way of classifying the relationship between statute and prerogative into two types falling under ‘the abeyance principle’ or ‘the frustration principle’. The abeyance principle means that where statute and prerogative overlap, the prerogative goes into abeyance. The frustration principle means that where statute and prerogative give rise to potential inconsistencies, but do not overlap, the prerogative cannot be used inconsistently with the intention of parliament as expressed in the relevant legislation. It then argues that Article 50 has the status of primary or ‘primary‐equivalent’ legislation which could justify applying the abeyance principle. This would mean that the trigger power would be exercised on statutory authority rather than through prerogative powers. If the courts are unable thus to construe the relevant legislation it argues EU law requires the courts to bridge the gap. Alternatively, if the abeyance principle is not applicable, it argues the frustration principle could apply but the circumstances in this litigation fall outside it. In the further alternative, EU law could require the frustration principle itself to be set aside in this case.     

《反恐法》中的境外反恐问题研究

恐怖主义犯罪已成为当今世界各国面临的头号安全问题。恐怖主义犯罪不仅造成严重的人员伤亡、财产损失,还对民族团结和国家统一带来了恶劣影响。为此,我国颁布了《反恐怖主义法》以严厉打击恐怖主义犯罪。其中,境外反恐成为一大亮点。境外反恐具有多方面的必要性。当前,我国在境外反恐上存在反恐合法性、管辖权、恐怖主义犯罪认定与程序、证据交换、境外侦查与引渡等现实难题。对此,我们可以通过建立新型反恐刑事司法合作机制,完善国内立法与司法,以及加强与他国反恐合作等方式予以解决。     

论对授权立法中授权行为的监控——各国现制比较及我国现制之反省

要提高授权立法的社会效益,就必须加强对授权行为的规制,明确权力秩序,确立授权禁区。另外, 授权还必须具有明确性, 对立法者必须具有他律和外部制约措施。     

Public Charitable Collections: Are they a Worthwhile Cause?

This article examines one of the most long-established methods of fund-raising for charitable causes in the UK – public charitable collections – and looks at changing patterns in this method of fund-raising in recent years. There have been changes both in the method of collection, which now extends beyond cash donations collected by unpaid volunteers to direct debits and credit card donations collected by paid collectors, and also in the chosen locations for collections, with a preference for supermarkets and other off-street sites. These changes have brought with them difficulties in the regulation of such collections. The article gives a brief overview of current legislative provisions in the UK and the proposed new measures for England and Wales. It examines some of the practical problems involved with the implementation of legislative provisions, and considers some alternative ways of combating potential fraud.     

Burying Bell: Managing the Judicialisation of Social Security Tribunals

The Social Security Act 1998 introduced fundamental changes to the tribunal system for hearing appeal claims in respect of benefits. This article examines the reasons for these changes to the largest tribunal system in the United Kingdom, and their implications for claimants. It emphasises the increasing legalism and approximation to ordinary courts of these tribunals. In particular, the article considers the implications of the reduction of lay membership of tribunals and the threats posed to the traditional inquisitorial approach.