Scottish Independence,State Religion and the Monarchy

The plans of the Scottish Executive/Government for the independence of Scotland, which are very sketchy, are explored in relation to desire to retain the monarchy. The Scottish Parliament has expressed support for the removal of religious discrimination from succession to the throne and instituted an alternative state religion—measures which suggest an alternative relationship between religion and the monarchy will be required in an independent Scotland. Repealing the Act of Union will require decisions as to whether the monarchy remains as Christian, Protestant and Presbyterian in Scotland or whether some alternative religious or secular arrangements will be developed. Accepting the existing religious settlement of the monarchy, or varying it, will generate challenging issues for a Scottish administration that is seeking to be more religiously inclusive.     

Brown,Governor of California v Plata

This case note examines the controversial decision of the US Supreme Court which, by a majority of 5:4 held that California should reduce its prison population as overcrowding levels gave rise to cruel and unusual punishment. The implications of the case for the interpretation of when prisoners' rights under the Eighth Amendment are breached, the separation of powers are discussed; the possible impact on prison rates in the USA is also examined.     

High road in regulating online child pornography in South Africa

Online child pornography is a repulsive reality which cannot be ignored; the biggest child pornography manufacturing ring in South African history was cracked with the arrest of eight family members. There are more than 116 000 Internet searches daily for child pornography. Pornography is no longer confined to consenting adults, children are not only being exposed to pornographic material but are increasingly being used as victims of child pornography. In South Africa, the Internet and Cell phone Pornography Bill tabled in 2010 aims to make it illegal for Internet and mobile phone service providers to distribute pornography or permit it to be distributed. The objective of the Bill is to protect children from child pornography and women from the indignity of being seen as objects of pornography. This paper takes as its focal point the continuing crisis which centres on the conceptual framework, the existing legislation regulating online child pornography and measures to curb infringement.     

Trust in the clouds

The “cloud” is not new, and its roots go back to the original plans for computing from the 1950s. Now that computing is moving back to the original cloud-based models that were envisioned more than 60 years ago, with it, consumers are realizing the increases in security and safety that accompany the move to centralized servers. Yet the perception of “trust” in this context is often still formed by views that people have from their use of computers over the past two decades, which is localized in nature (“if I can see it, I can control it”). This view is based on perception more than fact. Our paper discusses different views of trust in other contexts (such as banking and travel) and concludes that users of cloud computing should recast their view of trust in a similar way that consumers of banking and travel have changed their perceptions of trust in the last 100 years.     

Medical data breaches: Notification delayed is notification denied

The EU and the United States have implemented data breach notification rules that cover the health sectors. Nevertheless, data breach incidents involving medical data continue to rise, especially in the US and the UK. The HITECH Act, Pub. L. 111-5 Title XIII is the first federal health breach notification law in the US to be characterized by less government intrusions, while the revised EU Privacy Directive, 2009/136/EC calls for tougher privacy protection for data held by electronic communication providers. While the EU law sets a global de facto standard, the law remains toothless without strong enforcement mechanisms.     

解读“技术侦查”与“乔装侦查”——以《刑事诉讼法修正案》为中心的规范分析

第十一届全国人民代表大会第五次会议通过了《关于修改<中华人民共和国刑事诉讼法>的决定》(即《刑事诉讼法修正案》),明文规定在《刑事诉讼法》第二编第二章第七节后增加第八节"技术侦查措施"。但是,《刑事诉讼法修正案》在技术侦查措施的立法技术上采取了"概括授权"的方式,即仅笼统规定侦查机关对于危害国家安全犯罪、恐怖活动犯罪、黑社会性质的组织犯罪、重大毒品犯罪或者其他严重危害社会的犯罪案件,根据侦查犯罪的需要,经过严格的批准手续,有权采取技术侦查措施,而并未明确列举可采取的技术侦查措施的具体种类和手段。与此相关,《刑事诉讼法修正案》在"技术侦查措施"这一章节下同时授权公安机关为了查明案情,在必要的时候,经公安机关负责人决定,可以由有关人员隐匿其身份实施侦查,此即"乔装侦查措施"。问题在于,《刑事诉讼法修正案》在乔装侦查措施的立法技术上同样采取了概括授权的方式,除列举性地规定了作为乔装侦查方式之一的"控制下交付"之外,并未在立法上明文列举乔装侦查措施的具体类型和方式,其结果是造成《刑事诉讼法修正案》中"技术侦查措施"、"乔装侦查措施"等基础概念含义不清、相关法条内容模糊,减损了法条的可操作性,威胁到司法的确定性,可能直接或间接地冲击《刑事诉讼法》保障人权和打击犯罪的终极目的。《刑事诉讼法修正案》施行在即,上述基础概念的界定问题不解决,司法实务中将无法正确操作《刑事诉讼法修正案》中与"技术侦查措施"和"乔装侦查措施"相关的程序与制度。因此,应运用法律解释的方法对"技术侦查措施"和"乔装侦查措施"这两个基础性概念进行规范解释,勘定"技术侦查措施"和"乔装侦查措施"的合理内涵与外延。     

刑事诉讼法再修改与被追诉人财产权的保护

强化对被追诉人财产权利的保护是当代中国刑事诉讼制度与实践的应然内容。当下的刑诉法修正案虽然从价值理念、制度设计与技术规范层面对此展开初步调整,但其价值取向的明确度及对现实需求的回应度尚显不足。未来刑事诉讼法修改应综合考量中国社会的整体变迁、域外法治发达国家司法经验,进一步观照被追诉人的财产权利,建构更契合人权保障要求的程序性保障机制。     

Transformation: the Progression of Immigration Petitions for Transgender Spouses

U.S. citizens who marry foreign nationals may petition for their spouses so that the couple can reside permanently together in the United States. The guidelines set forth in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Adjudicator's Field Manual provide guidance to immigration officials for determining whether to grant or deny spousal petitions. Previously, the Adjudicator's Field Manual imposed a requirement that transgender individuals undergo costly and dangerous sex reassignment surgery in order to qualify as married for the purposes of a spousal petition. However, revisions to the Adjudicator's Field Manual issued in April 2012 provide transgender binational couples the opportunity to remain together in the United States without forcing one partner to undergo sex reassignment surgery. Given the history of discrimination against transgender individuals under U.S. immigration law, these revisions are a significant step in equality for transgender couples. Although these revisions provide many transgender binational couples with a means to remain together in the United States, this Note proposes that, to continue on the path toward equality for transgender couples, special guidelines should not be applied to marriages involving transgender partners if their marriage is deemed a valid heterosexual marriage in the state where solemnized. The goals of U.S. immigration law and compliance with the federal definition of marriage can be achieved without implementing individualized guidelines for transgender binational couples.

Key Points for the Family Court Community:
• Transgender spouses of a binational couple should not be subjected to additional guidelines when submitting spousal petitions that, if granted, would afford the couple the opportunity to reside together in the United States
• Transgender individuals should not be subjected to disparate treatment solely because the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services seeks to enforce discriminatory provisions of the Defense of Marriage Act
• A marriage should be recognized by immigration law if it is a valid marriage under the law of the state where the marriage was celebrated
• In order to achieve U.S. immigration law's mission of family unification, nontraditional couples should be afforded the same opportunity to remain together in the United States without additional scrutiny

     

SKEPTICISM BORDERING ON DISTRUST: FAMILY LAW IN THE HOLLYWOOD CINEMA

This article critiques Hollywood films from the last last 20–30 years that relate to family law. More specifically, this article considers films involving marriage, divorce, child custody, and adoption and focuses on the portrayal of law in those films. While the films are not tightly connected to one another and surely do not share a unified theme, the films do share a surprising skepticism bordering on distrust regarding law, legal procedures, and legal institutions. Hollywood appears to have picked up a general sentiment that family should be a private, intimate sanctuary and is better off without state intrusion through law. The films incorporate this sentiment and also reinforce it by teaching viewers to be leery of law in family matters. Key Points for the Family Court Community:

• 1 Recent Hollywood films include not only abundant portrayals of family life but also numerous examples of family law.
• 2 As a result, these Hollywood films have the potential to educate viewers about family law and to prompt certain normative attitudes about family law.
• 3 In general, Hollywood films invite viewers to be skeptical and even disdainful of family law.

     

The Obligations and Expectations of Couples Within Families: Three Modes of Interaction

What kinds of family structures emerge after a couple relationship is formed? How are obligations perceived towards the family of origin and the family of the partner? How are obligations perceived towards the older generation and towards children? How are conflicts of interest approached or resolved? How are the obligations arising from these personal relationships affected by gender, ethnicity, culture and religion? This paper reports some findings from a qualitative study of 39 men and women aged 25–40 which investigates the social context for the legal regulation of couple relationships; whether marriage, cohabitation or civil partnerships.