论职务犯罪中的自然人主体

职务犯罪主体包括自然人主体和单位主体两种。从现行法律规定看,职务犯罪自然人主体包括国家机关工作人员、以国家工作人员论的人员和受委托从事公务的人员三类。在司法实践中,对此三类人员的认定存在较大的分歧,尤其是其中对以国家工作人员论的人员的认定争议最大。     

网络犯罪立法探析

网络犯罪愈演愈烈,对社会的危害日益严重。加快网络安全刑事立法步骤,打击网络犯罪,维护网络安全和信息社会的正常秩序越显必要。     

德国近五十年刑事立法述评

自1969年德国刑法大改革至今的五十年间,德国的刑事立法活动非常频繁。在此期间,德国立法机关不但对《刑法典》总则犯罪论部分的规定进行了彻底的修订,而且针对犯罪的法律后果以及刑法分则乃至附属刑法中的诸多罪名进行了持续的改革,在恐怖主义犯罪、妨害公务犯罪、毒品犯罪以及保安监禁等领域尤其如此。整体而言,德国立法者在过往半个世纪中日趋侧重功能主义的积极刑事立法观,导致德国刑法逐步从传统法治国背景下的法益保护法和市民防御法转向以社会控制为主导的国家干预法和社会防卫法,造成了诸多难以与现有法律体系和学说理论相协调的象征性立法。我国应当从德国近五十年的刑事立法中吸收其先进经验,对其中的弊端也要引以为戒。     

盗窃罪中“数额较大”的认定规则

“数额较大”的认定是盗窃罪定罪量刑中的关键问题之一。司法解释采用了数额属性多元化的认定方法,既缺乏理论基础,也难以有效指导实务。司法裁判虽倾向于重视处罚的实质合理性,但并未形成统一的认定规则。通过梳理不同立法例下“损失”要素的定位,可以形成“占有转移”与“财产损失”两种视角下“数额较大”认定的理论方案。基于整体财产保护理念的以客观实质损失作为认定基准的方案,存在忽视我国刑法不同条款对“数额性后果”表述上的差异、对司法实践的认识以偏概全、不能妥适处理轻微实施盗窃的出罪等问题。相对而言,立足个别财产保护思想、以占有转移数额为基础,同时考虑主观指向数额的方案凸显了主观要件对不法和责任的制约,能周延地应对各种案型,值得肯定。该方案的具体规则是:先确定基础性数额即占有转移的财物价值“较大”,以此作为数额上限,再考察故意、排除意思、利用意思等主观要件指向的数额,各数额均需达到“较大”,最终的“数额较大”,是经此多种数额共同认定的结果。     

Two-dimensional metric comparisons between dynamic bare footprints and insole foot impressions-forensic implications

Footwear may be found at crime scenes as physical evidence. Such footwear often has impression features of the wearer’s foot on the insole of the shoe. Scientific research and literature have established that footprints are distinct. This study compares two-dimensional measurements on bare footprints to foot impressions on insoles to determine if significant differences or similarities exist. Dynamic footprints were collected from 51 donors using the Identicator® Inkless Shoe Print Model LE 25P system. Seven foot length and width measurements were taken based on the Reel linear measurement method. Footprint measurements between bare footprints and foot impressions on the insoles were compared. Only two differences (p > 0.05) were observed between the various bare footprint and insole foot impression measurements on the right and left side for most of the measurements, CALC (p < 0.001) and A1 (p = 0.04). Bare footprint and insole A5 measurements on the left side were also significantly different (p = 0.015). The results of the study have implications in the forensic analysis of foot impression evidence on insoles in footwear in assisting with identifying the wearer of said footwear. Situations may arise in the forensic context when comparing the foot impression on the insole of footwear to a suspect’s bare footprint or a footprint from post-mortem remains. This study contributes to the scant literature available on the topic and to understanding the similarities and differences observed in the various linear measurements that may be utilized in the comparison process of footprint impressions on shoe insoles to bare footprints.     

How do coalition signals shape voting behavior? Revealing the mediating role of coalition expectations

Existing empirical research suggests that there are two mechanisms through which pre-electoral coalition signals shape voting behavior. According to these, coalition signals both shift the perceived ideological positions of parties and prime coalition considerations at the cost of party considerations. The work at hand is the first to test another possibility of how coalition signals affect voting. This coalition expectation mechanism claims that coalition signals affect voting decisions by changing voters' expectations about which coalitions are likely to form after the election. Moreover, this paper provides the first integrative overview of all three mechanisms that link coalition signals and individual voting behavior. Results from a survey experiment conducted during Sweden's 2018 general election suggest that the coalition expectation mechanism can indeed be at work. By showing how parties' pre-electoral coalition behavior enter a voter's decision calculus, the paper provides important insights for the literature on strategic voting theories in proportional systems.     

The Seattle Teamsters and the procedural state, 1935–1942

The Teamsters Union often clashed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Seattle between 1935 and 1942. At times the Seattle Teamsters resisted the NLRB, yet in other cases the union worked within the agency's procedures to expand. In the years after the Wagner Act, the Teamsters exploited the NLRB to block employees from choosing their own union. This article uses archival records to explore cases where the Seattle Teamsters successfully adapted to federal regulation of collective bargaining between 1935 and 1942. Seattle workers opposed to the Teamsters bravely fought to protect their right to organize, yet these employees faced a union skilled at working with the procedural state. These cases show the increasing ability of the Seattle Teamsters to enroll workers wary of the union by complying with NLRB rules.     

Divergent fates: company unions and employee involvement committees under the railway labor and national labor relations acts

Well known is that the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA, 1935) in the United States places a largely per se ban on nonunion employee representation (ER) groups which deal with employers over a term or condition of employment. Much less well known is that America’s other labor law, the Railway Labor Act (RLA, 1926), takes a different approach and permits employers to operate such councils and committees as long as they do not perform a collective bargaining function or interfere with workers’ free choice of a bargaining agent. Thus, under the RLA Delta Air Lines is able to operate what is today the closest living approximation to a 1920s-style ER plan while hundreds of other companies (e.g. Polaroid) under the jurisdiction of the NLRA have been forced over the years to disband similar groups on grounds they are a proscribed company union. No study to date has explored the history behind the RLA and NLRA’s divergent treatment of nonunion ER groups so this article takes a first look. The main part of the story covers the 1920–1935 period and examines the events, people, and experiences associated with company unions and ER in, respectively, the rail and manufacturing industries and why the legislative outcome in the former was a permissive stance on nonunion committees but prohibitive in the latter. The last part of the paper fast-forwards the RLA-NLRA story from the 1930s to contemporary law and practice in order to demonstrate how “history matters” when it comes to what employers can and cannot do with nonunion representation groups, such as works councils, participation and involvement committees, and dispute resolution forums.     

Self-Control and Deviance: A Test of the General Theory of Crime in Argentina

Gottfredson and Hirschi’s General Theory of Crime (GTC) has been one of the most cited and tested theories in criminology. It posits to be in effect transcultural in its application and relevant for any norm-violating behaviors. As most empirical work has been completed in English speaking countries, the current study tested some of the main theoretical postulates in a sample of 214 Argentinean male adolescents, both offenders and non-offenders. More specifically, it tested the relationships between parental practices, self-control, criminal opportunities, and deviance. Findings provide evidence that offenders reported more deviant behaviors and more risk factors than non-offenders. They also provide partial empirical support for the main theoretical propositions. Maternal closeness, support. and monitoring had different effects on self-control and on deviance; both low self-control and opportunities had direct effects of deviant behaviors. Theoretical, research, and practical implications of study findings are discussed.     

‘Rivers of Blood’ and Britain's Far Right

This article examines the impact of Enoch Powell's speech on Britain's numerous right‐wing fringe groups and their response—in particular, that of the National Front, who benefitted the most from Powell's intervention on race and for a brief moment became Britain's fourth political party. It begins by looking at the growth of post‐World War II British fascism and how its emphasis switched from anti‐Semitism to anti‐colonial immigration. Throughout the piece, the relationship between Britain's far right and the Conservative party is examined to show how Powell inadvertently blurred the lines between the two. The article concludes with the 1979 general election victory of Margaret Thatcher who, by adopting Powellite themes but in more measured tones, destroyed the National Front's dream of an electoral breakthrough.