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。     

After Waterhouse: vicarious liability and the tort of institutional abuse

As evidence of the extent of the abuse of children in residential care increases, our understanding of this terrible wrong has altered. These assaults are an institutional syndrome, at the same time that they are individual crimes; certain systems of institutional care are conducive to/foster abuse behaviour (acting as 'crucibles' rather than 'honeypots'for rogue paedophiles). A theory of vicarious (institutional) liability is appropriate if we understand a syndrome of institutional abuse in this way, as involving institutional responsibility in addition to individual fault. The recent decision of the Canadian Supreme Court in Bazley v Curry found a children's home vicariously liable for sexual assaults of an employee on the basis of responsibility through the creation of risk, an analysis of and apportionment of liability which is appropriate to the special syndrome of institutional abuse, while encouraging deterrence and providing fair and practical compensation to victims. This analysis/liability is supported by an economic analysis of institutional child abuse and decision making in child protection.     

损益相抵在保护性约束损害赔偿中应用之我见

损益相抵规则虽在我国立法尚无明文规定,但在司法实践中已经普遍适用,损益相抵规则在适用过程中的难点是其适用范围和标准判断。保护性约束致损赔偿作为医疗损害赔偿的一种,法律性质上是违约责任和侵权责任的竟合,且保护性约束有效制止了患者在冲动时意外事件的发生,避免了患者及家属对因意外事件发生应承担的相关责任,获得了间接的额外利益,属于损益相抵规则的适用范围。     

论法院对基本权利的保护

为公民基本权利提供保护,是现代国家合法性的重要来源。普通法院在基本权利保护中发挥着重要作用。德国虽然设立了宪法法院,但保护公民基本权利的职责仍主要由其他法院承担。在没有设立宪法法院的国家,通过普通法院更是为基本权利提供司法保护的唯一途径。我国法院应当通过三种方式为基本权利提供司法保护:如果法律有保护基本权利的具体规定,法院应当直接适用法律;如果法律对基本权利的保护只作了抽象规定,法院应当对有关抽象立法进行合宪解释之后予以适用;如果法律没有作出保护基本权利的任何规定,法院可以直接适用宪法的基本权利条款。     

晚清领事保护的发展及其局限

对于领事保护的推动,就融合有政治与人权双重因素。当然,这一双重因素的影响又是随着历史的发展而有所不同的。尽管世界最早的领事保护实践可以追溯至古希腊城邦时期,而中国最早的领事保护实践却只能追溯至晚清时期。当时的清政府迫于内外压力,逐步转变对华侨的"叛民"、"罪民"和"弃民"等观念,从而展开了"立约保护"、"领事机关的调查与交涉"等形式(甚至还包括军舰巡航等军事方式)的领事保护。晚清政府领事保护的发展是与其华侨观念及政策的转变密切相关的。清政府华侨政策和领事保护的变化,根本上还是以巩固和发展清朝的统治为出发点的,政治因素在其中居于主导地位。这也就是"家国一体"型国家的局限性所在。     

What does it mean to suffer loss? Haxton v Philips Electronics

In Haxton v Philips Electronics the Court of Appeal considered whether a widow could recover the diminution in value of her dependency claim following the defendant's tortious reduction of her life expectancy. The note outlines the development of the common law, demonstrating that Haxton is novel but not unorthodox, and tests whether Haxton's principles can provide a sound foundation for future cases. Positing three hypothetical scenarios, it argues that the disparity in outcome, rather than indicating a lack of unifying principle, as was suggested in Jobling v Associated Dairies, may be explained by combining Austin's division between primary and secondary rights with Gardner and Stevens' contributions as to how they are protected. Restitutio in integrum requires consideration of the reasons and values underlying the right in question and these are discernible in the jurisprudence. The note also considers whether Haxton could have been decided on the basis that a defendant should not profit from its own wrongdoing.     

La protección de los derechos fundamentales del deportista en la lucha contra el dopaje. Una visión desde el ordenamiento jurídico español

Doping is addressed in this paper from two different scopes: on one hand, the legal regulations for prevention and repression are studied; on the other hand, the clash between the anti-doping control mechanism and a fundamental right such as the athlete's privacy is noted. We start from the irrefutable fact that “awareness against doping” is practically universal. The enactment of this law was a milestone in the history of the fight against doping in the Spanish regulation. However, the problem arises when the anti-doping legislation worldwide and in Spain, which enables some healthcare professionals and other people involved, to carry out several anti-doping operations that may conflict with the athlete's fundamental right to privacy, all of this in a context of strong media and social impact. For this reason, it is pertinent to raise the issue if one of these operations, such as the duty of permanent localization, is sufficiently justified in terms of protecting the sportsperson's health.     

《环境保护法》的前世今生

修订后的《中华人民共和国环境保护法》将于2015年1月1日开始实施,这部法律的前身是1979年《环境保护法（试行）》,基础是1989年颁行的《环境保护法》。1979年的《环境保护法（试行）》虽然不是此次修法的直接文本,但其作为中国第一部环境保护领域的综合性法律,在奠定中国环境保护法律制度体系基础的同时,也为后来留下了一些隐患,成为此次修法的争论的起因。1989年的《环境保护法》是此次修改的直接文本,这部法律的存废之争一直持续了20多年;在2011年年初人大常委会正式启动修法程序后,经历全国人大常委会四次审议、修改草案两次面向社会公开征求意见、从＂修正案＂到＂修订案＂,创造了中国立法史上几个＂第一＂。最终通过的《环境保护法修订案》体现了十八届三中全会提出的建设生态文明,建立最严格制度的要求,确立了其在环境保护领域的基础性、综合性法律的地位,在建立生态环境保护法律机制方面实现了重大突破。     

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.     

Asia-Pacific news

This column provides a country by country analysis of the latest legal developments, cases and issues relevant to the IT, media and telecommunications' industries in key jurisdictions across the Asia Pacific region. The articles appearing in this column are intended to serve as ‘alerts’ and are not submitted as detailed analyses of cases or legal developments.