What is Restorative Justice? Fresh Answers to a Vexed Question

Abstract

It has become commonplace to say that restorative justice cannot be defined. I argue that restorative justice can and must be defined concretely as a justice mechanism. I develop this argument with four points: (1) restorative justice is not a type of justice, it is a justice mechanism; (2) retributive justice is not a type of justice or a justice mechanism; (3) restorative justice is one of many justice mechanisms under an innovative justice umbrella; and (4) restorative justice can be defined. The way forward is to assess and compare a variety of justice mechanisms, which reside on a continuum from conventional to innovative. In time, the justice mechanisms studied may come to matter more than the concept of restorative justice.     

La mediación en casos de sustracción internacional de menores por uno de los progenitores y los acuerdos voluntarios Transfronterizos: El Caso Mexicano

The general goal of the present article is to provide a way of reasoning through a series of conclusions that may contribute to foster a frequently overlooked topic in Private International Law, we refer to the acknowledgement and enforcement of voluntary cross-border family agreements that may as well result in the creation of Soft Law instruments, such as the Guidelines for good practice in mediation. These are definitely enough reasons to try to spare children from irreversible damage arising from international family conflicts that could be mitigated — if not altogether deactivated— through cross-border voluntary agreements, acknowledged and enforced in all jurisdictions involved.     

打造吉林省服务型政府的民生之维

服务型政府是一个伴随百姓生活和社会发展而变化发展的政府,是一个能够使民众的生活质量得到切实改善的政府.因此,在建设服务型政府的过程中,只有始终把政府建设本身与为民服务的具体实践相结合,坚持以人为本、民生优先的理念,强化政府责任,建立解决民生问题的长效机制,不断推进政府职能转变,完善社会管理和公共服务职能,才能提高政府为人民服务的能力和水平.     

检察机关对派出所刑事执法监督的法理分析与制度构建

在现今中国的社会转型时期，公安机关的工作重心不断下移，公安派出所在刑事执法中的地位和作用越来越凸显。作为国家专门法律监督机关的检察机关，对公安派出所的刑事执法监督却显得软弱无力，甚至缺失。在新形势下，为了延伸监督触角，切实依法履行好法律监督职能，对公安派出所实施动态监督极为必要；我们应当借鉴成熟法治国家侦检关系的有益经验，对公安派出所刑事执法监督存在的主要问题进行剖析，以期构建起派出所刑事执法监督的新制度。     

利益整合:党内民主的逻辑起点

利益整合是党内民主发展的内在动力,利益关系的不协调是党内民主发展的主要障碍。适应党内利益整合的要求,积极推进党内民主发展,要改革和完善党内权力运行机制,建立健全党内民主决策机制,构建通畅的党内利益诉求表达机制,构建党员民主权利保障机制。     

论美国报复性起诉规则及其对我国的借鉴

为了防止检察官利用自由裁量权滥施报复性起诉,美国联邦最高法院确立了报复性起诉规则,并对检察官的报复性动机实行推定原则。我国刑事司法实践中也不时出现检察机关为打击报复举报人、律师、记者等而提起诉讼的现象,这严重损害了当事人的合法权益和刑事诉讼目的的实现,也打击了社会公众对刑事司法的信心。综合法理与实务之观点,我国有必要建立报复性起诉规则,以达到防止检察机关滥用公诉权和保护当事人合法权益的双重目的。     

男性服刑人员心理防御机制的特点

目的探查男性服刑人员心理防御机制的使用情况及其特点。方法采用随机抽样方法，使用防御方式问卷（DSQ）对355名男性服刑人员心理防御机制进行团体测查。结果男性服刑人员成熟防御机制得分最高，中间型次之，不成熟型最低（F=199．28，P〈0．001）。青年组成熟型防御机制得分低于中年组（t=-3．14，P〈0．01）；随受教育程度升高，男性服刑人员的不成熟型防御机制得分逐渐降低，成熟型得分逐渐上升；暴力组成熟型防御机制得分低于非暴力组（t=-2．18，P〈0．05），不成熟型得分高于非暴力组（t=3．69，P〈0．001）。结论年龄、受教育程度及犯罪类型对男性服刑人员的心理防御机制有影响。男性服刑人员使用不成熟防御机制的频度偏高。     

WHEN THE TIES THAT BIND UNWIND: EXAMINING THE ENDURING AND SITUATIONAL PROCESSES OF CHANGE BEHIND THE MARRIAGE EFFECT

Despite the continued growth of research demonstrating that marriage promotes desistance from crime, efforts aimed at understanding the mechanisms driving this effect are limited. Several theories propose to explain why we observe a reduction in offending after marriage including identity changes, strengthened attachments, reduced opportunities, and changes to routine activities. Although mechanisms are hard to measure, we argue that each proposed mechanism implies a specific change process, that is, whether the change that ensues after marriage is enduring (stable) or situational (temporary). Drawing on a medical model framework, we cast the role of marriage as a treatment condition and observe whether the effect of marriage is conditional on staying married or whether the effect persists when the “treatment” is taken away (i.e., divorce). We use 13 years of monthly level data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY97), a nationally representative sample containing close to 3,000 individuals with an arrest history, to examine changes in relationship status and arrest from adolescence into young adulthood. Estimates from multilevel within‐individual models reveal greater support for situational mechanisms in that divorce is detrimental particularly for those in longer marriages; yet they also reveal important caveats that suggest a closer examination of the marriage effect. This research adds to the growing body of knowledge regarding the marriage effect by redirecting desistance research away from asking if marriage matters to asking how marriage affects desistance. A better understanding of this change process has important implications for criminal justice policy.     

日本人的恩伦理意识初探

日本人具有浓厚的"恩"的伦理意识。从感恩的对象来看,有天地自然之恩、父母之恩、师恩和社会恩;感恩与施恩是互动共存的,由施恩、受恩、感恩、报恩组成"恩的行为链",构成了日本人的"恩的伦理世界"。为了使外在的规范变成个人内在的自觉,日本人重视"恩"的伦理实践和报恩意识的培养,从而为日本伦理和谐设置了牢固的心理机制,对于社会稳定和谐起到了重要的作用。     

改革与中国特色社会主义制度

中国特色社会主义制度可以区分为基本制度和具体制度两个层面,我国进行的社会主义改革是在不否定社会主义基本制度的前提下,对具体制度中不合理的环节和方面进行适当变革,兴利除弊,破旧立新,以完善和发展社会主义基本制度。因此,应将改革的重心从体制改革转移到运行机制改革上,创设一套完备的运行机制以发挥基本制度和体制的功能,从而增强改革的效用。