Wiping the Slate Clean: Reforming Scots Law's Approach to Evidence of the Accused's Bad Character

This paper discusses the Scottish Law Commission (SLC)'s Report on Similar Fact Evidence and the Moorov Doctrine, which proposes revolutionary changes to the way in which Scots law deals with evidence of the accused's bad character, including his previous convictions. The article sets these proposals in context by explaining the existing Scots law, and comparing it to the English provisions on bad character evidence contained in the Criminal Justice Act 2003. This comparison reveals similarities between the responses of the two jurisdictions. It is remarkable that the SLC did not consider English law to be a viable model for reform, choosing instead to propose legislation which would simply deem certain pieces of bad character evidence relevant in criminal trials. The second part of the paper explains why these proposals should not be implemented.     

A framework for the comparative analysis of church–state relations in Europe

This article analyses how the policies specified in EU directives are transposed by EU member states. In contrast to existing transposition studies it develops a policy-specific approach to explain how directives are transposed by national actors. In this approach the outcome of transposition depends on the institutional arena in which decision-making takes place and the interests of the domestic actors involved. These institutional arenas can vary from parliament to national ministries and agencies. Domestic actors are taken as policy-specific veto players. Their preferences may lead to two different responses to the requirements of a directive. First, they can transpose a directive literally, keeping deviations to a minimum. Second, domestic actors can adopt a non-literal interpretation of the directive, leading to more substantial deviations within the boundaries allowed by the European Commission. These responses are illustrated by two cases of transposition of EU directives, the tobacco products directive and the animal trade directive. The case analysis shows that the policy-specific approach proposed in this article helps in understanding transposition. It clarifies how the ambitions formulated in Brussels are transformed by national administrations into policies.     

基于知识图谱的国际刑事司法研究可视化分析

我们的研究基于CiteSpaceⅡ可视化软件绘制国际刑事司法研究领域的知识图谱,展示了国际刑事司法领域研究力量的分布,刑事司法研究所涉及的学科,刑事司法研究的知识基础以及该领域研究前沿的态势。研究表明,国际刑事司法研究的主要力量集中在欧美国家的大学与相关研究机构;该研究领域主要涉及社会学、犯罪学、心理学、精神病学等学科;国际刑事司法研究在知识演进过程中明显地呈现出注重理论与实证研究的两种趋势。     

论我国“双重独立”司法体制的建构———法院独立行使司法权与法官独立审判

司法权独立行使和法官独立是法治的基本要义,是司法规律的内在要求.在强调司法权独立行使的同时,也无须讳言法官的独立审判.法院和法官的“双重独立”,能有效解决司法权运行中的“行政化”,有效促进司法公正和落实司法责任并推进司法工作的职业化发展.而“双重独立”的实现,则有赖于从宪法、法律和体制、制度层面作出明确的规定.     

多维视角下的国际非政府组织

国际社会活跃着大量不同类型的国际非政府组织,而目前只有为数不多且限于从事赈灾扶贫、文化教育、卫生和环保等领域工作的国际非政府组织允许进入我国。持续的对外开放将会有更多的国际非政府组织进入中国,部分国际非政府组织有可能给中国带来非传统安全威胁,但更多的组织能起到信息沟通和协调作用。国际非政府组织所强调的公平与正义价值观对于构建和谐社会有一定的启迪和促进作用,而国际非政府组织与中国本土非政府组织的互动将极大地影响到后者的发展趋势。应充分了解国际非政府组织的特性,在合理利用其观念和资金的同时,尽可能地把它们所带来的负面影响减少到最低程度。     

确认不侵犯专利权之诉的司法判定——由一起专利权纠纷案说起

知识产权确认不侵权之诉是知识产权领域中的特有制度。现行法律和司法解释对这类诉讼中涉及的法律适用问题缺乏明确规定,导致在司法实践中争议很大。要确认不侵犯专利权的判定标准,应从形式要件和实质要件两个方面进行。     

The ‘Perils’ of an Identity Politics Approach to the Legal Recognition of Harm

In the past, and it still remains the case, people with learning difficulties who are victims of violence have been cast as being in need of protection rather than rights and justice. Such an approach belies an institutionalised perspective of harm that does not readily engage with criminal justice structures or solutions. At the same time, Sect. 146 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 gives the court the power to pass enhanced sentences where it can be proven that a crime was motivated by hostility towards someone because s/he is disabled. However, this provision may simply remain a symbolic pledge to equality that fails to tackle the complex and deep rooted causes of violence and oppression in modern society. The consequences of automatically turning to hate crime ‘solutions’ have yet to be explored. This article will draw from the ideas of a number of thinkers in the context of diverse activism to construct a bridge between current debates about how to theorise and tackle violence and oppression in the modern world and the campaigns fought by people with learning difficulties and their supporters. The hope is that this exercise will not only help people with learning difficulties to access the current debate but will further develop current thinking about how to understand and tackle violence in the modern world.

略论国际商事仲裁的优势及其实现途径

与国际民事诉讼相比 ,国际商事仲裁的优越性表现在其所具有的自主性、专业性、灵活性、经济性、保密性以及国际性等方面 ;其局限性则表现在仲裁庭权力的有限性以及仲裁公正的不确定性等方面。要充分实现国际商事仲裁的优势 ,完善国际商事仲裁制度应从三个方面着手 :树立正确的仲裁理念、制定完善的仲裁规范 ;提高相关人员的仲裁意识。     

促进社会公正构建社会和谐

促进社会公正、构建社会和谐对我国社会主义物质文明、政治文明和精神文明的建设起着至关重要的作用,对落实科学发展观、全面建设小康社会具有非常重要的意义。当前我国社会中存在的各种不公现象,是我国经济社会快速发展过程中产生的问题,有其客观、主观两方面的原因;应在正确分析和理解原因的基础上,采取针对性措施,坚持正确的思想观念与具体行动措施相结合,治标措施与治本措施相结合,减少甚至消除社会不公现象,促进构建和谐社会的伟大事业。     

程序正义及其局限性

程序正义是现代法的程序结构派生出的一种伦理形态 ,其本质为程序之中的伦理、非人格化的伦理、相对化和形式化的伦理、程序化的制度伦理。现实当中的程序正义是选举、司法以及立法、行政管理正当化的观念基础 ,宪政民主体制的伦理内涵。然而 ,程序正义之不幸在于其代表的乃是强者的正义 ,因而对弱者的权利保障是宪政民主体制不可缺少的组成部分。