EVIDENCE OF A DIFFERENT NATURE: THE CHILD‐ RESPONSIVE AND LESS ADVERSARIAL INITIATIVES OF THE FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA

This article charts the constellation of vision and research that underpin a new era in the Family Court of Australia, focusing on the development and outcomes of two programs that have attempted to meaningfully reinforce the centrality of children's rights and needs in family court proceedings. The Less Adversarial Trial and its front‐end Child Responsive Program (CRP) both aim to minimise the potentially negative effects on parents of a litigation process by application of a more intensive case management model adopted with the intention of altering the parents’ experience of the journey. Key features of this approach include the adoption of inquisitorial techniques, which include direct consultation with children through the CRP, modified application of the rules of evidence, and strong judicial management rather than being party driven. Findings from two studies into the pilot Children's Cases Program (now the Less Adversarial Trial) and the CRP are discussed. Significantly, evidence is outlined around the capacity of the new processes to impact on both the co‐parenting and parent–child relationships and to influence short‐term adjustment of complex families in high‐conflict dispute. In encouraging a more active focus on children's needs and views and by facilitating a stronger voice for children in proceedings that affect them, both initiatives advance Australia's commitments under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.     

CHOOSE TO HUG,NOT HIT*

This article discusses reasonable chastisement of children as a defense by parents to assault charges. It suggests that its continued retention contravenes the rights of children and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. It compares developments in various countries, such as the Scandinavian countries and New Zealand, where the defense has been abolished, as compared with the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, where it has been retained. It suggests that its continued retention encourages bullying and violence in schools and in later adult life.     

论中国对《登记公约》的适用——以《空间物体登记管理办法》为中心

随着越来越多的空间物体射入外层空间,登记制度和《登记公约》也日益得到各国的重视。中国作为《登记公约》的缔约国,为了更好地履行公约的义务,并维护我国作为发射国的利益,发布实施了《空间物体登记管理办法》。目前我国的空间立法研究还很滞后,而《空间物体登记管理办法》是中国在航天领域唯一存在的两部规章制度之一,它的存在证明了我国空间立法能力,而且为以后的立法工作奠定了一定的基础。     

论《联合国反腐败条约》与我国刑事法之协调

2003年12月9日,中国政府签署了《联合国反腐败公约》。国际反腐败趋势及我国反腐败刑事立法与《联合国反腐败公 约》存在一些差异,我国刑事法应与《联合国反腐败公约》进一步协调。     

内阁集体负责制及其例外——英国宪政习惯研究

研究英国的内阁制度 ,离不开研究英国的宪政习惯 ,因为规制着英国内阁行为的政治规则不是一般意义上的法律 ,而是宪政习惯。内阁集体负责制是英国宪政的核心制度之一 ,通过考察和分析英国内阁集体负责制的特点和实际运作机制 ,可以清楚地看到宪政习惯是如何在英国的现实政治生活中发挥作用的     

Police investigations in Internet open sources: Procedural-law issues

Analysing large amounts of data goes to the heart of the challenges confronting intelligence and law enforcement professionals today. Increasingly, this involves Internet data that are ‘open source’ or ‘publicly available’. Projects such as the European FP7 VIRTUOSO are developing platforms for open-source intelligence by law enforcement and public security, which open up opportunities for large-scale, automated data gathering and analysis. However, the mere fact that data are publicly available does not imply an absence of restrictions to researching them. This paper investigates one area of legal constraints, namely criminal-procedure law in relation to open-source data gathering by the police. What is the legal basis for this activity? And under what conditions can domestic and foreign open sources be investigated?     

冲之鸟礁法律地位的国际法思考

日本认定冲之鸟礁的法律地位是“岛屿”，多年来一直企图将冲之鸟礁“岛屿化”，从而获得专属经济区和大陆架的权益。根据《联合国海洋法公约》的规定，冲之鸟礁作为岩礁的法律地位是不应当有争议的。因此，冲之鸟礁不具备岛屿的社会属性，对冲之鸟礁的人工添附也不能改变其作为岩礁的法律地位。     

索马里海盗的界定及惩治

海军护航打击索马里海盗有充分的国际法依据。《联合国海洋法公约》关于海盗行为的定义一定程度上限制了对索马里海盗的打击。短时间内,修订《联合国海洋法公约》关于海盗的定义并不现实,联合国安理会的决议又具有临时性,通过双边或区域协议的方式对海盗的认定达成共识是一种可行的方法。由某一主权国家审判索马里海盗存在一定的困难性,国际社会可采取特设法庭的方式来审判索马里海盗。我国应制定惩治海盗的国内法。     

对《内罗毕国际船舶残骸清除公约》的再思考

2007年国际海事组织审议并通过了《内罗毕国际残骸清除公约》,此后国内大多数专家、学者主要围绕其提出的强制保险及直接诉讼制度开展深入研究,而对其他建设性内容却探讨甚少。公约其他内容,如扩大残骸范围、明确定位标记费用的承担者、采用即时强制制度等,对建立国内船舶残骸清除制度也具有较强的借鉴意义。通过对公约相关制度进行利弊分析,进而提出可供国内立法参考的有益建议。     

打击索马里海盗：既是责任也是挑战

＂海盗行为＂是一种国际法罪行,也是联合国安理会两次专门通过决议要予以坚决打击和惩治的犯罪活动。然而,要有效地打击与惩治索马里海盗,还必须具备一个有效的法律机制。不管是通过建立国际刑事法庭的形式,还是通过国内法庭的司法程序,都得适用已成为国际习惯法的＂司法公正＂原则。这对于中国及其他国家而言,是一种责任与挑战。