程序正义在刑事诉讼效率中的意义

本文认为，在当代，刑事诉讼效率与程序正义现念的引入都有其必要性和合理性。但是在目前的中国，首先要通过程序正义实现诉讼效率，因为程序正义中包含着活力和效率，并详细探计了程序正义的各方面对诉讼效率的积极影响。     

Reviews

Books reviewed:
Minkkinnen, Thinking Without Desire: A First Philosophy of Law
Lessig, Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace
Clyde and Edwards, Judicial Review
Oliver, Common Values and the Public-Private Divide
Goodwin-Gill and Talmon (eds), The Reality of International Law: Essays in Honour of Ian Brownlie     

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights at Seventy: Rejuvenate or Retire?*

This lecture marks the seventieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) with an analysis of the Declaration's contemporary relevance. It considers whether, in today's turbulent and fractured political environment in which human rights abuses remain widespread, the UDHR still has a role to play. A case is made that the UDHR was, in fact, written precisely for a moment like now. The lecture starts by considering the important legal impact of the UDHR, whilst acknowledging that the legal enforcement of human rights sometimes overshadows the emotions of care and empathy that lie at the heart of both the Declaration and the whole concept of human rights. It then emphasises the significant role the UDHR has played in giving individuals a voice to hold states accountable. Finally, it explores the UDHR's ethical and inspirational vision that helped to create a baseline of norms and standards aimed at promoting diversity, mutual respect and peace. For all these reasons, the UDHR most certainly needs to be rejuvenated rather than retired.     

Deaths While under Probation Supervision: What Role for Human Rights Legislation?

Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states that ‘everyone has the right to life’. This right is contained in all human rights treaties that developed from the UDHR, including the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Yet, as we argue, the UK government is failing to protect this right when it comes to certain groups of people under probation supervision. To date, human rights legislation has failed adequately to protect these vulnerable individuals and to hold the state to account. This article explores the greater potential for using human rights legislation to ensure better accountability in this area.     

自然之性和仁义之性——程颢人性论的两重性

程颢的人性论是学界研究的难点,有多种观点并存。要正确理解程颢的人性论,需要结合他所面临的辟佛与弘扬儒学的文化背景。为了批判佛性论,他吸取告子"生之谓性"说以肯定人的自然之性。他继承并发展孟子的性善论,使其在理论上更加完善。程颢对自然之性和仁义之性皆持肯定态度。然而,自然之性和仁义之性毕竟有所不同,前者杂气禀而有善恶,后者不杂气禀而至善。未能处理好两者的关系,是程颢人性论的不足之处。     

Kantian cosmopolitanism and its limits

The cosmopolitanism of the European Enlightenment was mostly a limited matter of a Eurocentric anti-nationalism promoting the ideal of Europe as an harmonious system of balancing states. Against this background, Kant’s cosmopolitan vision stands out as more inclusive because, far from restricting its concerns to Europe, it proposes to bring all of humanity together by locating its different sections in a developmental framework that runs from the most primitive of human conditions to the fullest development of Man’s moral and intellectual capacities. Like the developmental schema posited by Voltaire and the Scottish Enlightenment, this vision locates most of humanity at some distance behind Western Europe. It produces the appearance of a cosmopolitan inclusiveness by means of an equally cosmopolitan differentiation.     

Congenital tetragametic blood chimerism explains a case of questionable paternity

Human chimerism is the presence of ≥ 2 cell populations in one person that contain genetic material from more than one zygote. Chimerism may be either acquired by transfusion or transplantation of donor cells, or congenital arising from embryo fusion or dizygotic twin-twin transfusion. We encountered a 4-year-old boy with developmental hip dysplasia whose preoperative (serologic) blood group was AB, but whose red cell agglutination was atypical ("mixed field") and caused us to study the patient's parents' ABO blood groups. Parental blood groups (AB and O) suggested possible nonparentage. An alternative explanation of the findings was that the child was chimeric or mosaic. Molecular cloning and genotyping of his ABO locus in leukocytes revealed two heterozygous genotypes: A102/O01 and B101/O01. Other loci, each of which possessed three distinct alleles, unambiguously showed transmission of two alleles from either the child's mother (e.g., HLA-A) or two alleles from the child's father (e.g., D8S1179). Findings indicate that the child is a tetragametic chimera.     

Field capability of dogs to locate individual human teeth

Avulsed teeth can be difficult if not impossible to recover in the outdoor environment, yet are important for victim identification. This study assessed dog teams as a resource to locate human teeth in a field setting and related performance in training with field capability. Standardized, objective training data were recorded and analyzed followed by double-blind capability trials. In the double-blind trials, 10 teeth were placed in each of six (10 m(2)) plots. Search time per plot ranged from 27 to 50 min, and the proportion of teeth found by the teams varied between 0.20 and 0.79. Using 0.45 m as a distance criterion for a "find," the proportion of false positives ranged between 0.07 and 0.75. Results show that dog teams are capable of recovering individual human teeth in the field setting with high precision although capability varies. Training records support a team's expected field performance. Additional studies are needed.     

A comparative research of two lifting methods: electrostatic lifter and gelatin lifter

Two-dimensional dust shoeprints are often of very high resolution and contain unique features. Lifting these prints in the most effective method may contribute much to preserving these fine details. A research was conducted by experts from Israel and Switzerland to compare gelatin lifters and electrostatic lifters for lifting shoeprints. Several substrates were chosen, and on each material a set of dry dust shoeprints was made. A set of wet prints was made on paper as well. The shoeprints were approximately of the same quality, and the only variable was the nature of the material. On substrates indifferent to the method used, the preferable sequence was tested. Gelatin lifter was superior on most substrates and for wet prints. The superior sequence for using both methods is electrostatic lifting followed by gelatin lifter.     

Identification of the source of ivory idol by DNA analysis

In this study, we describe a forensic case dealing with the identification of the source of the processed ivory object by DNA analysis. Two pieces of Lord Krishna's idols from a shop were confiscated by an investigating agency of the Indian government and forwarded to us to identify the source of its origin. We succeeded in isolating DNA from both processed ivory idols by using the phenol/chloroform DNA extraction method. The extracted DNA was subjected to PCR amplification using an elephant-specific mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop marker. DNA sequence analysis of the amplified fragment of mtDNA D-loop region confirmed that the idols were consistent with Asian elephant with 99% similarity.