Trials,lustration, and clean elections: the uneven effects of transitional justice mechanisms on electoral manipulation

Transitional justice aims to promote democratization, but previous research has found that it has mixed effects. We address this puzzle by focussing on how transitional justice affects a necessary condition for democracy: clean elections. We test for the effects of four transitional justice mechanisms – truth commissions, lustration policies, amnesties, and trials – on two different types of electoral manipulation, using data from 187 post-transition elections held in 63 countries around the world from 1980 to 2004. We find that post-transition trials limit illegal forms of electoral manipulation, such as vote-buying and falsification of results, but have no effect on legal forms of manipulation. By contrast, lustration policies limit legal manipulation tactics, like intimidation and harassment of opponents by the security services, but do not affect illegal tactics. By showing that different aspects of transitional justice can have varying influence on electoral integrity, this project improves understanding of the mechanisms that link transitional justice and democratization.     

idPAD: Paper Analytical Device for Presumptive Identification of Illicit Drugs

As drug overdose deaths across the United States continue to rise, there is increasing interest in field testing of illicit substances. This work discusses a paper-based analytical device (idPAD) that can run a library of 12 colorimetric tests at the same time, each detecting different chemical functional groups and materials found in illicit drugs, distractor substances, and cutting agents. The idPAD requires no electricity, costs less than $2 USD, and requires minimal training to operate. The results of the 12 tests form a color barcode which is “read” by comparison to standard images. The accuracy of the idPAD was assessed using samples of heroin, cocaine HCl, crack, and methamphetamine at concentrations of 25%–100% in a lactose matrix, as well as pure lactose. Based on 840 “reads” by three different users, the idPAD showed 95% sensitivity and 100% specificity for detecting these drugs; the most common error was mistaking cocaine HCl for crack or crack for cocaine HCl. In a second step, samples of heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine (n = 30) and distractor substances (pharmaceuticals, cutting agents, and other illicit drugs, n = 64) were tested by two readers, yielding a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 97%. Targeted substances were detected reliably at 55–180 μg/lane, and the idPAD was found to be stable for at least 3 months when stored at room temperature. The library approach used in the idPAD may provide the accuracy and robustness necessary for a presumptive field drug test.     

司法鉴定行政与司法视角的边界——民诉证据司法解释鉴定内容的思考

2019年12月26日,最高人民法院发布了《关于修改〈关于民事诉讼证据的若干规定〉的决定》,备受司法界关注。其中,涉及司法鉴定的条款达24条之多,笔者结合《司法鉴定程序通则》,对相关内容予以了梳理与比较,揭示了民事证据规定给司法鉴定带来的变化与问题。民事证据规定重点规制了司法鉴定启动、受理、鉴定人出庭接受质询、鉴定人诚信承诺、鉴定人权利保障,鉴定人的出庭义务、遵守鉴定时限的义务,以及围绕鉴定资料的真实性、合法性方面的规定,以期保障鉴定质量。与此同时,民事证据规定也带来了管理上的边界之争的问题,包括司法鉴定行政管理部门与法院之间、法院与司法鉴定机构之间,以及法官与鉴定人之间权利义务的边界之争与之推,司法鉴定呈现多头管理已见端倪。本研究直面司法鉴定发展中的问题,建议尽早启动司法鉴定立法工作,强化鉴定意见的法庭质证,明确虚假鉴定的认定标准,梳理鉴定多头管理乱象等等,希望可以对司法鉴定制度的改革有所裨益。     

Experiments and evaluation of public policies: Methods,implementation, and challenges

Evidence-based policymaking is all about developing and implementing better public policies. Although the logic underpinning this philosophy is simple, the practicalities of demonstrating causal effects of a public policy are much more complex. In recent years, there has been a wave of optimism about the usefulness of experimental approaches to public policy evaluation which mimics the clean, causal inferences observed in clinical trials. Although these methods, such as randomised controlled trials, have been widely advocated and implemented, they are not without their potential problems. In this paper, we consider the strengths, weaknesses, and challenges posed by the revolution in policy evaluation brought about by embracing experimental methods.     

枳术宽中胶囊治疗功能性消化不良的系统评价和Meta分析

目的 评价枳术宽中胶囊治疗功能性消化不良（functional dyspepsia, FD）的临床疗效和安全性。方法 筛选枳术宽中胶囊治疗FD的随机对照试验（randomized controlled tests, RCTs）,提取数据并采用Cochrane偏倚风险评估工具进行方法学质量评价,采用Revman 5.0进行Meta分析。结果 共纳入21篇RCTs,共包括2 399例患者,文献质量较低。Meta分析结果显示,总有效率方面,枳术宽中胶囊治疗FD优于促消化药物（RR=1.15,95% CI为1.04～1.26,Z=2.72,P=0.007）,枳术宽中胶囊结合促消化药物治疗FD优于单纯促消化药物（RR=1.28, 95% CI为1.18～1.39,Z=5.81, P=0.000）,枳术宽中胶囊结合抗抑郁药物治疗FD优于单纯抗抑郁药物（RR=1.38, 95% CI为1.21～1.56,Z=4.98,P=0.000）,枳术宽中胶囊结合抑酸药治疗FD优于单纯抑酸药（RR=1.25, 95% CI为1.09～1.43,Z=3.16, P=0.002）。另外,枳术宽中胶囊对比促消化药物在改善FD患者腹胀、胃痛方面优于促消化药物（腹胀积分：MD=-0.75, 95% CI为-1.20～-0.31,Z=3.30,P=0.001;胃痛积分：MD=-0.60, 95% CI为-0.91～-0.30,Z=3.88,P=0.000）。结论 枳术宽中胶囊单用或联用西药治疗FD可提高临床疗效,改善患者的腹胀、胃痛等消化系统症状,但尚需高质量临床试验进一步验证其疗效。     

我国国有航运公司的法律困局

随着中国加快融入全球经济化的步伐,我国国有航运公司的经营规模和区域范围得到了长足发展,在我国国有航运公司大步跻身一流航运公司之际,却长期在美国航线上受到受控承运人制度的制约.从美国航运法受控承运人机制的内容入手,系统阐述该制度对我国国有航运公司的法律影响及解决途径.     

Information,perceptions, and electoral behaviour of young voters: A randomised controlled experiment

The way people absorb and process politically relevant information is central to their subsequent political behaviour (in terms of turnout and vote choice). Nonetheless, little is known about how young voters – who might be more impressionable than more experienced voters – respond to the provision of such information. In this article, we design a between-subject randomised controlled trial that exposes a sample of university students to positive, neutral or negative information about central government performance before the 2017 Portuguese local elections. We find that young voters update their perceptions more when exposed to negative news. This negativity bias is stronger for first-time voters. We also find that negative information significantly affects turnout of initially undecided young voters. Our results imply that sensitivity to information is heterogeneous and that some young voters may be prone to manipulation through the provision of negative news.     

论庭审实质化的体系化构建——以“顾雏军案”再审为例

落实庭审实质化是实现以审判为中心的诉讼制度改革目标的关键,是对复杂刑事案件进行公正审判的必要条件。“顾雏军案”的再审纠错过程,体现了庭前会议制度的运用与直接言词审理原则的贯彻对于体系化构建庭审实质化的重要作用,为实现复杂刑事案件的公正审判带来了诸多有益启示。庭审实质化的实现,不仅需要完善庭前会议制度以及直接言词审理原则的相关制度,更需要刑事诉讼办案人员提升执业素养与办案理念。