The miscarriages of justice in late Qing Dynasty—analysis focused on the original trial judge Liu Xitong in the case of Yang Naiwu and Xiao Baicai

This article introduces the case of Yang Naiwu and Xiao Baicai, a famous case in late imperial China, and its important value for the study of legal history of the Qing Dynasty. Based on the analysis of this case, this article focuses on the issue of the responsibility of the magistrate Liu xitong, the judge of this case, who analyzed the mentation of his miscarriage under the pressure of the rules about judges responsibilities in their judgment through which reveal the stimulation and passive infection of the judgment of the judges. __________ Translated from the Jurist Review, 2005, (2) (in Chinese)     

罪刑法定原则论纲

罪刑法定原则是刑法的根本原则,它存在的形式前提是宪法中规定的法治原则,而实质前提则是民主主义与自由主义。作为刑法原则,罪刑法定原则在形式上表现为四个派生原则,在实质上就是人权保障原则。由于两大法系对法治主义理解的不同,所以罪刑法定原则在大陆法系表现为面向实体的原则,而在英美法系则表现为面向程序的原则(实体的正当程序原则)。罪刑法定原则的实现,首先是作为立法原则,其次是作为司法原则,其不是实现在刑法运行的某一阶段,而是实现在刑法运行的全过程中。     

社会主义社会正义的空间价值维度——《社会主义空间正义》一书评介

当代中国正在驶入城镇化快车道,数亿人口将在短短几十年间从乡村迁徙定居到城市,也因此将带来大量的矛盾和问题。如何通过城市及更广泛意义上的空间问题寻求社会正义这个人类核心的价值,青年学者王志刚博士的专著给我们提供了一个清晰的答案。该书视角新颖,文笔流畅,观点独到,是近年来学术界研究城市哲学与空间问题的一部力作。     

Review Article: The environmental turn in territorial rights

Recent theories of territorial rights could be characterized by their growing attention to environmental concerns and resource rights (understood as the rights of jurisdiction and/or ownership over natural resources). Here I examine two: Avery Kolers’s theory of ethnogeographical plenitude, and Cara Nine’s theory of legitimate political authority over people and resources. While Kolers is a pioneer in demanding ecological sustainability as a minimum requirement for any viable theory of territorial rights – building a bridge between environmental and political philosophy – Nine highlights a crucial distinction when looking at territorial rights from a global justice perspective, namely that between jurisdictional powers and ownership rights over resources. Daring and innovative at first glance, I claim that both theories present, however, deep ambiguities and retreat from their radical implications which, if taken seriously, would lead to a massive redrawing of current territorial borders.     

Practicing Normality: An Examination of Unrecognizable Transitional Justice Mechanisms in Post-Conflict Sierra Leone

ABSTRACT

Transitional justice and peacebuilding mechanisms have a tendency to reflect the extraordinary nature of conflict. These recognizable mechanisms—official bodies and institutions with preconceived goals and processes—are often inaccessible and undesired. In fact, what is often desired in post-conflict societies is the ordinary: a transition to a ‘new normal’. This article explores the various ways in which Sierra Leoneans practice normality in the post-conflict era. This is done through economic restoration, agricultural activities and religious engagement. Ultimately, these mechanisms are often seen as a more legitimate and meaningful way for many ordinary Sierra Leoneans to move past their war-related experiences and find some sense of peace and justice.     

American politics,British policy: whole of life imprisonment and transatlantic influence

Since the abolition of the death penalty, life imprisonment in England and Wales has had a literal meaning with exceptional rarity. Now though, in the rejection of perceived interference by the European Court of Human Rights in domestic sentencing, the politics of whole of life imprisonment have become exposed, specifically, in the widening applicability of the tariff to those who kill police officers or prison guards. Borrowing from the politics of capital punishment in the United States, in both “acting out” after a particular crime, and the prioritising of victim groups, the most severe penalty in England and Wales is increasingly beginning to mirror how the most severe punishment across the Atlantic is used, represented, and politicised.     

Police legitimacy and support for vigilante violence in Pakistan

Bottoms and Tankebe recently analysed the multidimensional nature of police legitimacy and made an argument for its relevance to social order. Using survey data from three communities of varying socioeconomic conditions in Pakistan, this paper examines the links between the multiple dimensions of the Bottoms-Tankebe model of police legitimacy and support for vigilante violence. The findings show overall high levels of support for vigilantism. Regression analysis shows that experiences of police illegality consistently predict support for vigilantism across the three communities. Perceived quality of police decision-making predicts support for vigilantism in some conditions but not others. Contrary to expectations, quality of interpersonal treatment by police and police effectiveness do not explain support for vigilantism. We also found no evidence to show that feelings of obligation to obey the police mediate the influence of police legitimacy on vigilante support. The implications of these findings are discussed in this paper.     

The forensic examination of structural fires in Victoria,Australia: Decision-making processes and impact on judicial outcomes

There is a body of published research that has evaluated the contribution of forensic science to the criminal justice system, but many disciplines of forensic science remain unexplored in this regard. The aim of this study was to examine the contribution that forensic fire examination services provide to criminal investigations and court processes in arson cases. Forensic fire examination services differ in a number of ways to the disciplines covered in previous research on the impact of forensic evidence on justice outcomes. Forensic fire examinations involve a combination of scene examination and laboratory analyses, and the results can provide critical evidence of whether an incident that has occurred is a criminal offence (i.e. whether a fire has occurred as the result of an act of arson). Forensic fire examination is also a discipline that has faced challenges and undergone development in recent decades regarding its scientific basis and the issue of contextual bias. In this study, data were collated for 273 structural fires that were examined by the forensic fire services in Victoria, Australia. In this jurisdiction, scene and laboratory forensic services are delivered within short time frames with a focus on providing impartial scientific and investigative services to assist criminal investigations conducted by police. The current dataset was highly skewed in terms of criminal justice outcomes and was not suitable for conducting the planned statistical analyses. Nonetheless, the pattern of findings obtained suggested that the inclusion of forensic evidence which supported the prosecution of arson may be associated with an increased likelihood of suspects being charged and defendants found guilty. Examination of the decision-making process of the forensic fire examiners has provided insight into the variety of evidence that is considered by forensic experts in reaching the important conclusion about the origin and cause of structural fires.     

Violence,displacement and democracy in post-conflict societies: evidence from Mali

This article examines the political crisis in Mali, 2012–2013, to test the impact of violent conflict on public attitudes to democracy. In post-conflict situations, democracy building depends on interim steps to restore trust among citizens and to address national reconciliation and transitional justice. According to the results of a custom-designed opinion survey, recent experiences of violence and displacement in Mali have undermined both interpersonal and interethnic trust as well as public confidence that elected governments can resolve national conflicts. While internal displacement is frequently accompanied by violence against property, violence against persons increases popular demand for a retributive brand of transitional justice. Nonetheless, the Malian experience suggests that citizens in post-conflict societies – including those displaced from their homes – still yearn to live in a peaceful and unified country and have not abandoned a widespread preference for democracy.