EU Accession to the ECHR: Between Autonomy and Adaptation

After the European Union's accession to the European Convention on Human Rights the EU will become subject to legally binding judicial decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and participate in statutory bodies of the Council of Europe (Parliamentary Assembly; Committee of Ministers) when they act under the Convention. Convention rights and their interpretation by the ECtHR will be directly enforceable against the EU institutions and against Member States when acting within the scope of EU law. This will vest the ECHR with additional force in a number of Member States, including Germany and the UK. All Member States will further be subject to additional constraints when acting under the Convention system. The article considers the reasons for, and consequences of the EU's primus inter pares position under the Convention and within the Council of Europe, and the likely practical effect of the EU's accession for its Member States.     

A Commentary on the New Zealand Supreme Court Rules

This article critically assesses how some public law principles, including the doctrine of legitimate expectations, are applied in the Commonwealth Caribbean. It proceeds to discuss the impact of international law on public law and to note that, through the implementation of unincorporated treaties into domestic law, the principle of dualism is increasingly losing its significance and protective effect. The consequence of this is that Governments will continue to want more opt outs and will be more cautious about signing treaties which they are not ready to implement.     

Restorative justice and reconviction

Proponents of restorative justice have suggested that its practices have the potential to reduce reoffending by those responsible for a harm. This article examines these claims using the results of two separate studies of the reconviction of offenders dealt with by processes that had restorative characteristics. The first study examines reconviction rates over'a'period'of'six years for a sample of young people who took part in family group conferences. The second study examines outcomes for samples of 100 offenders involved in each of two different community panel pre-trial diversion schemes for adults. One scheme involved offenders and victims meeting together with community panel members to determine outcomes that would repair harm to the victim and contribute to preventing reoffending. The second scheme involved Maori offenders meeting with representatives of their tribe in a setting with spiritual meaning for Maori. Those participating in both the community panel schemes were less likely to reoffend than matched samples of others who had committed similar offenses. There were also economic savings to the criminal justice system when offenders were dealt with by the panels compared to those dealt with by traditional methods. Taken together, these projects indicate that restorative processes and practices can have a positive impact on helping people to avoid reoffending.     

Role-taking and restorative justice: Social practices of solidarity and community in Shakespeare's measure for measure

This article examines to what extent role-taking inspired characters in Shakespeare's play Measure for Measure to new modes of consciousness and concomitant social practices of restorative justice. The play's main character, Duke Vincentio, engages in a series of role-taking episodes through which he undergoes a self-transformation. He subsequently enacts the social practice of restorative justice. However, the play is neither a paragon case of self-transformation nor of restorative justice, especially since (1) manipulation and power are employed in the reintegrative shaming ceremony; (2) some characters are stigmatized and humiliated; and (3) the Duke still practices duplicitous, power-based, and punitive measures. Nevertheless, through the process of self-discovery and the recognition of others as like himself, the Duke reconceives his kingly role from that of an executor of law violators to that of a mediator of troubled relationships. The Duke's character reflects in part the cultural contradictions and social transformations ongoing in Shakespeare's Renaissance England.     

Young Offenders Speak About Meeting Their Victims: Implications for Future Programs

Victim–offender mediation (VOM) programs have gained considerable popularity in juvenile courts, yet little is known about how these programs actually influence offenders. This paper explores young offenders’ subjective experiences of voluntary participation in a county‐run VOM program in Minnesota. The authors conducted in‐depth, qualitative interviews with seven young offenders (aged 15–24), and four sets of their parents, who had recently participated in a VOM session with their crime victim(s). Data analysis revealed varying motivations for the offenders’ participation in the sessions, a range of emotional consequences, and some potential for enduring behavior change. Based on these findings, the authors propose guidelines for future practice and research with young people involved in mediation, conferencing, and restorative justice programs.     

Outsiders and justice consciousness

The foundations of my justice consciousness lie in two books that share the name “outsiders.” I was introduced to S.E. Hinton's novel before I was a teenager and it was my first real contact with the “Greasers,” the “Socs,” and a world of juvenile delinquency divided by social class. Written by a 16‐year‐old girl around the time I was born, I think it was this book that initially sparked my fascination with juvenile delinquency and the study of crime. I pursued this interest in college and became concerned with inequality and the ways in which our social surroundings shape our choices and our life chances. Reading Howard S. Becker's classic statement of labeling theory in his version of Outsiders changed my perspective again and I have never looked at the world in quite the same way since.     

Yoga and restorative justice in prison: An experience of “response‐ability to harms”

Divisions within the contemporary restorative justice movement in the US often manifest in one state‐supported model: balanced and restorative justice (BARJ). Paul McCold, in this symposium frames the problem with BARJ as one of a corruption of restorative justice principles by its foundation in community justice. This article suggests that BARJ and McCold’s critique share a neglect of the transformative potential of restorative justice for realizing social and economic justice. Moreover, recent experience indicates that BARJ policy planning can take place in a way supportive of Social Equity Restorative Justice (SERJ). The time appears opportune for some peacemaking within the movement.     

网络民意介入刑事司法之再反思——基于典型刑事案件的研究

网络民意介入刑事司法的合理性值得质疑。网络民意和刑事司法在刑事个案中的博弈时有发生。网络民意的主观性、非理性和不确定性同刑事司法的客观性、专业性和可预期性相抵触。网络民意介入刑事司法有违无罪推定原则和罪刑法定原则。最后,网络民意作为行使言论自由的一种方式,不得触及司法正义的底线。     

自媒体时代的刑事司法与民意

相对于传统的自上而下的传播模式,“自媒体”更多地体现出一种传播的对等性,更加注重网民的自主性,表现出个性化、互动性的特征,更易引发刑事司法与民意之间的紧张关系。涉弱势群体的刑事个案更易引发民众的关注、民意的表达更为通畅与开放、民意的表达忽略了案件事实与法律适用本身、民意的真实性有待考证,这是自媒体时代的民意的主要特征。在自媒体环境下,民意推动了刑事诉讼程序的公开、公正进行,有助于刑事司法判决朝着更为公正、合理的方向发展,不理性的民意对部分刑事案件的错判、误判的影响仍然不能忽视,民意对刑事司法的影响呈现出无序性。营造刑事司法与民意互动的良性循环需要注意：建立及时的信息发布、沟通机制,对自媒体进行必要的约束,发挥自媒体对民意的引导、培育功能。构建公平有序的社会制度。