Wiping the Slate Clean: Reforming Scots Law's Approach to Evidence of the Accused's Bad Character

This paper discusses the Scottish Law Commission (SLC)'s Report on Similar Fact Evidence and the Moorov Doctrine, which proposes revolutionary changes to the way in which Scots law deals with evidence of the accused's bad character, including his previous convictions. The article sets these proposals in context by explaining the existing Scots law, and comparing it to the English provisions on bad character evidence contained in the Criminal Justice Act 2003. This comparison reveals similarities between the responses of the two jurisdictions. It is remarkable that the SLC did not consider English law to be a viable model for reform, choosing instead to propose legislation which would simply deem certain pieces of bad character evidence relevant in criminal trials. The second part of the paper explains why these proposals should not be implemented.     

A framework for the comparative analysis of church–state relations in Europe

This article analyses how the policies specified in EU directives are transposed by EU member states. In contrast to existing transposition studies it develops a policy-specific approach to explain how directives are transposed by national actors. In this approach the outcome of transposition depends on the institutional arena in which decision-making takes place and the interests of the domestic actors involved. These institutional arenas can vary from parliament to national ministries and agencies. Domestic actors are taken as policy-specific veto players. Their preferences may lead to two different responses to the requirements of a directive. First, they can transpose a directive literally, keeping deviations to a minimum. Second, domestic actors can adopt a non-literal interpretation of the directive, leading to more substantial deviations within the boundaries allowed by the European Commission. These responses are illustrated by two cases of transposition of EU directives, the tobacco products directive and the animal trade directive. The case analysis shows that the policy-specific approach proposed in this article helps in understanding transposition. It clarifies how the ambitions formulated in Brussels are transformed by national administrations into policies.     

基于知识图谱的国际刑事司法研究可视化分析

我们的研究基于CiteSpaceⅡ可视化软件绘制国际刑事司法研究领域的知识图谱,展示了国际刑事司法领域研究力量的分布,刑事司法研究所涉及的学科,刑事司法研究的知识基础以及该领域研究前沿的态势。研究表明,国际刑事司法研究的主要力量集中在欧美国家的大学与相关研究机构;该研究领域主要涉及社会学、犯罪学、心理学、精神病学等学科;国际刑事司法研究在知识演进过程中明显地呈现出注重理论与实证研究的两种趋势。     

论我国“双重独立”司法体制的建构———法院独立行使司法权与法官独立审判

司法权独立行使和法官独立是法治的基本要义,是司法规律的内在要求.在强调司法权独立行使的同时,也无须讳言法官的独立审判.法院和法官的“双重独立”,能有效解决司法权运行中的“行政化”,有效促进司法公正和落实司法责任并推进司法工作的职业化发展.而“双重独立”的实现,则有赖于从宪法、法律和体制、制度层面作出明确的规定.     

多维视角下的国际非政府组织

国际社会活跃着大量不同类型的国际非政府组织,而目前只有为数不多且限于从事赈灾扶贫、文化教育、卫生和环保等领域工作的国际非政府组织允许进入我国。持续的对外开放将会有更多的国际非政府组织进入中国,部分国际非政府组织有可能给中国带来非传统安全威胁,但更多的组织能起到信息沟通和协调作用。国际非政府组织所强调的公平与正义价值观对于构建和谐社会有一定的启迪和促进作用,而国际非政府组织与中国本土非政府组织的互动将极大地影响到后者的发展趋势。应充分了解国际非政府组织的特性,在合理利用其观念和资金的同时,尽可能地把它们所带来的负面影响减少到最低程度。     

The ‘Perils’ of an Identity Politics Approach to the Legal Recognition of Harm

In the past, and it still remains the case, people with learning difficulties who are victims of violence have been cast as being in need of protection rather than rights and justice. Such an approach belies an institutionalised perspective of harm that does not readily engage with criminal justice structures or solutions. At the same time, Sect. 146 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 gives the court the power to pass enhanced sentences where it can be proven that a crime was motivated by hostility towards someone because s/he is disabled. However, this provision may simply remain a symbolic pledge to equality that fails to tackle the complex and deep rooted causes of violence and oppression in modern society. The consequences of automatically turning to hate crime ‘solutions’ have yet to be explored. This article will draw from the ideas of a number of thinkers in the context of diverse activism to construct a bridge between current debates about how to theorise and tackle violence and oppression in the modern world and the campaigns fought by people with learning difficulties and their supporters. The hope is that this exercise will not only help people with learning difficulties to access the current debate but will further develop current thinking about how to understand and tackle violence in the modern world.

领土条约的界定标准、解释方法及其运行结构

领土主权属于一国的核心利益问题。国际法院基于《维也纳条约法公约》第31-32条之规定,在解决领土条约争端时采取了"实质优于形式"和"同意"等界定标准。同时,在适用该《公约》解释相关条款时采取了不同的解释方法,体现了一定的灵活性,但也出现过矛盾与反复。对此,应根据该《公约》第31-32条规定的内部要素及外部变量,优化领土条约的解释方法和运行结构。这种路径的设计不再拘泥于《条约法公约》本身,适当拓展、引入当事方提供的证明事实真相的关键证据,对领土条约的解释进行补充说明,并非游离于《条约法公约》之外,转而寻求保持占有法律、有效控制等法理基础及相应的事实主张和证据,而是将两者合而为一,以《条约法公约》解释规则为主,其他关键证据为辅的层级解释路径。另外,国际法院在解释相关领土条约时,除了适用"《条约法公约》+其他层级关键证据"模式外,还应借鉴学界的解释方法论,以使得两者交互影响,进一步完善条约解释方法的路径,实现对领土条约解释规则的再造。     

刑事诉讼中的人权保障研究

刑事诉讼中的人权保障问题,在我国具有越来越重要的意义。应当说,人权保障与我们党的奋斗目标是一致的,但几十年来中国的人权保障事业存在着许多缺陷和问题。要加强这项复杂的社会工程建设,核心的问题是确立现代的刑事诉讼理念,使程序公正的诉讼价值和人权保障的诉讼目的真正地得到实现。     

The European Court of Justice and the Annulment of the Tobacco Advertisement Directive: Friend of National Sovereignty or Foe of Public Health?

In Case C-376/98 Germany v Council the European Court of Justice annulled a Directive which banned the advertisement and sponsorship of tobacco. The judgment sanctions regulatory policy-making at the national rather than the Community level. The paper examines the legal basis of the annulment, its effect on economic efficiency and the implied role of the Court in the formulation of public policy in Europe. Within the institutional limits of the judicial power to determine policy, the Court focused on whether or not disparate national laws restrict free movement and distort competition and affirmed the primacy of the nation state to regulate economic activity.     

律师刑事豁免权研究

律师在刑事诉讼中担任辩护人、诉讼代理人 ,为实现司法公正 ,保障人权作出重要贡献 ,同时也承担了巨大的风险。律师刑事豁免权是律师在刑事诉讼过程中维护委托人合法权益和降低律师执业风险的有力保障