The regional outcome of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement five years down the road: Are external forces playing a progressive role?

ABSTRACT

The Sudan's Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) of January 2005 is the outcome of regional and international mediation led by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD)1 and the IGAD Partners’ Forum broadened to include the United States of America, Norway, the Netherlands, Canada, Italy and the United Nations. Five years into its implementation the peace agreement appears to have transformed the war between North and South Sudan into a series of engagements of conflicting nature. Numerous contradictory actions by both the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the National Congress Party (NCP) (the main political forces behind the CPA) have been noted during the ongoing implementation process (Grawert forthcoming 2010; Grawert and El-Battahani 2005; Wassara 2008). Although internal Sudanese forces are the key actors in implementing the CPA, external forces are critical in providing the support and pressure needed for a complete realisation of the peace deal. The New Regionalism Approach (NRA), as advanced by Grant and Soderbäum (2003), is instrumental in understanding this dynamic. This article is based on the result of a study that seeks to examine why positive engagements of external forces are needed for a timely implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.     

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.     

性贿赂犯罪化问题的刑法学思考

在物质生活极大丰富的当今社会,权色交易日趋严重,性贿赂已经成为催生腐败,危及国家工作人员职务行为廉洁性的温床,严重阻碍我国民主法治和政治文明的发展。但是,我国现行刑法重点规制物质性利益的贿赂犯罪,对于涉及非物质性利益的性贿赂犯罪问题没有明文规定,法律上的漏洞引起了实践中的茫然。因而,有必要对比古今中外的立法例,详细分析性贿赂犯罪化问题的若干争议,认真考察性贿赂犯罪化的可行性,并从现实角度对现行法律进行重新建构。     

Whither Equality? Securing the Lay Citizens' Place Inside the Criminal Justice System

This paper argues that lay jurors should be given a more extensive position in making decisions about misdemeanour cases. The paper constitutes a qualified defense of the 2011 judicial French reform. This reform associates two extra jurors to the already existing three magistrates in charge of misdemeanour cases. Two arguments are presented in favour of this measure. The first argument is that increasing the number of decision‐makers improves the accuracy of verdicts. I call this the argument from quantity. The second argument is that fostering more identity diversity between decision‐makers tends to improve the quality of group decisions. I call this the argument from diversity. The argument from quantity and the argument from diversity are supported by the more general idea that one of the chief rationales of any judicial system is that of ensuring the defendants' equality of protection.     

Intellectual Property Counterfeiting and Piracy – Response of Small Commonwealth Jurisdictions∗

This article provides an analysis of some recent developments relating to Constitutional law in Jamaica, including the legal issues arising from tied elections and the dual nationality of parliamentarians. It also discusses a case relating to the failure to incorporate the United Nations Convention on Transnational Organized Crime (the Palermo Convention). In this case, though the Palermo Convention contemplates investigations by agents of one country on the territory of another for certain crimes, one state party found it was unable to carry out such investigations on the territory of another. Although the latter country, a CARICOM member state, was also a party to the Convention, it had not enacted the required implementing legislation     

新刑事诉讼法视角下警察出庭作证问题探析

我国新刑事诉讼法首次规定了对警察出庭作证的条款,但在实际操作中尚未建立具有可操作性的制度。本文从我国警察出庭作证的现状入手,分析其面临的障碍,在借鉴国外这一制度的基础上,结合我国的实际情况,提出一些解决我国警察出庭作证问题应采取的措施。     

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。     

论妨害文物管理犯罪行为的刑法规制

文物是不可再生的文化资源,具有丰富的历史价值、艺术价值和科学价值,同时也具有较高的经济价值,自然也就成为了犯罪分子侵害目标。近年来,盗掘古墓、倒卖文物、走私文物的现象日益猖狂,这种链条式的不法行为,使我国的珍贵文物大量流失,犯罪分子利用娴熟的作案手段,将盗掘而来的文物进行倒买倒卖或者走私,使其很快进入流通领域,甚至流向国际市场,获取高额利润。因此,必须及时有效地规制此类犯罪行为,击破文物类犯罪的"盗掘—倒卖—走私"的典型经营链条,保护国家的文物管理秩序,防止文物的大量流失。     

视频侦查视域下的刑事技术工作思考

在视频侦查新技术和新思维的视域下,刑事技术工作应从转变思维方式,树立深度应用理念。在宏观层面,推进刑事技术工作在视频侦查条件下的发展,需要抓好以下工作：一是修改《公安机关刑事案件现场勘验检查规则》,为勘查技术工作向视频侦查拓展提供制度支撑。二是构建＂四侦合一＂勘查工作模式,注重对现有信息资源的充分应用。三是加强天网工程和视频侦查数据库的基础建设。四是大力开展人才培训、引进和岗位技术比武。在微观层面,要切实打好＂合成战＂,要配合视频侦查人员做好视频图像的获取、视频图像的侦查价值的挖掘和痕迹物证与视频图像的碰撞等工作。     

刍议非法证据排除规则——基于证据法学理论的思考

基于证据法与程序法的关系,审判阶段适用的非法证据排除规则区别于其他诉讼阶段国家专门机关排除非法证据的刑事司法行为.非法证据排除规则是以审判阶段为中心设定的证据法规则,检察机关审查证据的司法行为也将受到其制约.从证据法学的角度理解何谓“给审判案件的法官制定的游戏规则”,是检察机关正确认识非法证据排除规则对非法取证行为威慑作用的前提;同时对非法证据排除规则基本理论问题的理解,也为检察机关正确适用新刑事诉讼法的规定“排除非法证据”奠定了认识论基础.