Hearing the Voice of the Child: Current Practice in Family Courts in Germany

German family courts have a long‐standing tradition of hearing the child's voice when proceedings affect the child. This article aims to provide an overview of the German procedural rules. The current role and practice of child hearings in family courts and the direct effects on the child are discussed in detail. The perceived benefits, challenges, and pitfalls are deliberated from the viewpoint of the psychological expert. Hearing the voice of the child in person is increasingly viewed as beneficial to the proceedings if the judges and other professionals involved possess the necessary qualifications and competence.     

论人权的“欧洲尺度”

《欧洲人权公约》为人权保护提供了基本的法律依据,对缔约国课以保证本国人民享有人权的义务.欧洲人权法院通过判例不断发展出符合公约精神的法律解释,对公约进行丰富和完善,树立了人权的"欧洲尺度".欧共体法院在人权条款阙如的情况下,参照一般法律原则和成员国共同宪法传统进行司法解释,并格外倚重《欧洲人权公约》以及欧洲人权法院在实践中所确立的人权标准.     

认真对待量刑--量刑程序化初探

实现定罪的准确与量刑的适当,是现代法治社会对整个刑事审判工作的两项基本要求.但在我国,无论是立法操作还是司法实践,抑或是学界探讨,量刑程序都是不受关注、极易忽视的领域,量刑非程序化现象极为严重.现行以定罪为中心的庭审结构是导致量刑非程序化的根本原因所在,构建"先定罪""后量刑"的二阶段庭审结构便可初步破解这一难题.在保证定罪程序准确、公正的同时,还须构建"阳光下的量刑"制度,以保证量刑程序的公正.     

国际法院对国际人权法的贡献

在过去的60年里,国际法院对国际人权法作出了重大的贡献。在国际人权法与国际人道法的关系方面,它认定国际人道法构成国际人权法的特别法,国际人权法在武装冲突期间并不停止适用。在国际人权公约的域外适用方面,它认定武装冲突的占领当局必须遵守相应的国际人权公约。它首次确认国际法中存在对一切的义务,并举出了一些具有对一切的义务的人权的例子,包括民族自决权、免于种族灭绝的权利、免于奴隶制的权利、免于种族歧视的权利。它还认为领事通知权是一项个人权利,而不是一项国家权利,这有利于保护个人权利。     

构建我国税收司法组织机构体系的设想

随着我国税制改革的不断深入,建立一个科学的税收司法组织机构体系成为急需解决的问题。笔者认为,根据我国目前的国情,应设置税务警察和税务检察室,但不应设置税务法院。在经济发达地区可以试点设置税务法庭。同时,对已设置的税务行政复议机构有必要进行重新设置,以适应新的税制要求。     

Territorial government reforms at the time of financial crisis: the dawn of metropolitan cities in Italy

On 1 January 2015 a new institution, the metropolitan city, took its place among the Italian territorial authorities. Despite its incorporation in the Italian Constitution since 2001, the metropolitan city become a reality only when the national government carried out a process of reform and transformation of Italian territorial government by transforming 10 large cities into metropolitan cities and depriving other intermediate governments (regions and provinces) of their fundamental competences. This article critically reviews the activation of metropolitan cities and the reshuffle of Italian territorial authorities. It stresses the way in which this reform marks the shift towards a new phase of Italian regionalism, which is dominated both by a dynamic of recentralizing intergovernmental relations and by the resulting loss for provincial and regional governments.     

Transitional Justice in Peacebuilding: Dynamics of Contestation in the DRC

ABSTRACT

This article examines the place of transitional justice in peacebuilding by exploring how domestic and international actors frame this relationship and how this, in turn, moulds dynamics of contestation around transitional justice. In the transitional justice literature, contestation is usually framed around an international–domestic dichotomy: transitional justice agendas promoted by external actors confront strategies of instrumental adaptation of transitional justice by domestic elites and the adoption of alternative transitional justice approaches by local actors. Based on an analysis of transitional justice policy-making in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), this paper proposes that a more multifaceted reading of contestation to transitional justice is needed. In the DRC, both external and domestic actors variously acted as transitional justice promoters and resisters, and their positioning on transitional justice was strongly conditioned by their broader understandings of the nature of the conflict and transitional justice’s role in peacebuilding. It is therefore suggested that contestation of transitional justice does not necessarily reflect a rejection of international approaches to justice, but instead more broadly expresses a lack of agreement on what transitional justice is and what its goals are. The article thus contributes to a broader interrogation of how discourses about the meaning of transitional justice are constructed in practice.     

De-Europeanisation in Turkey: The Case of the Rule of Law

Abstract

This article investigates the political dynamics shaping the post-2010 ‘de-Europeanisation’ of Turkey’s judicial system, particularly regarding judicial independence and rule of law. The analysis suggests the limits of conventional Europeanisation accounts emphasising causal factors such as European Union (EU) conditionality and the ‘lock-in effects’ of liberal reforms due to the benefits of EU accession. The article argues that the Justice and Development Party’s (AKP’s) bid for political hegemony resulted in the reversal of rule of law reforms. De-Europeanisation is discussed in terms of both legislative changes and the government’s observed discourse shift.     

Norm dynamics and international organisations: South Africa in the African Union and International Criminal Court

Over the past two decades, South Africa has sought to perform several roles on the world stage, such as the economic dynamo of Southern Africa, a diplomatic heavyweight representing the African continent, and a norm leader on the world stage as a so-called ‘middle-power’. Although South Africa's evolution and rise as an important player in global affairs has generated a welcome body of critical scholarly literature, comparatively little analysis has been allocated to understanding how norm dynamics and the country's ever-evolving international identities have enabled it to construct and reconstruct its ‘interests’. Social constructivism is best suited for such an analysis because it can operationalise norms, commitments, identities, and interests, and it provides the epistemological tools to map the increasingly multilateral connections between global, regional, and domestic forums. By employing a rationalist approach to constructivism, this paper remedies the aforementioned gap in the literature by illustrating how South Africa constructs and reconstructs its identities and interests in relation to membership in international organisations (IOs). To that end, the paper examines the evolution of South Africa's participation in the African Union (especially ‘peacekeeping’ contributions) and the International Criminal Court. The paper concludes by assessing the theoretical implications and practical ramifications of the norm dynamics involved in South Africa's commitment to these two IOs.