Privacy,stigma and public protection: A socio-legal analysis of criminality information practices in the UK

Criminality information practices involve public authorities in the UK (and elsewhere) gathering, retaining and sharing information that connects with an identifiable individual; all with the ostensible aim of upholding and improving standards of public protection. This piece first charts the landscape of contemporary criminality information practices in the UK today. The article then examines recent legal emphases and policy directions for public protection networks. Consideration is then given in the piece to privacy rights and values and the difficulties in providing an exact typology and grounding for these. The piece then outlines a suggested framework for correct legal regulation, as well as a through commentary on the work done by Catherine Bellamy et al. to empirically determine the extent to which public protection information sharing can in fact occur in correct adherence to legal regulation. A socio-legal analysis is undertaken of the nature of public protection networks as variants on Goffman's performance teams within a dramaturgical routine that foregrounds stigmatisation of perceived ‘risky’ individuals as an aspect of that routine. This piece also explores the processes of institutional isomorphism as a reaction to shifting policy directions and legal doctrines, acting as a driving force towards a hierarchical performance of criminality information practices by public protection networks. Three conclusions are offered up for consideration: firstly, that the growing complexity of the law and regulation relating to criminality information practices might improve privacy values in the criminal justice system and help to add precision to necessary processes of stigmatisation in relation to the aim of public protection. Secondly, that these shifts in the law still need ongoing revisions, in order that a hierarchical approach to criminality information practices can be arrived at over time. Thirdly, that if the permanency of potential stigmatisation through the indefinite retention of criminality information cannot change, due to the competing pressure on the criminal justice system from public protection duties, then consultation with ‘risky’ individuals where practicable, before criminality information connected to them is shared across public protection networks becomes essential as a privacy-enhancing value and practice.     

农村集体土地流转中农民土地权益保护研究

农村集体土地流转是我国农村土地制度的一个创新,是提高土地绩效和农民土地收益的必由之路．但在农地流转实践中农民土地权益保护乏力的现象也很突出。如何加强农地流转中农民权益保护,保障农地流转改革的顺利推进成为摆在我们面前的一个严峻的理论和实践课题。．     

网络交易中经营者与消费者的权益平衡

经营者与消费者作为网络交易的双方主体,在市场经济体制下对其权益全面加以保护具有异乎寻常的重要性。然而,现行理论总是立足于消费者一方的权益保护,而忽视经营者一方的权益保护。为平衡网络交易中消费者与经营者的权益,挖掘现行网络交易中的双方权益平衡的缺陷,本文参考外国相关法律法规,从网络交易运行模式和法律视角探寻网络交易中经营者与消费者的权益平衡方式,以完善网络交易市场,促进市场经济秩序的完善。     

加强文化产业领域的知识产权保护

知识产权保护是推动文化产业发展的重要保障。目前,我国文化产业领域知识产权保护现状不容乐观,著作权保护进程缓慢,商标保护和品牌意识落后,地理标志保护严重滞后,专利权保护的瓶颈有待突破,商业秘密保护意识缺乏,民族传统文化保护遭遇海外挑战。因此,我国文化产业领域知识产权法律保护必须加强版权立法与执法,重视商标保护,实施品牌战略,创新地理标志保护,强化申请资格审查,全方位保护商业秘密,不断加强传统文化的源头保护,唯此,才能不断推进社会主义文化强国建设。     

Electoral Choice

ABSTRACT

The study examines the electoral psychology of voters, focusing on voters' locus of control, perceived risk, voter decision involvement and electoral control and positive affect as determinants of political satisfaction and voting stability in elections. The results indicated that locus of control influences voters' perceived risk and feelings of electoral control in elections. Further, locus of control and perceived risk influence voter decision involvement, which in turn influences perceived electoral control. Also, voter decision involvement and positive affect influence satisfaction. These, in turn, influence the propensity to vote for the same candidate or party over time (stability of voting behavior).     

村落文化景观保护利用的原则及制度思考

当前村落文化景观的保护与利用是一个热点问题。文章在分析贵州村落文化景观保护与利用的现状及存在问题的基础上,提出了贵州村落文化景观保护与利用应该遵循可持续发展、整体保护、以人为本等原则,并从法律层面设计了贵州村落文化景观保护与利用的一些制度。     

农民工合法权益立法保护探讨

农民工是我国城市化高速发展形成的特殊群体,现已拥有2.5亿成员,他们对国家、社会贡献巨大,但尚未得到独立、平等、充分、有效的法律保护。实现农民工合法权益的立法保护,符合人权保障、法的正义价值、完善社会主义法律体系、现有法律和实践创新有机整合的要求,制定符合中国特色的《农民工权益保障法》已势在必行。     

Foreign minister's budget vote address

This article examines the evolution of the responsibility to protect (R2P) norm through the institutional frameworks of the African Union and the United Nations. The investigation aligns itself with recent constructivist thinking around norm evolution and contestation which holds that diverging interpretations around norms facilitate not only norm contestation, but ultimately norm acceptance. In this case different ‘meanings-in-use’ of R2P within and across both organisations reinforce the contested nature of R2P. This becomes most apparent in the prevailing confusion around the affiliated concept of the protection of civilians, which is not effectively delineated from R2P. Nevertheless R2P is found to be widely acknowledged within both organisations.     

Durable peace and sustainable development in Africa

Zimbabwean migration into South Africa represents a challenge to standard global models for responding to large-scale migration flows. South Africa's existing legal and institutional infrastructure for migration management and refugee protection is not adequate for responding to this challenge and yet the country has not planned or implemented alternative responses. The paper outlines the complex ‘mixed’ nature of current Zimbabwean migration to South Africa and describes how South Africa's range of legal and institutional responses are ineffective in protecting both South Africa's national interests and the rights of Zimbabwean migrants. After presenting a series of factors against which future responses should be evaluated, it lists various possible forms of response, including legal and humanitarian interventions, and discusses their respective appropriateness in the South African context. Finally, the paper suggests six possible policy scenarios, taking into account institutional and political realities on the ground in South Africa.