Creating Stable Agreements in Marine Policy: Learning from the California South Coast Marine Life Protection Act Initiative

In this article, we examine the California South Coast Marine Life Protection Act Initiative stakeholder process, evaluate its shortcomings, and consider what could have been done differently. Our objective is to make recommendations to improve future multi‐stakeholder marine policy processes. In our view, while the South Coast stakeholder process had many positive outcomes, it failed to reach what we call here a “stable agreement.” Our analysis is based on two of the authors’ involvement (one as a facilitator and the other as a stakeholder representative) in the process and a post‐hoc survey of participants. We find that several ill‐advised process design and management choices significantly destabilized the negotiations, leading to an ultimately unstable agreement. We highlight four major problematic process design and management decisions, including the following: representation on the multi‐stakeholder group was imbalanced, the pre‐meeting caucuses were not paired with training in interest‐based negotiation, adequate incentives to negotiate toward a consensus agreement were not provided, and the use of straw voting at one point in the process was unclear and inconsistent. As a result of these and other process design and management flaws, many stakeholders believed that the process was biased and that their ends would be better achieved by anchoring negotiations and engaging in positional bargaining. Ultimately, this meant that near‐consensus on a single cross‐interest marine protected area proposal was not reached, the scientific guidelines put forth were not fully met, the process was not and is not viewed as fair by the stakeholders directly or indirectly involved, and the marine protected area regulations lack broad‐scale support. These pitfalls of the South Coast stakeholder process could have been avoided had the management and facilitation team consistently followed best practices in dispute resolution. We recommend that future marine planning processes learn from this example, particularly those occurring in highly complex, urban ocean environments.     

The Italian Post War Fiscal Constitution: Reasons of a Failure

If the Italian Constitution shall be changed, to transform Italy in a semi-Presidential Republic-as in the project of constitutional revision recently approved by the Parliamentary Committee for Constitutional Reforms-the President of the Republic, elected by the people, shall become the natural guardian of the fiscal constitution, under direct control of the public opinion (17). He should, then, be staffed with an office, to check the conformity of laws to the fiscal constitutional rules and claims might be addressed by a qualified number of Parliamentarians, in addition to the Court of Accounts, to him. The chain connecting the President of the Republic to the Parliament, in this new constitutional model, will be broken. And hardly the President could stand still, in case of open violation of the rules of the fiscal constitution by the Government on the Parliament, because of the risk of loss of reputation. If he were to overlook negative checks by the Court of Accounts, his behaviour would greatly damage his credibility among the electors. Thus, it seems that the difference in the model of State, whether is a parliamentary system or a system where the President of the Republic is elected by the people, has much to do with the workability of a fiscal constitution aiming to monetary and fiscal soundness.     

析商事通则与民法一般规则的关系——商事通则立法的可行性悖议

目前制订商事通则的呼声颇高,但从商法与民法的关系、我国的立法传统和立法技术等方面看,制订商事通则的可行性、必要性值得检讨;否定商事通则的立法主张绝不意味着商法不重要,其重要性与独立性无必然联系.坚持民商合一,商事规范以单行法的形式存在是我国商事立法的最佳模式选择.     

The effect of corrosive substances on fingermark recovery: A pilot study

Corrosive substance attacks have become a growing issue within the UK. Although most commonly occurring in gang-related offences, there are high profile instances where this type of attack has been used to attack women to disfigure and destroy livelihoods. Despite the increase in such attacks, there has been very little published research into the recovery of forensic evidence from items used in these crimes. The effect of corrosive substances on the recovery of different types of forensic evidence is unknown, and there is no guidance for laboratories processing exhibits contaminated with corrosive substances regarding optimum treatments. This pilot study focused on establishing the effectiveness of a range of fingermark visualisation processes in recovering fingermarks on surfaces exposed to concentrated sulfuric acid (acid) and potassium hydroxide (alkali). Results indicate that on non-porous surfaces vacuum metal deposition and powder suspensions remain effective, and on porous surfaces fingermarks could still be visualised with physical developer. Alkalis were found to be more detrimental than acid environments in this limited study. The results demonstrate that fingermark recovery is still feasible on surfaces exposed to corrosive substances and provides encouragement that treatment protocols could be developed for this type of exhibit.     

Minor or adult? Introducing decision analysis in forensic age estimation

Nowadays, forensic age estimation takes an important role in worldwide forensic and medico-legal institutes that are solicited by judicial or administrative authorities for providing an expert report on the age of individuals. The authorities’ ultimate issue of interest is often the probability that the person is younger or older than a given age threshold, which is usually the age of majority. Such information is fundamental for deciding whether a person being judged falls under the legal category of an adult. This is a decision that may have important consequences for the individual, depending on the legal framework in which the decision is made. The aim of this paper is to introduce a normative approach for assisting the authority in the decision-making process given knowledge from available findings reported by means of probabilities. The normative approach proposed here has been acknowledged in the forensic framework, and represents a promising structure for reasoning that can support the decision-making process in forensic age estimation. The paper introduces the fundamental elements of decision theory applied to the specific case of age estimation, and provides some examples to illustrate its practical application.     

Digital evidence and the crime scene

Many criminal investigations maintain an element of digital evidence, where it is the role of the first responder in many cases to both identify its presence at any crime scene, and assess its worth. Whilst in some instances the existence and role of a digital device at-scene may be obvious, in others, the first responder will be required to evaluate whether any ‘digital opportunities’ exist which could support their inquiry, and if so, where these are. This work discusses the potential presence of digital evidence at crime scenes, approaches to identifying it and the contexts in which it may exist, focusing on the investigative opportunities that devices may offer. The concept of digital devices acting as ‘digital witnesses’ is proposed, followed by an examination of potential ‘digital crime scene’ scenarios and strategies for processing them.     

论视听资料的证据作用

视听资料证据具有直观性、连续性、稳定性、信息量大、精确度高等特点,能够形象生动地反映案件事实,重现案件过程,已依法成为侦查破案的直接证据。作为一种独特的证明手段,视听资料具有其他证据无可替代的优越性,在国内外法庭诉讼活动中得到愈来愈广泛的应用。     

新律师法实施后律师刑事取证权的保障问题

律师在侦查阶段享有调查取证权在法律上已不是问题,但是律师们基于潜在的职业风险在实践中却不敢使用,这值得我们认真反思;律师的调查取证权具有民间调查的性质,不具有强制性,有关单位和个人并无向律师提供证据和作证的义务,因此律师调查取证仍需经过被调查人的配合或同意,否则难以实施;律师的申请取证权如要得到落实,必须赋予律师取证申请以法律效力,明确法院拥有强制取证的权力,给予律师必要的权利救济等;为了强化辩方的取证能力,化解律师职业风险,应当允许律师聘请私人侦探代为刑事调查取证。     

A Challenge for Police-Community Relations: Rethinking Stop and Search in England and Wales

This article presents research carried out as part of a government research programme looking at how police tactic of 'stop and search' in England and Wales. For many years, figures which have shown a higher rate of stop and search of minority ethnic groups, particularly black people, have provoked much controversy, and have been seen by many as a manifestation of police racism. This article reviews the way in which stop and search impacts on public confidence, with particular reference to those from minority ethnic groups. It goes on to explore its role within policing, including an examination of its effectiveness against crime and the evidence for racism in police practice. Following from this, it considers how stop and search can be used in a way that minimises negative impacts on the community and maximises its effectiveness against crime.     

对证据法中物证的理解

由于事物普遍联系的规律的作用,犯罪行为、民事纠纷和违反行政法规的活动,在其实施和发展过程中,必然会对周围的事物产生一定的影响,留下某些痕迹。即使有人毁灭,伪造证据,其毁灭伪造证据行为又会留下新的痕迹。那些受到犯罪行为,民事纠纷或者行政纠纷发生过程中的影响而在形状、位置等方面发生变化的物品,就储存了有关案件实际情况的信息,从而可以成为证据。在大多数案件中都是可以收集到物证的,因而它是司法工作中经常使用的证据种类之一。