试论鉴定意见的可诉性———兼论鉴定意见争议的解决

司法鉴定意见是司法鉴定人对诉讼涉及的专门性问题的个人认识和判断,不仅受到仪器设备、鉴定方法以及实验室条件等客观因素的制约,也会受到司法鉴定人的知识水平、业务能力和实践经验等主观因素的影响。因而,对于同一专门性问题可能会出现不同的鉴定意见,其可靠性和科学性也无可避免会受到当事人的质疑。通过对司法鉴定的属性、可诉性的审判实践、法理上的分析以及我国现行法律对一些法律行为的可诉性规定等方面进行探讨,以寻找司法鉴定意见是否可诉的答案以及司法鉴定意见争议的解决机制。     

医责险承保方能否成为仲裁第三人

采用仲裁模式处理矛盾突出又没有太多经济效益的医患纠纷初期,必须要有当地政府的参与并在财力上对仲裁机构予以支持,但长久如此既不利于仲裁模式处理医患纠纷的推广,也不利于仲裁的公正性及仲裁员回避制度的有效落实。如何不依靠政府的财政支持,通过裁决纠纷本身获得合理的报酬维持运行是亟待破解的难题。从制度设计层面看,医患纠纷仲裁模式若能与正在推行的医疗损害责任保险制度进行有效的整合,可能是解决仲裁长期运转费用的一个重要途径。但这种审理与理赔模式的整合,实际上涉及到医患纠纷仲裁是否存在第三人、承保方能否成为仲裁第三人的问题。本文以深圳市医患纠纷仲裁为切入点,对上述问题进行探讨。     

从Gubisch案看欧共体法院对国际诉讼竞合的认定

国际诉讼竞合的认定是解决国际民商事管辖权冲突的先决条件。通过对欧共体法院一则判例的分析,指出,欧共体法院对国际诉讼竞合的认定趋向于持宽松的态度,而且,这种宽松的认定方法已被目前的国际立法和司法判例所吸收和支持。     

投资银行诚信法律责任简析--以华尔街十大投资银行被罚为线索

投资银行对客户、投资者乃至整个社会承担一种特殊的诚信义务,这种义务集中表现在传统承销、经纪业务和证券研究咨询业务之间的利益冲突方面。违反这种诚信义务,投资银行要承担契约、侵权和诚信法律责任,受民事、行政和刑事法律制裁;加强对投资银行诚信义务和责任的监管是目前以美国为代表的发达国家证券、银行立法及司法的动向,对我国颇具借鉴意义。     

Petitioning in the Scottish church courts, 1638–1707

ABSTRACT

This article explores the use of petitions in, and by, the courts of the Church of Scotland. It distinguishes between routine petitions and addresses concerning matters of national significance. The former were submitted to the church courts by individuals or groups, and requested that the courts take decisions or perform particular actions. These petitions reveal much about the exercise of discipline, poor relief and ecclesiastical administration, and provide rich evidence of the engagement of ordinary people with the church courts. The second type of petition was usually addressed to parliament or another secular body by one of the higher church courts. In studying petitions on national affairs, we can identify how the formulae of humble supplication were adapted for the purpose of protest, and thus comment on the tensions between the ecclesiastical and civil authorities of early modern Scotland.     

The settlement utopia: brotherly love,discipline, and social critique

The Settlement movement, which originated in late nineteenth-century England, was a pioneer in bettering the conditions of the working poor. It pursued the utopian project of locating ‘settlements’ within poverty-ridden neighbourhoods where respectable students should meet slum dwellers on equal terms. This article explores the trajectory of the comparatively under-researched Danish offspring of the movement. It demonstrates the tempering and compromise that occurred when utopian ideals of ‘brotherly love’, ‘God’s Kingdom’, and ‘radical social change’ were realized in concrete social arrangements. Contradictions and ambiguities arose when utopian ideas were confronted with what could be done. The Settlement became a highly ambiguous space, a ‘heterotopia’. The roots of the contradictions cannot simply be identified in the external pressure of legal requirements and funding criteria represented by public welfare agencies. The contradictions can also be excavated from the Settlement’s own ideological doctrines and its historical development.     

Communication in family court: financial remedy proceedings from the perspective of litigants in person

The article presents a rationale for communicative, conceptual, cognitive and procedural challenges experienced by litigants in person in financial remedy proceedings. The article also explores oscillation between written and spoken legal genres and narrative development strategies which litigants in person have to use throughout different stages (from the early stages of starting proceedings, filling in court forms and providing documentation, through the negotiation process to interaction in court). While legal professionals express themselves in paradigmatic legal mode influenced by legal acts and legislation, litigants in person tend to express themselves in narrative mode similar to everyday storytelling. The objective is to investigate obstacles litigants in person experience during the process originally designed by legal professionals for legal professionals. The article evaluates different options for empowering lay people involved in legal proceedings and argues for the need to provide more specific support for different stages of family proceedings.     

Improving court-appearance rates through court-date reminder phone calls

Without a defendant’s appearance in court, the adjudication of criminal charges cannot proceed. The low defendant court appearance rates of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana were identified as a high priority to address. A pilot project was implemented, in which, Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office (LPSO) Information Officers would call defendants approximately 5–9 days before their pretrial court appearance. This process began in September 2014. LPSO staff attempted to call all non-incarcerated or diverted defendants with known contact information. LPSO staff documented when calls were made and the type of response (spoke to defendant, left a voicemail, no answer, inoperable phone or spoke to friend or family member). Calls were made to defendants with court appearances in arraignment hearings, misdemeanor pretrial and trial, felony pretrial and traffic court. Court appearance rates for all court hearings increased from 48 to 62%.     

国际投资法中的“国家安全”问题探究——以“Ralls诉美国外国投资委员会案”为视角

国际投资协定通过条约义务设定,促使投资东道国保护其境内的外国投资。"国家安全例外"条款则以保护东道国利益为宗旨,并为国际投资协定和国际投资争端解决实践认可。"国家安全例外"在平衡国际投资者与投资东道国利益中扮演重要角色,但该条款会为以保护东道国国家利益为名行投资歧视之实的行为提供"条约保护伞",对国际投资造成不合理限制。在国际投资协定由"重投资保护轻东道国保护"向"投资者与东道国兼顾"的转型中,我国拟在《外国投资法》中设置国家安全审查机制的做法正逢其时,并与"投资者—东道国纠纷解决机制"退出国际投资条约的呼声相呼应,将为投资东道国利益提供条约上的保护。但在国际投资协定尚未完成转型的时期,通过国家安全审查国际投资时应兼顾考察所涉及的投资协定,以免国家承担可能发生的条约不履行的国际责任。