实践理性与疑难案件的法律适用——基于“实践法律观”的一种补充

当前在疑难案件中,法律的正确适用是司法的核心问题及公众关注的焦点。但由于＂法律观＂的差别,使得疑难案件的法律适用存在诸多问题。从学术史及方法论角度看,学者们处理疑难案件有各种方法,但最终都依赖对＂法＂的正确认识及案件事实与法律规范之间的关系的澄清。只有在个案事实与规范的融贯中,在实践理性理论框架内,通过类推等方法,发现、鉴别法律规范才能使疑难案件得以恰当处理。     

知识产权案件专家协助制度研究

知识产权案件专家协助已成为诉讼实践一种制度,因其实践和立法存在一些问题,需要对我国的现状进行反思以及对域外知识产权案件专家协助制度与实践的考察、评价.构建我国知识产权案件专家协助制度,即解决知识产权纠纷的专家咨询协助制度、专家出庭协助制度和专家陪审协助制度,旨在为公正、科学地处理知识产权案件提供一些建议.     

新型受贿罪的司法认定:以刑事指导案例(潘玉梅、陈宁受贿案)为视角

在最高人民法院发布的指导性案例中,刑事指导性案例具有重要的地位。刑事指导性案例对犯罪认定与刑罚裁量等有关法律问题,采取提炼指导性案例中的裁判要点的方式,确立了有关司法规则。本文以潘玉梅、陈宁受贿案为对象进行规范分析,重点研究裁判要点,认为这一裁判基本上是最高人民法院颁布的司法解释意见的重复,案例指导制度的设立初衷并没有实现。尽管如此,我们还是可以通过本案,发现一些在阅读条文化的司法解释时不能得到的收获,尤其是具体的案情对于我们理解司法解释提供了一个全新的视角。     

Informing regional taphonomy research using retrospective forensic anthropology cases in the Western Cape,South Africa

The post-mortem interval (PMI) is important in death investigations as it can assist in reconstructing the context of the case and the identification of the unknown individual. However, in some instances the PMI is challenging to estimate due to the absence of regional taphonomy standards. To conduct accurate and locally relevant forensic taphonomy research, investigators require insight into the regional hotspot recovery areas. Thus, forensic cases examined by the Forensic Anthropology Cape Town (FACT) in the Western Cape (WC) province of South Africa between 2006 and 2018 (n = 172 cases; n = 174 individuals) were retrospectively reviewed. In our study, a considerable number of individuals did not have the PMI estimations (31 %; 54/174) and the ability to estimate a PMI was significantly associated with skeletal completeness, unburnt remains, absence of clothing and the absence of entomological evidence (p < 0.05 for each). Significantly fewer cases had the PMI estimated after FACT was formalised in 2014 (p < 0.0001). One third of cases with PMI estimations were made with large open-ended ranges, making them less informative. Factors significantly associated with these broad PMI ranges were fragmented remains, absence of clothing and absence of entomological evidence (p < 0.05 for each). Most decedents (51 %; 87/174) were discovered in police precincts from high crime areas, yet a considerable number (47 %; 81/174) were also found in low crime and sparsely populated areas regularly used for recreational activities. Common sites of body discovery were vegetated areas (23 %; 40/174), followed by the roadside (15 %; 29/174), aquatic environments (11 %; 20/174) and farms (11 %; 19/174). Decedents were discovered exposed (35 %; 62/174), covered with items such as bedding or shrubs (14 %; 25/174) or buried (10 %; 17/174). Our data highlight gaps in forensic taphonomy studies and clearly informs what regional research is needed. Overall, our study demonstrates how forensic case information can inform regional forensic taphonomy studies to locate common areas and contexts for the discovery of decomposed bodies and encourages similar studies in other areas of the world.