Finger in the Dyke or the Floodgates Stemmed? Sections 29–40 of the Employment Act 2002

This article considers Sections 29–40 of the Employment Act 2002 in the context of post-War developments in labour relations culminating in the National Industrial Relations Court. It considers the development of Employment Tribunal which rather than being the last resort intended by the legislators, has become the first resort of complainants, often for trivial matters by employees; or by employers taking an extremely broad view of Gross Misconduct by employees. Due to the volume of cases and the shortage of Chairs, cases are constantly delayed and postponed. The article posits that these are the principle reason behind the framing of Sections 29–40 of the Employment Act 2002 which introduced a new Section 9(1)(a) into the Employment Tribunals Act 1995. This has given the Chair of an Employment Tribunal the authority to strike out a weak case at a Pre-Hearing Review that will strike the case out once and for all at this juncture. The aim is to encourage employers to have proper procedures and for employees to follow them. This article suggests that in fact the reforms will have the opposite effect; that they have introduced another layer of legal complexity which will further increase the number of cases brought before the Employment Tribunal.     

我国仲裁证据调查制度检视

证据资料的调查收集是证据制度乃至整个仲裁机制运行的基础。证据来源有两种，一种是依据“谁主张，谁举证”原则，由当事人提供；另一种是仲裁庭“认为必要时，可以自行调查事实，收集证据”。当事人取证为主，仲裁庭查证为辅的取证模式需要具体的程序保障，合理界定二者证据调查的范围和权限对证据制度的进一步完善与发展是十分有利的。     

确认仲裁协议有效性的机构及其程序

本文对于确认仲裁协议有效的机构及其程序问题 ,结合国际、国内立法与司法实践进行了重点分析 ,并且针对我国仲裁机构和法律在确认仲裁协议有效性的程序方面发现长处 ,找出不足 ,提出建议性的意见。     

我国违宪审查机构的模式选择

虽然我国目前建立违宪审查制度的条件还不成熟,但学者仍可探讨“将来”需要时,该机构的设置模式。根据我国国情,这一机构放在最高法院内较为合适,或设一个宪法庭,进行专门审查;或不设宪法庭,由各审判庭做附带性审查,但需辅之以宪法咨询;或就违宪审查案件组成特别陪审庭,陪审员可在学术性的宪法委员会成员以及社团代表或普通民众中产生。     

欧洲法院预审裁决制度初探

预审裁决制度是<欧洲共同体条约>当中最引人注目,最重要的规定之一.在特定的案件中,成员国法院在作出判决之前,必须将某些欧共体法律问题交给欧洲法院作出预审裁决.它的最主要的目的是保证欧洲法院对欧共体法律拥有做出最明确解释的司法权,以保证欧共体法律解释的统一,同时消除成员国法院之间对欧共体法律在理解上的分歧.     

论法律意义上的仲裁地点及其确定

结合国际商事仲裁立法与实践 ,阐述了法律意义上的仲裁地点的含义 ,仲裁地点、开庭地点与仲裁庭合议地点之间的联系与区别 ,以及仲裁地点的确定方法。结合我国有关确定仲裁地点的立法与实践 ,提出了准确地确定仲裁地点对于不断地完善我国现行国际仲裁和国内仲裁立法 ,具有重要的理论与实践的意义。     

Citizen's psychological knowledge,legal knowledge,and attitudes toward participation in the new Japanese legal system,saiban-in seido

A new procedure, saiban-in seido, was introduced in the Japanese criminal court in 2009.1 1. This article was written before the Saiban-in seido started. A mixed tribunal of three professional judges and six lay people selected from a list of voters deliberate the verdict in serious criminal cases such as murder, rape, and arson. This study researched lay people's attitudes toward the new system, their psychological knowledge (e.g. the reliability of eyewitness testimony) and legal knowledge (e.g. ‘presumed innocent’), and the relationship between attitude and knowledge. Study 1 examined the responses of 294 citizens to a questionnaire; 90 responses were examined in Study 2 (both samples consisted of two age groups, i.e. (1) 20s and (2) 40s and 50s, and two education levels, i.e. (1) college or below and (2) university or more. In both studies, respondents showed concerns about their lack of ability and knowledge to become a lay judge. Although legal knowledge was related to attitude – i.e. the more legal knowledge, the less negativity – no relationship was found between psychological knowledge and attitude. Relevant support for citizens to become lay judges was discussed.     

中国入世后法庭科学的机遇和挑战

随着中国的入世 ,人们的法律意识将得到加强 ,诉讼问题也日益变得突出 ,其中证据问题将显得越来越重要 ,而作为取证手段的法庭科学技术 ,在世贸组织这个涵盖世界上多个国家和地区的体系里 ,不同领域的法庭科学理论、规则 ,不同的法庭科学观念和意识 ,不同的法庭科学的价值观和思维方式将相互促进、融合 ,研究法庭科学问题将对我国当前法庭科学的发展有促进作用。     

在现有仲裁机构内设立医疗纠纷仲裁庭的可行性研究

仲裁方式解决医疗纠纷已经被国内外实践表明是一种行之有效的方式，鉴于我国医疗纠纷缺少及时、便捷、公正的解决途径，医患矛盾深化已经影响到社会的稳定和谐，建议修改现行仲裁法，并根据国情，在现有仲裁机构内设立医疗纠纷仲裁庭。该设想具有可行性，既克服了另设单独医事纠纷仲裁机构所需机构、场所、人员、资金等困难，又避免了新设医疗纠纷仲裁机构的公信力不足问题。而且现有仲裁机构的运作比较规范成熟，方方面面的关系均已理顺，在仲裁员的聘选、仲裁庭的组成、纠纷的解决等都积累了相当的经验。