Reviews

Books reviewed:
Christine Gray, International Law and the Use of Force
Phoebe Okowa, State Responsibility for Transboundary Air Pollution in International Law
Brian Leiter, Objectivity in Law and Morals
Robert Wintemute and Mads Andenas (eds.), Legal Recognition of Same–Sex Partnerships: A Study of National, European and International Law
Gillian Douglas, An Introduction to Family Law
Sandra Fredman, Discrimination and Human Rights: The Case of Racism
John Monahan et al, Rethinking Risk Assessment: The MacArthur Study of Mental Disorder and Violence
Jenny Fleming and Ian Holland (eds.), Motivating Ministers to Morality     

鉴定人的责任负担

鉴定人是司法鉴定活动的决定性因素。鼓励专家参与法庭服务与约束专家独立、客观实施鉴定这一对矛盾需要通过制度的合理设置达到一定的平衡状态,以适合诉讼活动的开展。鉴定人的责任负担是体现对鉴定人实施鉴定活动进行约束的主要手段,也是我国进一步深化司法鉴定体制改革不可回避的重要内容之一。     

新型行政问责文化的构建

当前,行政问责在制度上得以不断完善,但在文化建设上却相对滞后,影响到行政问责的进一步推进。因此,建设新型行政问责文化成为一项迫切的任务。新型行政问责文化应以民主法治、共同参与和官员道德自律为目标选择,用正确的理念、完善的制度和深入的教育引导、塑造、培养新型行政问责文化。     

公安行政问责制的完善

随着我国"问责风暴"向"制度问责"的转变,如何更好地完善公安行政问责制就成为一个紧迫而现实的课题。目前制约公安行政问责制功能发挥的因素主要包括:公安行政文化滞后、职权划分模糊、问责主体角色缺位、警务公开度有限和警察绩效评估机制不完善等。针对上述制约因素,营造公安行政问责文化、严格划分权责界限、强调异体问责、加强警务公开以及完善绩效评估机制就构成了完善公安行政问责制的基本思路。     

Political accountability,fiscal conditions and local government performance—cross‐sectional evidence from Indonesia

Why are some local governments more successful than others in managing resources and delivering services? And even more vitally, how can malfunctioning governments be reformed so that they perform their responsibilities more effectively? This article contributes to our understanding of theses overarching questions by exploring the interactions between political institutions and public sector performance in the context of decentralisation and local governance. It shows–both theoretically and empirically–that performance outcomes are determined by the extent to which people can hold their governments accountable through political institutions. The basic hypothesis underlying this research is that political accountability, either by encouraging sanctions upon non‐compliant public agents or simply by reducing the informational gap regarding government activities, will create forceful incentives for elected officials and civil servants to reduce opportunistic behaviour and improve performance. Using a cross‐sectional regression the hypothesis is empirically tested against evidence from newly empowered local governments in Indonesia. The empirical findings broadly support our hypotheses. Improved public services on the ground, both in terms of quantity and quality, require informed and well functioning decision‐making processes that allocate resources to priority areas that meet the demand of the broader community. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fact Checking is About What we Change not Just Who we Reach

This article explores how the UK’s fact-checking organisation Full Fact has sought to tackle misinformation since its inception in 2010. Full Fact describes itself as a ‘second generation’ fact-checking organisation with dual aims of seeking to stop the spread of specific pieces of inaccurate information and using the evidence base from fact checking to secure systemic changes that help make misinformation rarer and less harmful. Ultimately, we are pursuing culture change. We are trying to create institutions in societies that can help anchor public debate to reality and to challenge the casual acceptance of deceptive and misleading behaviour.     

论我国刑事错案责任追究制度的完善 ——以侦查机关为视角

我国刑事错案追究制度自实行以来,其运用的合理性以及有效性一直饱受争议。从侦查机关的视角考察,错案追责情况主要存在纠正程序不具体、追责程序透明度不高等相关问题。结合我国实际情况考虑,从内部制度与外部监督入手考虑设立独立的错案追究机关来进行解决是可行的,同时可从细化错案责任追究的相关程序、明晰实体责任性质的认定标准、建立健全办案质量终身责任追究制度和建立追责程序相关信息发布机制等方面来完善刑事错案追究制度。     

Signaling virtue: voluntary accountability programs among nonprofit organizations

This article examines the structure of nonprofit voluntary accountability and standard-setting programs, arguing that these programs can be understood as collective action institutions designed to address information asymmetries between nonprofits and their stakeholders. Club theory and the economics of certification suggest that such programs have the potential to provide a signal of quality by setting high standards and fees and rigorously verifying compliance. Such mechanisms can signal quality because higher participation costs may allow only high-quality organizations to join. The article examines the implications of signaling theory using an original dataset on the structure of 32 nonprofit accountability programs across the globe. While many programs set high standards for compliance, the key distinction between strong and weak programs is the use of disclosure or verification mechanisms to enforce compliance. Contrary to theoretical expectations, compliance standards and verification do not appear to be substitutes in creating stronger voluntary programs.

Political Accountability in Hong Kong: Myth or Reality?

This article assesses the practice of political accountability in Hong Kong: whether it has largely been realised in practice, or whether it is merely a political slogan for the government to justify its executive-led governance. The analysis begins with a review of the theoretical concepts of political accountability and ministerial accountability, and then establishes an operational framework to analyse the current practice of political accountability in Hong Kong's political system. It concludes by addressing the degree of political accountability overall.