Alternative Dispute Resolution in Child Protection Matters: The Victorian Experience

Abstract

Pre-hearing conferences were introduced in 1992 into the Family Division of the Children's Court, Victoria. Pre-hearing conferences take place when there is a dispute between the Child Protection Service and the child's family about the need for statutory intervention in their family's life. The conference is held prior to any formal hearing so that the family, their legal representatives and the welfare authority can see whether they can negotiate an agreement about a child protection order. The present paper sets out the findings of a study of 208 pre-hearing conferences held in the Melbourne Children's Court from February to July 2002. The study found that the quality of legal advice provided to parents significantly affected the outcome of pre-hearing conferences. Legal representatives varied in their willingness to step aside from the adversarial approach and give priority to discussion about child welfare concerns. It was apparent that professionals coming to the pre-hearings, both legal and welfare, had different expectations of these forums. It is imperative that if pre-hearings are to succeed, then their role and place in the child protection legal process is clearly explicated and professionals receive training in alternative dispute resolution.     

论代位权行使过程中必要费用的承担

目前我国关于代位权行使过程中必要费用承担的规定有其合理性,但也存在很多的不足。对于代位权行使过程中必要费用的承担要区分债权人胜诉和败诉两种情况,否则对于债务人来说显失公平。债权人胜诉时的必要费用由债务人承担,但债权人败诉时的必要费用则可能由债权人自己来承担。关于必要费用的范围,在今后的立法改革中应当明确把诉讼费剔除出去,以消除现在存在的争议。当债权人胜诉时,次债务人承担诉讼费后,其可以不当得利为由对债务人行使偿还请求权,这就形成了另外一种法律关系,与目前诉讼费由次债务人承担的规定也并不矛盾。明确必要费用的范围,区分债权人胜诉和败诉两种情况是今后立法改革的重中之重。     

少阳院与唐中后期太子权力之迁移

唐中后期,太子不居住在东宫,而随皇帝居住在大明宫里的少阳院。大明宫前后建置了东西两处少阳院,由于两少阳院分剐与翰林院、左右神策军等权力机构相近,两处少阳院位置的差异,不仅可以折射出大明宫内政治格局的状况,而且影响到太子权力于宪穆之际发生的重要转折。少阳院位置的迁移,使太子远离内朝,以至于内朝翰林受控于宦官,宦官掌握草诏等权力之后,废立随意而为,间接造成了太子权力的下降。     

美国联邦最高法院的权力平衡功能分析——以美国尼克松案为例

美国是典型的实行三权分立制度的国家,总统与国会相互独立且相互制衡。具有国家权力平衡功能的联邦最高法院居于其中,对二者关系进行调节。凡是越过自身权力界限侵犯另一方的权力,就要被联邦最高法院制止,从而保证国家机关依法定的权力界限行事。美国诉尼克松案就是阐释联邦最高法院的权力平衡功能的最佳案例。     

试论最高人民法院司法解释的衡平价值

最高法的司法解释作为一种规则渊源,能克服立法推动主义导致的立法粗疏及其在司法上的不敷衍用;应从体制上明确最高人民法院的规则制定权限,赋予其适度的空隙立法的职能,从而有效发挥司法解释在处理具体案件中的衡平价值。     

最高人民法院与条约司法适用机制的完善

国际条约的司法适用是实现条约法律效力的要求,但现有宪法、法律和司法解释对条约在我国法律体系中的地位及其效力位阶的规定尚不明确。法院的司法活动可以在法律规定模糊、存在漏洞时,在不违背立法原意的情况下起到明确法律内涵和填补法律漏洞的作用。因此,为了保障我国切实履行条约义务,最高人民法院应在法律规定的范围内率先采取完善国际条约司法适用的措施,包括出台司法解释、公布相关指导案例、建立逐级汇报制度、在内部设立专门机构等,从而为将来时机成熟之时在宪法和法律中规定这些内容做好准备。     

领导力、法律和地方管理：理解所有政治制度的基础

中世纪的财务法院、英国普通法、英国议会和美国的联邦民主制是英国和美国政治史上四种重要的政治制度。财务法院实现了国家统治者对地方治理者承诺长期回报以激励其良好治理行为的统治意图;英国的普通法和议会通过良好的制度设计成功地保证了在政治生活中不同利益主体享有实现他们目的的平等机会,保护其私有财产与投资;美国联邦民主制的成功揭示了,民主若要成功,仅有选举是不够的,它还需要一些可供选择的具有良好民主声誉的候选人,需要建立从地方到联邦的各层次的民选机构,通过各层面民主的激励,来推动民主的发展。中国历史上也有一些在历史缘由和功能上类似的重要政治制度,如科举制、奏章制度等。所有成功制度发展的背后都有一些普通准则,地方政府和中央政府之间的关系对大国的成功具有关键作用。     

评联邦体制下的欧共体缔约权

对外缔约权如何在欧共体和其成员国之间得到合理分配,构成了欧共体联邦体制中的重大问题。欧共体缔约权的基础及其范围界定的原则是由欧洲法院在一系列判例中逐步发展起来的。欧共体的缔约权原则和规则的发展正在或将反映出欧共体联邦体制中蕴涵的“一体化”和“非一体化”两种并存的价值。     

Jury size and jury verdicts

The analysis of jury size and jury verdicts in criminal m a t t e r s now has along , though interrupted , history . Work In this subject in the 18th and 19th centuries by Condorcet arid Laplace is discussed and the Poisson model of the 1830's is highighted . The latter is modified t o analyze the America1 jury experience of the 20th century. Recent U. S. Supreme Court decis on sin the 1970's on jury size and jury decisiol - making have created a resurgence of interest especially on a comparison of six member and twelve member juries . Some comparisons of size in terms of probabilities of errors invericts are presented.     

One confession,multiple chronotopes: The interdiscursive authentication of an apology in an international criminal trial

This paper presents an interdiscursive analysis of a public apology made before the International Criminal Court (ICC) by a Malian Islamist accused of the destruction of cultural heritage in Timbuktu. It analyzes (a) how the defendant's apology metapragmatically inserts itself into a multiplicity of chronotopes and (b) how the two defense counsels subsequently reformulate that apology as part of a ‘confessional chronotope’, thereby decoupling it from its immediate trial surroundings. The entextualization of this confessional chronotope, and the modifications of the trial's participation framework it proposes, reveal how ICC trial actors navigate the multiple tensions facing this emergent form of globalized criminal justice.