Jean Valjean Bank in Korea: an innovative approach to poor defendants sentenced to pay fines

ABSTRACT

This study aims to introduce Jean Valjean Bank in South Korea which is an innovative approach supporting poor defendants who cannot pay fines and accordingly are imprisoned. In Korea, it is reported that we have more than 40,000 Jean Valjeans annually. As a civil movement against the unfair criminal justice system, a non-governmental organisation Human Rights Solidarity (Inkwon Yondae in Korean) opened Jean Valjean Bank in 2015. Jean Valjean Bank targets poor defendants who are not able to pay fines and who are confined to prison because of non-payment of fines. As of December 2017, the Bank has loaned KRW1,024 million to 545 persons with an average loan per participant of KRW1,879,700. The Bank reported that, among the receivers, 84 persons completed redemption and 277 persons are redeeming loans to the Bank. This study concludes with implications for reforms in criminal justice system in Korea.     

无砂混凝土在铁路工程中的应用研究

无砂混凝土作为一种新型的功能型建筑材料，宏观大孔对其力学性能影响显著，与传统混凝土相比无砂混凝土在强度增长、复合纤维增强及经历荷载后的破坏形式等方面体现出更多的不确定性，其配合比设计、结构特点及力学特性更接近水泥稳定碎石基层及沥青混凝土。通过现场大量试拌，当水灰比0.30、浆体体积占总体积的30%左右时28 d抗压强度可满足C20等级的设计要求。     

《环境保护法》按日计罚制度适用问题研究——基于立法与执法视角

通过梳理中国环境保护按日计罚的立法演进与入法论争,勾勒出环境保护按日计罚的制度缘起。考察中国台湾关于按日计罚制度研究的相关成果,寻得比较法之镜鉴,即在法理层面上,按日计罚的性质无法简单归属为执行罚兼行政罚;并可通过立法技术化解行政罚性质的按日计罚与一事不再罚原则之间的冲突;但就立法初衷而言,按日计罚制度的性质应认定为执行罚。将按日计罚的法律性质界定为执行罚或行政罚,并从适用范围的扩展路径、罚款数额标准的精细化、“受到罚款处罚”“拒不改正”“计罚期间”的理解与适用等五个方面明确按日计罚制度的法律适用。     

Can Environmental Insurance Succeed Where Other Strategies Fail? The Case of Underground Storage Tanks

Private risk reduction will be socially efficient only when firms are liable for all the damage that they cause. We find that environmental insurance can achieve social efficiency even when two traditional policy instruments—ex post fines and risk management mandates with ex ante fines—do not. Inefficiency occurs with ex post fines, when small firms declare bankruptcy and escape their liabilities, limiting the incentives from this policy tool. Firms ignore mandates to implement efficient risk management because regulatory agencies do not have sufficient resources to monitor every firm. The evolution of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's and states’ underground storage tank programs suggests that mandating environmental insurance can address inefficiency due to small firms declaring bankruptcy. Comparing insurance mandates to risk management mandates, the burden on a regulator is lower if all it has to do is to confirm that the firm has insurance rather than that the firm has actually, and effectively, implemented required management practices. For underground storage tanks, we show that insurance lowered toxic releases.     

The impact of the Victorian infringements system on disadvantaged groups: findings from a qualitative study

This article focuses on the infringements system currently operating in the state of Victoria, Australia and, in particular, its impact on disadvantaged groups, such as people suffering homelessness, drug and alcohol dependency, mental illness, acquired brain injury, poverty, and domestic violence. The concerns of lawyers working in community legal centres striving to address the needs of people in these disadvantaged groups prompted this qualitative study, which involved in‐depth interviews with key stakeholders in the infringements system. Participants included those who issue and enforce fines, those who represent vulnerable fine recipients, and the fine recipients themselves. The research sought participants' understanding of the system, its aims, and its outcomes. This article presents an overview of the research findings in relation to the complex Victorian infringements system process, net‐widening, proportionality, and the 'special circumstances' process. Our findings suggest that the Victorian infringements system is expedient and efficient when people can promptly pay their fines. However, multiple issues need to be addressed if the system is to be just and fair to people suffering various types of disadvantage. A number of systemic changes and educational initiatives are recommended, along with law reform that addresses the unreasonable and unacceptable impacts on disadvantaged groups in Victoria.     

“按日计罚”实施中的政府责任研究

自新环保法实施后,全国各地相继根据“按日计罚”规定开出巨额罚单,但是违法排污现象仍屡禁不止。在“按日计罚”实施过程中,政府存在政治责任、法律责任、社会责任缺失以及行政责任追究缺位等问题。这些缺失（缺位）源于府际与部际协同不足、对政府的有效监督匮乏、行政执法裁量权滥用、行政责任追究制度不完善等。因此,政府必须协同推进“按日计罚” 实施的配套措施、完善其监督机制,将其效果与政绩挂钩,完善行政问责机制等,以促进“按日计罚”的有效实施,助推美丽中国的建设进程。     

论西方刑法中罚金刑的优与劣

罚金刑是一种古老的刑罚,在人类历史上很早就出现了,但直到二次世界大战之后,才在世界各国得到了广泛应用。通过对罚金刑的优势和弊端进行探讨,尽管它有着不尽如人意的弊端,但总体趋势仍是将不断地扩大适用范围。     

论西方刑法中罚金刑的优与劣

罚金刑是一种古老的刑罚,在人类历史上很早就出现了,但直到二次世界大战之后,才在世界各国得到了广泛应用。通过对罚金刑的优势和弊端进行探讨,尽管它有着不尽如人意的弊端,但总体趋势仍是将不断地扩大适用范围。     

Soft Repression and the Current Wave of Social Mobilisations in Spain

The current political and economic crisis has fuelled a new cycle of collective action in Spain. The response of the Spanish authorities to this wave of mobilisations has been to strengthen public order. But on some occasions, the excessive use of police force has given rise to problems of image for the Spanish government. To avoid public criticism, the Ministry of the Interior has tried to camouflage police repression by combining the use of truncheons with other, more subtle, coercive measures. The silent nature of such repressive tactics means that their existence is rarely discussed in the specialised literature, which tends to focus on the violent acts committed by the State. However, this type of ‘soft repression’ plays an important pre-penal role within the official strategies to contain the new and challenging social conflict in Spain.     

Legal financial obligations in the United States: A review of recent research

In the United States, legal financial obligations (LFOs) include many types of monetary sanctions. For example, fines are tied to specific offenses and imposed at conviction and fees charge people for the “use” of courts, prisons, and other public services. With the rise of mass incarceration, millions of people across the U.S. owe billions of dollars in LFOs. Yet despite the widespread use of monetary sanctions, it was not until the last decade that research began to uncover the vast system of LFOs embedded throughout U.S. laws and understand their far-reaching socioeconomic consequences. This paper reviews recent research on LFOs across three areas: (1) the political development of LFOs, (2) their implementation and enforcement, and (3) the consequences of LFOs on people, broader social networks, and the functioning of public institutions. We conclude with recommendations for future research that explores the hidden processes connecting these three areas and accounts for the fractured nature of the U.S. government.