By Linda Ross Meyer

Exactly how is it we think the ends of justice are accomplished by sentencing someone to a term in prison? How do we relate a quantitative measure of time—months and years—to the objectives of deterring crime, punishing wrongdoers, and accomplishing justice for those touched by a criminal act? Linda Ross Meyer investigates these questions, examining the disconnect between our two basic modes of thinking about time—chronologically (seconds, minutes, hours), or phenomenologically (observing, taking note of, or being aware of the passing of time). In Sentencing in Time, Meyer asks whether—in overlooking the irreconcilability of these two modes of thinking about time—we are failing to accomplish the ends we believe the criminal justice system is designed to serve. Drawing on work in philosophy, legal theory, jurisprudence, and the history of penology, Meyer explores how, rather than condemning prisoners to an experience of time bereft of meaning, we might instead make the experience of incarceration constructively meaningful—and thus better aligned with social objectives of deterring crime, reforming offenders, and restoring justice.

Amherst, MA: Amherst College Press, 2017. 118p.

By Cornelia Woll

Large companies are increasingly on trial. Over the last decade, many of the world’s biggest firms have been embroiled in legal disputes over corruption charges, financial fraud, environmental damage, taxation issues or sanction violations, ending in convictions or settlements of record-breaking fines, well above the billion-dollar mark. For critics of globalization, this turn towards corporate accountability is a welcome sea-change showing that multinational companies are no longer above the law. For legal experts, the trend is noteworthy because of the extraterritorial dimensions of law enforcement, as companies are increasingly held accountable for activities independent of their nationality or the place of the activities. Indeed, the global trend required understanding the evolution of corporate criminal law enforcement in the United States in particular, where authorities have skillfully expanded its effective jurisdiction beyond its territory. This paper traces the evolution of corporate prosecutions in the United States. Analyzing federal prosecution data, it then shows that foreign firms are more likely to pay a fine, which is on average 6,6 times larger.

Frankfurt a. M: Goethe University, Center for Advanced Studies on the Foundations of Law and Finance (LawFin), 2022. 38p.

By Paul Rexton Kan . Bruce E. Bechtol, Jr. and Robert M. Collins

North Koreas criminal conduct-smuggling, trafficking, and counterfeiting - is well known, but the organization directing it is understudied or overlooked. Policymakers, military leaders, and scholars may feel that they have a reasonable grasp on how and why North Korea is actively involved in criminal enterprises. However, unlike the other remaining communist states orphaned after the Cold War, or ordinary corrupt autocratic regimes, or criminally linked warlords and insurgent groups, North Korea practices a form of criminal sovereignty that is unique in the contemporary international security arena. North Korea uses state sovereignty to protect itself from external interference in its domestic affairs while dedicating a portion of its government to carrying out illicit international activities in defiance of international law and the domestic laws of numerous other nations. The proceeds of these activities are then used in a number of ways to sustain North Koreas existence and to enable other policies. For example, criminal proceeds are distributed to members of the North Korean elite including senior officers of the armed forces are used to support Kim Jong-ils personal life style and are invested in its military apparatus

Carlisle, PA: U.S. Army War College Press, 2010. 44p.

By Human Rights Clinic at the University of Texas School of Law.

The Human Rights Clinic at the University of Texas School of Law, in cooperation with the Centro Diocesano para los Derechos Humanos Fray Juan de Larios from Coahuila, Mexico, has compiled a report based on analyzed witness testimonies from three U.S. federal trials. Between 2013 and 2016, Zeta members were put on trial in Austin, San Antonio, and Del Rio for crimes of homicide, conspiracy to import drugs and weapons, and money laundering. These trials brought new information to light and corroborated information that has already been documented about Zeta operations and human rights abuses. First-hand testimonies of ex-Zeta cartel members and victims provide a more comprehensive understanding of the dire situation in Coahuila and offer a glimpse into the Zeta structure, members, and nexus with state officials and institutions. After reviewing the witness testimonies, the Clinic has determined two major findings: (1) the Zeta cartel committed numerous human rights abuses in Coahuila with impunity; (2) public institutions and officials played a role, by actions or omissions, in the commission of these abuses. Testimonies describe the nature and degree of Zeta influence over state and municipal officials and institutions. The Zetas paid bribes and integrated police officers into their hierarchy to ensure the cartel would be able to continue their illicit operations without resistance. However, the Zetas did not only influence low level state or municipal police; witnesses described a level of Zeta control which extended to city police chiefs, state and federal prosecutors, state prisons, sectors of the federal police and the Mexican army, and state politicians. Multiple witnesses described bribery payments of millions of dollars to Humberto Moreira and Ruben Moreira, the former and current governors of Coahuila, in exchange for complete control of the state. According to the testimonies, the Zetas’ influence over Coahuila government operations at all levels allowed them to conduct their business throughout the state with impunity and often with direct assistance from state officials and police officers. The report also documents the human rights abuses discussed in the witness testimonies, including the large-scale disappearances and killings in March and April of 2011, during what is known as the Piedras Negras and Allende Massacres. These crimes were perpetrated in response to information that three former Zeta operatives had begun to cooperate with U.S. authorities. In retaliation, the Zetas kidnapped, killed, and disappeared over 300 people who they believed to be associated with the former Zeta operatives

Austin, TX: University of Texas, Human Rights Clinic, 2017. 56p

By Alexander Brown.

A Philosophical Examination. Hate speech law can be found throughout the world. But it is also the subject of numerous principled arguments, both for and against. These principles invoke a host of morally relevant features (e.g., liberty, health, autonomy, security, non-subordination, the absence of oppression, human dignity, the discovery of truth, the acquisition of knowledge, self-realization, human excellence, civic dignity, cultural diversity and choice, recognition of cultural identity, intercultural dialogue, participation in democratic self-government, being subject only to legitimate rule) and practical considerations (e.g., efficacy, the least restrictive alternative, chilling effects). The book develops and then critically examines these various principled arguments. It also attempts to de-homogenize hate speech law into different clusters of laws/regulations/codes that constrain uses of hate speech, so as to facilitate a more nuanced examination of the principled arguments.

New York; London: Routledge, 2015. 379p.

By David Lammy

Across England and Wales, people from minority ethnic backgrounds are breaking through barriers. More students from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds are achieving in school and going to university.1 There is a growing BAME middle class.2 Powerful, high-profile institutions, like the House of Commons, are slowly becoming more diverse.3 Yet our justice system bucks the trend. Those who are charged, tried and punished are still disproportionately likely to come from minority communities. Despite making up just 14% of the population, BAME men and women make up 25% of prisoners,4 while over 40% of young people in custody are from BAME backgrounds. If our prison population reflected the make-up of England and Wales, we would have over 9,000 fewer people in prison5 – the equivalent of 12 average-sized prisons.6 There is greater disproportionality in the number of Black people in prisons here than in the United States.7 These disproportionate numbers represent wasted lives, a source of anger and mistrust and a significant cost to the taxpayer. The economic cost of BAME overrepresentation in our courts, prisons and Probation Service is estimated to be £309 million a year.8 This report is the product of an independent review, commissioned by two Prime Ministers.9 The review was established to ‘make recommendations for improvement with the ultimate aim of reducing the proportion of BAME offenders in the criminal justice system’.10 It reflects a growing sense of urgency, across party-political lines, to find solutions to this inequity

London: Ministry of Justice, 2017. 108p.

Michael Naughton.

This thesis explores the ways in which miscarriages of England and Wales' criminal justice system (CJS) are currently defined, quantified, constructed and deployed. Presented in two parts, the first identifies and argues against the pervasive but problematical tendency to conceive miscarriages of justice as exceptional occurrences, that are small in number, and that result from post-appeal procedures once existing appeal opportunities have been exhausted. In fact, the evidence is that a successful appeal against criminal conviction forms a routine and mundane procedure of criminal justice in England and Wales. This indicates a need both to re-orientate definitions and understandings of miscarriages of justice and to re-calculate the likely scale of the phenomenon, an attempt at which is then offered. The second part of the thesis involves a broader plane of analysis, examining a range of discourses which articulate challenges to, or reforms of, the CJS, with respect to miscarriages. In so doing, a critique is developed to show that counter-discourses against miscarriages of justice are hindered by their problematic definition and the consequential calculation of miscarriages as a small-scale statistical phenomenon. They also labour under a misconception of the relations of power in the sphere of criminal justice. This severely diminishes the potential force of critical counter-discourse in the existing terrain. As a possible way out of this malaise, a Foucauldian-inspired understanding of the inter-relations of power, knowledge and `governmentality' is brought into dialogue with the emerging zemiological perspective, which seeks a more holistic appraisal of the harmful consequences of social and political decisions in the interests of social justice. The critical and reconstructive moves that I recommend enable miscarriages of justice to be thought about in new ways and to help assess what is to count as effective counter-discourse. The thesis, then, represents a determined effort to re-orientate our understanding of miscarriages of justice by moving away from `exceptional ism'. This encourages new ways of defining and quantifying miscarriages of justice and new ways of developing theoretical resources. The ultimate point of the thesis is to contribute towards the production of more effective counter discourses that might achieve lasting practical change in this area of social regulation.

Brighton, UK: University of Bristol, 2003. 313p.

By Crijns, J.H. ; B.J.G. Leeuw, and H.T. Wermink.

The goal of this report is to provide an overview of the use of pre-trial detention in practice in the Netherlands. In recent years there has been a lot of discussion and criticism of the (extensive) use of pre-trial detention in Dutch criminal procedures. In this report we will assess whether this criticism is justified, and if so, what steps need to be taken to alleviate the concerns that exist regarding pre-trial detention. The overarching conclusion of our research is that Dutch legislation on pre-trial detention meets the relevant standards of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). This leads us to the conclusion that legislative changes are not strictly necessary. However, our research shows that the way in which the legal rules on pre-trial detention are applied in practice is rightly criticised by defence lawyers, academics and even judges themselves.

The Hague: Eleven International Publishing Co., 64p.

By Jamie K. Taylor.  

Throughout the Middle Ages, witnessing was a crucial way religious and legal “truths” were understood and produced. Religious and secular officials alike harnessed the power of testimony to assert doctrinal, political, or legal responsibilities. Swearing an oath, testifying in court, and signing a deposition were common ways to shape and discipline both devotional and legal communities. In Fictions of Evidence: Witnessing, Literature, and Community in the Late Middle Ages, Jamie K. Taylor traces depictions of witnessing in a wide range of late medieval texts and shows how witnessing practices formed and reformed, policed and challenged medieval communities. Through close study of texts like the Man of Law’s Tale and Piers Plowman alongside sermon exempla, common law statutes, and pastoral treatises, Fictions of Evidence argues that devotional and legal witnessing practices offered medieval writers a distinct vocabulary they could use to expose how the ethical and legal obligations to one’s community were constructed. And since vernacular writers often challenged the ways ecclesiastical or secular authorities asserted community bonds, they found they could use those same witnessing practices and language to imagine extra-legal or extra-ecclesiastical communities that followed different ethical codes.

Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press, 2013. 232p

By Julia Gebhard.

Recourse to Human Rights in Substantive International Criminal Law. What are chances and challenges of referring to human rights law in defining crimes under international law? Under what circumstances is a reference to human rights law dogmatically appropriate and practically likely? The answers to these questions are explored through a look at the theoretical framework, practical application in jurisprudence as well as empirically through interviews with judges. By highlighting the common roots and the differences between both areas of law, the existing inconsistencies in the application of the law, as well as approaches which could contribute to their solution, the book presents a crucial contribution to the debate on legal certainty and innovation in international criminal law.

Baden-Baden, Germany Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, 2018. 296p.

By Adriaan Bedner.

At present, virtually everyone working in the field of development agrees that reform of mal-functioning court systems is central in promoting good governance and rule of law. Unfortunately, however, the record of court reform attempts is not very heartening. Those who intend to reform must take into account a complex set of courts' relations with other state agencies, dispute resolvers, and actors in the state legal system, but they also depend heavily on the quality of legislation and legal education. In reaction to this complexity, three types of strategies have been common for court reform programmes: the 'holistic', the 'tactical', and the 'strategic' approach. This Research and Policy Note discusses strategic court reform and its underlying ideas. Its main intention is to alert those involved in judicial reform to some of the pitfalls and choices connected to particular types of interventions. The concluding remarks will comment on the political nature of judicial reform and on a model to design a proper sequence of interventions for judicial reform.

Leiden: Leiden University Press, 1008. 33p

By Michael Geist.

Years of surveillance-related leaks from US whistleblower Edward Snowden have fuelled an international debate over privacy, spying, and Internet surveillance. Much of the focus has centered on the role of the US National Security Agency, yet there is an important Canadian side to the story. The Communications Security Establishment, the Canadian counterpart to the NSA, has played an active role in surveillance activities both at home and abroad, raising a host of challenging legal and policy questions. With contributions by leading experts in the field, Law, Privacy and Surveillance in Canada in the Post-Snowden Era is the right book at the right time: From the effectiveness of accountability and oversight programs to the legal issues raised by metadata collection to the privacy challenges surrounding new technologies, this book explores current issues torn from the headlines with a uniquely Canadian perspective.

Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 2015. 298p.

Edited by Élodie Sellier and Anne Weyembergh.

This book examines to what extent differences between national and procedural criminal laws hinder the negotiations and the operation of cross-border cooperation instruments. It is based on a comparative analysis of a representative sample of Member States.

Brussels: Editions de l'Université de Bruxelles, 2020. 463p.

Edited by Francesca Galli and Anne Weyemberg.

This book dedicated to the substantive criminal law in the EU put the Libson Treaty under scrutiny. It evaluates the changes introduced by this new Treaty and their impact, before reflecting on future prospects.

Bruxelles: Editions de l'Université de Bruxelles, 2013. 250p.

Edited by Anne Weyembergh and Veronica Santamaria.

The example of the Framework Decision on combating trafficking in human beings. The role of evaluation has become increasingly important in the context of EU policies in the field of judicial cooperation in criminal matters. This evolution is the result of an increasing number of legally binding instruments adopted in the framework of the third pillar of the European Union and of their growing impact on national legal systems. “Trafficking in human beings in the Republic of Lithuania still remains rather a relevant problem – according to the data of the Police Department of Lithuania, 96 persons have suffered from trafficking in human beings in 2006 and the common depersonalised database on the victims of trafficking in human beings, where information is submitted by all NGOs working with persons of this category, had 101 persons recorded in 2006.” (French and English).

Bruxelles: Editions de l'Université de Bruxelles, 2009. 406p.

Edited by Kai Ambos, and Ottilia A. Maunganidze.

Challenges and Opportunities for International Criminal Justice in Sub-Saharan Africa. This book contains some of the papers that were presented at the first meeting of the newly formed African Expert Study Group on International Criminal Law / Groupe des Experts Africaines en Droit Pénal International held in September 2011 in Brussels, Belgium. The group was established under the auspices of the Multinational Development Policy Dialogue (hereinafter ‘MDPD’) and the Rule of Law programme of the German Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (‘KAS’) in 2010 modeled on the successful sister group in Latin America. This latter group was originally founded as an expert group to monitor the implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (‘ICC’) in Latin America within the framework of cooperation between KAS’ regional Rule of Law Programme and the Department for Foreign and International Law of the Institute for Criminal Law and Criminal Justice of the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen in 2002. The newly formed African group consists of judicial experts with both academic and practical background from various parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. The importance of such a group for the African continent cannot be overestimated. Africa plays a vital role in international criminal law and justice, both as an active player at the ICC and at the regional and national level. As for the group’s composition and outreach, the aim is to broaden regional representation and further consolidate membership. In 2012, the group will meet in Nairobi, Kenya to deal with topics surrounding the ‘Potential for the domestic prosecution of international crimes in Africa.’ Topics for future meetings abound given the multi-faceted African legal and political practice regarding international criminal justice in general and the ICC in particular. The group should in particular monitor the recent international or transnational criminal justice developments at the regional African level as well as relevant national developments.

Göttingen Studies in Criminal Law and Justice Volume 24. 2012. 209p.

Edited by Sabine Gless and Thomas Richter.

A Comparative Perspective on Evidentiary Rules. This open access publication discusses exclusionary rules in different criminal justice systems. It is based on the findings of a research project in comparative law with a focus on the question of whether or not a fair trial can be secured through evidence exclusion. Part I explains the legal framework in which exclusionary rules function in six legal systems: Germany, Switzerland, People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, Singapore, and the United States. Part II is dedicated to selected issues identified as crucial for the assessment of exclusionary rules. These chapters highlight the delicate balance of interests required in the exclusion of potentially relevant information from a criminal trial and discusses possible approaches to alleviate the legal hurdles involved.

Cham: Springer, 2019. 387p.

By Hugo Munsterberg.

A pioneering treatise of applied psychology that examines the mind of the witness on the witness stand, noting that the field was (at that time) “absurdly neglected.” Topics ranged from the memory of the witness, detection of crime, untrue confessions, hypnotism and prevention of crime.

Harrow and Heston Classic Reprint. (1908) 269 pages.

By Forbes Winslow.

“This treatise was one of the first attempts to outline criteria through which to determine the legitimacy of an insanity plea. This issue would be resolved later that year with the establishment of the McNaghten Rules, which this work undoubtedly influenced, and which are still applied in England today.”

London : H. Renshaw, 1843. 78p.

By Joanna Carraway Vitiello.

Reggio Emilia in the Visconti Age. “Medieval public justice was characterized by its inherent tensions: tensions between a system designed for crime control and a society accustomed to self-help, and tensions between an ideal of public justice and a culture of private retribution. Criminal jurisdiction served as a primary marker of political authority, and the late medieval criminal court became a nexus of power at many levels—signorial, communal, and judicial. It was also a place where the lives of people from all walks of life came into direct contact with the results of the high medieval legal revolution, which yielded inquisition procedure. In the late middle ages, the dynamic created by these fundamental tensions would transform the history of criminal justice.”

Brill (2016) 232p.