Like systems and procedures in most areas of modern society, the functioning of courts throughout the world has been enormously affected by information and communication technologies (ICT). It has become crucial for lawyers to keep pace with technical changes in judicial systems, especially in international cases where an understanding of procedural variations from one system to another could spell the difference between success and failure. This text has been written by experts who have been engaged in the planning and implementation of ICT in the courts of their respective countries. To ensure information that is as homogeneous as possible, and to facilitate cross-border comparisons, the authors have followed a common and detailed "blueprint" which includes a brief description of the judicial system under discussion. Specific areas of court technology covered include case management systems, electronic filing, and electronic data interchange. Although the emphasis is on EU Member States, a general overview of ICT applications in some Latin American judiciaries is also provided.

When Governor Mitch Daniels (Indiana) compared testifying before Congress to getting a root canal, he was being polite. Sitting vulnerably at a witness table under hot television lights while members of the House or Senate stare down at you from above is not just intimidating; it can wreck your career, your company, and your credibility if you say the wrong thing.

As a practical guide to assist witnesses and their organizations in preparing and delivering Congressional testimony, this book is designed for use by anyone or any organization called upon to testify before a committee of Congress, and for those who are providing assistance in preparing the testimony and the witness. This book serves as a guide through the unique maze of the Congressional hearings process for virtually any witness or organization, including federal departments and agencies, the federal judiciary, members and staff of the legislative branch itself, associations, corporations, the military service branches, NGOs, private and voluntary organizations (PVOs), public interest entities, state and local governmental officials and institutions, and individuals who are chosen to appear as a witness before Congress for any reason on any topic.

Similarly, in the world of academics and scholarship, this reference work can be helpful to scholars and writers in think-tanks and research organizations, as well as to faculty, researchers and students engaged in the study of law, business, government, politics, political science and the legislative processes of government.

This book can also serve as a reliable reference source and helpful tool for law, lobbying, government relations, accounting, and other public policy-related service industry professionals who are involved with the Congressional hearings process on behalf of their clients', their customers' and their own public policy, legislative and government relations interests.

"Testifying Before Congress" demystifies the Congressional hearings process, and assists witnesses and their organizations to be well-prepared when appearing before a Congressional committee to testify.

The principles in this book may also be used by those preparing for hearings before federal agencies and international tribunals, as well as state and local governmental bodies. However, the major thrust of this work focuses on the distinct Congressional hearing process and its major elements.

More than 20 endorsers--who include one current and one former governor, a city mayor, corporate CEOs and industry leaders, directors of top law and lobbying organizations, the Chairman of Bank of America, several past and present top government officials and agency directors, a bar association president, law school deans and university leaders, and heads of non-governmental organizations (see all endorsements at the book's web site)-- strongly recommend this book for lobbyists, executives, associations, government officials, academics, and virtually anyone who is called to testify before Congress.

""Testifying Before Congress" is the best "how to" resource that I have seen -- it is well-researched, experience-based, and thoughtfully written, with a dash of humor added for good measure."
- Samuel M. Davis, Dean of the School of Law, The University of Mississippi

Full Table of Contents and endorsements at www.TCNTBC.com

When we consider the ideal of the `family' of nations implied by the European Union, it seems unnatural to deal with the question of where Europe's borders lie. Yet the question is urgently raised by grave issues of internal and external security. As the European Union's imminent eastward and southern expansion becomes reality -- side by side with the evolving new emphasis on security spawned by the events of September 11, 2001 -- we must be sure that the Schengen norms remain viable. It is also crucial to take full account of the impact of the enlarged European Union on the non-candidate countries of Eastern Europe. This important book takes the position that trust is the essential ingredient. Fourteen distinguished authors reveal various ways of achieving a level of trust among the members of the enlarged European Union adequate to the need for full freedom, security, and justice. The contexts in which trust must be established include police and judicial cooperation; the fight against terrorism, organized crime, and human trafficking: the latent threats to freedom of movement posed by national responses to increased immigration; and the transparent extension of EU Justice and Home Affairs measures to the candidate countries. The authors include political actors, policymakers, advisers, experts, and researchers from all parts of Europe. Their individual and collective contributions, in each case built solidly on thorough analysis of the relevant issues, bring a wide range of profound and wide-reaching insights to a vital subject. The book is of great significance not only for those charged with law enforcement and security, but also to all academics and policymakers concerned with the future of Europe.

Two centuries ago, the American criminal justice was run primarily by laymen. Jury trials passed moral judgment on crimes, vindicated victims and innocent defendants, and denounced the guilty. But over the last two centuries, lawyers have taken over the process, silencing victims and defendants and, in many cases, substituting a plea-bargaining system for the voice of the jury. The public sees little of how this assembly-line justice works, and victims and defendants have largely lost their day in court. As a result, victims rarely hear defendants express remorse and apologize, and defendants rarely receive forgiveness. This lawyerized machinery has purchased efficient, speedy processing of many cases at the price of sacrificing softer values, such as reforming defendants and healing wounded victims and relationships. In other words, the U.S. legal system has bought quantity at the price of quality, without recognizing either the trade-off or the great gulf separating lawyers' and laymen's incentives, interests, values, and powers.
In The Machinery of Criminal Justice, author Stephanos Bibas surveys these developments over the last two centuries, considers what we have lost in our quest for efficient punishment, and suggests ways to include victims, defendants, and the public once again. These ideas range from requiring convicts to work or serve in the military, to moving power from prosecutors to restorative sentencing juries. Bibas argues that doing so might cost more, but it would better serve criminal procedure's interests in denouncing crime, vindicating victims, reforming wrongdoers, and healing the relationships torn by crime.

Perry illuminates the Supreme Court's unique advantages in sustaining a noble public image by its stewardship of the revered Constitution, its constant embrace of the rule of law, the justices' life tenure, its symbols of impartiality and integrity, and a resolute determination to keep its distance from the media. She argues that the Court has bolstered these advantages to avoid traps that have marred Congressional and presidential images, and she demonstrates how the Court has escaped the worst of media coverage. In this detailed examination of the Court, its justices, decisions, facilities, and programs as well as its place in modern American culture, Perry illustrates that the Court has consciously endeavored to preserve its exalted standing. The Priestly Tribe provides an original and insightful analysis of this intriguing judicial institution for students and scholars of the Court and the general public.

Commentary on the Italian Code of Civil Procedure is a unique and comprehensive guide to understanding the structure and functioning of the Italian Code of Civil Procedure. The book provides a reliable translation to the provisions for the implementation of the 840 articles of the Italian Code of Civil Procedure. An indispensible resource for practitioners in the field, this book provides a description of civil procedure and the translated text of the Italian Code of Civil Procedure, with an explanation of the legal terms, provisions for the implementation of the Code, and valuable commentary. The commentary and translations included in this book were prepared by Italian attorneys with extensive experience working with the Italian Code of Civil Procedure and American Civil Procedure.

En este libro se analizan de manera breve las etapas del Procedimiento Criminal Ingles. De igual forma se hace especial referencia a ciertos topicos del Procedimiento Penal Mexicano. A juicio del autor, el estudio de dichos instrumentos juridicos nos sugiere la urgente necesidad de tomar todo lo bueno del Procedimiento criminal Ingles, para incorporarlos en las legislaciones de estados donde predominan Sistemas Procesal Penal Tradicional Latino, a fin de que en el futuro se conviertan en modelos de justicia Criminal similar al Ingles. El autor de buena fe invita a todos los paises emergentes y en vias de desarrollo con sistemas legales de tradicion Latina, soliciten apoyo Profesional a gobiernos de primer nivel, con especial referencia al Ingles, con el objeto de que las futuras generaciones cuenten con modelos legales mas apropiados en materia de justicia criminal, donde impere siempre la verdad y la justicia sobre todas las cosa. El autor aprovecha la ocasion para desear lo mejor de los exitos a todas aquellas naciones valientes y decididas que muy pronto emprendan la iniciativa de seguir sabiamente los consejos vertidos en la presente obra.

This book presents a study of interpreter-mediated interaction in New York City small claims courts, drawing on audio-recorded arbitration hearings and ethnographic fieldwork. Focusing on the language use of speakers of Haitian Creole, Polish, Russian, or Spanish, the study explores how these litigants make use of their limited proficiency in English, in addition to communicating with the help of professional court interpreters. Drawing on research on courtroom interaction, legal interpreting, and conversational codeswitching, the study explores how the ability of immigrant litigants to participate in these hearings is impacted by institutional language practices and underlying language ideologies, as well as by the approaches of individual arbitrators and interpreters who vary in their willingness to accommodate to litigants and share the burden of communication with them. Litigants are shown to codeswitch between the languages in interactionally meaningful ways that facilitate communication, but such bilingual practices are found to be in conflict with court policies that habitually discourage the use of English and require litigants to act as monolinguals, using only one language throughout the entire proceedings. Moreover, the standard distribution of interpreting modes in the courtroom is shown to disadvantage litigants who rely on the interpreter, as consecutive interpreting causes their narrative testimony to be less coherent and more prone to interruptions, while simultaneous interpreting often leads to incomplete translation of legal arguments or of their opponent's testimony. Consequently, the study raises questions about the relationship between linguistic diversity and inequality, arguing that the legal system inherently privileges speakers of English.

The law relating to recourse is always changing, but the present period is notable for the number of countries whose law has recently undergone, is now undergoing, or is about to undergo extensive reform. This makes the comparison of differing systems particularly difficult. This book is the second volume in the series "Civil Procedure in Europe." It gives a comparative overview of the systems of recourse against civil judgments actually in operation in 14 countries of the European Union. The reports were written against the background of a document originally circulated in July 1995, but each of them remains the original work of its individual author. The contributions are written by national expects distinguished in the field of civil procedural law. The main reports are written in English, French, German and in one case Spanish, and are followed by summaries in the remaining languages. Extensive bibliographies have been included, to enable the reader to find material for further study. The national reports systematically address the following: a description of the right of appeal in each country; the nature and scope of the appeal against first and second instance judgments; enforceability of Judgment subject to recourse; and default judgments. Recourse against judgments covers the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, England and Wales, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.

Should judges in United States courts be permitted to cite foreign laws in their rulings? In this book Jeremy Waldron explores some ideas in jurisprudence and legal theory that could underlie the Supreme Court's occasional recourse to foreign law, especially in constitutional cases. He argues that every society is governed not only by its own laws but partly also by laws common to all mankind (ius gentium). But he takes the unique step of arguing that this common law is not natural law but a grounded consensus among all nations. The idea of such a consensus will become increasingly important in jurisprudence and public affairs as the world becomes more globalized.

The United Nations system's foundational principle of sovereign equality reflects persistent disagreement within its membership as to what constitutes a legitimate and just internal public order. While the boundaries of the system's pluralism have narrowed progressively in the course of the United Nations era, accommodation of diversity in modes of internal political organization remains a durable theme of the international order. This accommodation of diversity underlies the international system's commitment to preserve states' territorial integrity and political independence, often at the expense of other values. For those who impute to the international legal order an inherent purpose to establish a universal justice that transcends the boundaries of territorial communities, the legal prerogatives associated with state sovereignty appear as impediments to the global advance of legality. That view, however, neglects the danger of allowing powerful states to invoke universal principles to rationalize unilateral (and often self-serving) impositions upon weak states. Though frequently counterintuitive, limitations on cross-border exercises of power are supported by substantial moral and political considerations, and are properly overridden only in a limited range of cases. Sovereign Equality and Moral Disagreement accomplishes two tasks. One is to construct a unifying account of the manifestations of the principle of sovereign equality in international legal norms governing a range of subject areas, from foundational matters such as the recognition of states and governments to controversial questions such as legal authority for extraterritorial criminal prosecution and armed intervention. The other is to defend the principle as a morally sound response to persistent and profound disagreement within the international community as to the requirements of legitimate and just internal public order.

High profile miscarriages of justice have become the focus of much recent writing on criminal justice. Such literature ignores an important paradox: when justice is contested and uncertain, how can we speak meaningfully of miscarriage of justice? This book addresses this question, and finds an answer to it in the relationship between the legal construction of criminal justice, most notably that of trials and appeals, and the reporting of these in the media.

The law of restitution has developed apace, taking its doctrinal starting point for the most part from the principle of unjust enrichment. This principle, however, has proved itself to be theoretically unstable, particularly in respect of the proper relationship of restitution with other bodies of law. This book is an account of the law of restitution which provides coherence in its relationships with other areas of private law, reflects a consistent theoretical underpinning, and offers an organisation of the law which is not solely dependent on theory but which also reflects a contextual coherence. One important consequence of this reformulation is that the subject matter which falls properly within the ambit of the law of restitution is considerably less than is currently supposed. Although directed to the substantive law of New Zealand, the book is an important contribution to the developing theoretical organisation of the law and extends far beyond that jurisdiction.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), established in South Africa after the collapse of apartheid, was the bold creation of a people committed to the task of rebuilding of a nation and establishing a society founded upon justice, equality and respect for the rule of law. As part of its historic, cathartic mission, the TRC held a special hearing, calling to account the lawyers -- judges, academics and members of the bar -- who had been crucial participants in the apartheid legal order. This book is an account of those hearings, and an attempt to evaluate, in the light of theories of adjudication, the historical role of the judiciary and bar in the apartheid years.

Written by a well-known commentator on the South African legal system who became, by chance, the first witness to give testimony at these hearings, this book reveals, often in the words of those who testified, how the judges failed in their duty to uphold the rule of law. For the most part, the lawyers of apartheid deserted its victims. The few notable exceptions both illustrate the potential for lawyers to have done more and laid the basis for the respect the rule of law still enjoys in South Africa despite apartheid.

Yet, as the author shows, many continue to commit a more serious 'crime'. Failing to confront the past, and in many cases refusing even to attend TRC hearings, the lawyers who could have helped to resist the worst excesses of apartheid remain accomplices to its evil deeds.

This book offers us the spectacle of an entire legal system on trial. The echoes from this process are captured here in a way which will appeal to all readers -- lawyers and non-lawyers alike -- interested in the relationshipbetween law and justice, as it is exposed during a period of transition to democracy.

In order to be effective, federal ethics law must address sources of systematic corruption rather than simply address motives that individual government employees might have to betray the public trust (such as personal financial holdings or family relationships). Getting the GovernmentAmerica Deserves articulates a general approach to combating systemic corruption as well as some specific proposals for doing so. Federal ethics law is relatively unknown in legal academia and elsewhere outside of Washington, D.C., but it is binding on over one million federal employees. Lobbyists, federal contractors, lawyers and others who interact with the federal government are also deeply interested in federal ethics law and represent a surprisingly large market for a little-studied area of the law.
Getting the Government America Deserves analyzes government ethics law from the perspective of an academic critic and that of a lawyer who was the chief White House ethics lawyer for two and a half years. Richard Painter argues that the existing ethics regime is in need of substantial reform since federal ethics laws fail to curtail conduct that undermines the integrity of government, such as political activity by federal employees and their interaction with lobbyists and interest groups. He also contends that in some other areas, such as personal financial conflicts of interest, there is too much complexity in regulatory and reporting requirements, and rules need to be simplified. Painter's solution includes strengthening the enforcement of ethics rules, reforming the lobbying industry, and changing a system of campaign finance that impedes meaningful government ethics reform.

Reprint of a title from the Judicial Administration Series published by the National Conference of Judicial Councils. Originally published: New York: Published by the Law Center of New York University for the National Conference of Judicial Councils, 1952. xvi, 534 pp. Written near the end of Millar's career, the present study is a brilliant summary of his life's work. It discusses antecedents of the Anglo-American system, the evolution of procedure and American and English civil procedure in the nineteenth century. Other chapters discuss the development of specific areas, such as introduction of the cause, mode of trial and voluntary dismissal.
"In a society which so often confuses quantity with quality - or at least tends to regard quantity as a necessary ingredient of quality - it is not surprising that American legal texts labeled "great" have generally been multi-volumed ones. While the number of volumes certainly does not detract from the worth of a Williston on Contracts or a Wigmore on Evidence, their sheer size has made them more easily recognizable, in our society, as classics. On the other hand, the single volume American law books receiving the label of greatness would make a sparse list indeed. To this elite list must now be added Professor Millar's Civil Procedure of the Trial Court in Historical Perspective." --Philip P. Kurland, Harvard Law Review 66 (1952-1953) 1542
Robert Wyness Millar 1876-1959], a professor at Northwestern University Law School, was a leading authority on civil procedure and its history. Miller 1937 Millar was the author of The Old Regime and the New in Civil Procedure (1937) and, with co-author Arthur Engelmann, A History of Continental Civil Procedure (1927).

Across Europe, restorative justice has gained acceptance as a way of resolving disputes and mitigating the harm of crime in the community. Practitioners have also begun to coordinate restorative meetings in prisons in an effort to reduce the harms of victimisation and to encourage desistance from crime. This book provides a comprehensive evaluation of Building Bridges, a programme of restorative meetings between victims and prisoners in seven European countries. The authors first describe how participation affected victims and offenders. Then, through case studies in three countries, they frame the social-ecological contexts of the programmes, discussing the organisational and socio-political factors that influenced how these programmes were delivered and what is necessary for them to be sustained. Funded by the European Commission, this evaluation is essential reading for practitioners and policy-makers interested in restorative justice and prisons. It offers important insights into the potential of restorative approaches for victims and offenders and reveals the organisational and cultural obstacles to be overcome before restorative justice is a regular feature of prisons in Europe.

An analysis of the divergent legal systems in England, France, Germany and Rome showing the relationship of the courts to the community, the legal structure and political organizations. The work examines the evolution of medieval French and German courts from the Roman canonist system. This study also explores the role of the local courts in England and examines in detail the workings and influence of a typical manor court, Redgrave, in Suffolk, England, (which was owned by Sir Nicholas Bacon, the father of Sir Francis Bacon) for the period up to 1711. Extensive notes, indexed. Scholars interested in the roots of the modern political structures in Europe will find this work of supreme benefit.

Thoroughly revised and updated, this edition of the classic casebook on police ethics explores the moral complexities of situations faced by law enforcement officers every day across the United States. This updated edition of Power and Restraint maintains its place as a leading set of standards for evaluating police behavior. It extends our understanding of the basis of police accountability by grounding it in principles of the social contract and constitutional democracy. It applies the standards of fair access, public trust, public safety first, role discipline, and neutral professionalism to a variety of modern policing situations that help identify best practices and increase understanding of the challenges of policing in 21st-century America. Power and Restraint first locates itself in the context of other significant studies by scholars from various disciplines on moral issues in police work. Next, it establishes a foundation for moral evaluation of police work grounded in social contract theory as expressed in the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence. Third, the authors generate five standards derived from the social contract for judging the actions of police. In the second half of the book, the reader is asked to apply these standards to a variety of typical but morally ambiguous policing situations. Clarifies the basis for judgments of police behavior Features case studies of actual law enforcement situations with complex ethical considerations Improves police officers' ability to think about their actions by examining the principles of ethical policing and applying those principles to concrete cases Explains both the need for and limitations on police authority, including the use of force

The reform of the European Constitution continues to dominate news headlines and has provoked a massive debate, unprecedented in the history of EU law. Against this backdrop Monica Claes' book offers a "bottom up" view of how the Constitution might work, taking the viewpoint of the national courts as her starting point, and at the same time returning to fundamental principles in order to interrogate the myths of Community law. Adopting a broad, comparative approach, she analyses the basic doctrines of Community law from both national constitutional perspectives as well as the more usual European perspective. It is only by combining the perspectives of the EU and national constitutions, she argues, that a complete picture can be obtained, and a solid theoretical base (constitutional pluralism) developed. Her comparative analysis encompasses the law in France, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, Italy and the United Kingdom and in the course of her inquiry discusses a wide variety of prominent problems. The book is structured around three main themes, coinciding with three periods in the development of the judicial dialogue between the ECJ and the national courts. The first focuses on the ordinary non-constitutional national courts and how they have successfully adapted to the mandates developed by the ECJ in Simmenthal and Francovich. The second examines the constitutional and other review courts and discusses the gradual transformation of the ECJ into a constitutional court, and its relationship to the national constitutional courts. The contrast is marked; these courts are not specifically empowered by the case law of the ECJ and have reacted quite differently to the message from Luxembourg, leaving them apparently on collision course with the ECJ in the areas of judicial Kompetenz Kompetenz and fundamental rights. The third theme reprises the first two and places them in the context of the current debate on the Constitution for Europe and the Convention, taking the perspective of the national courts as the starting point for a wide-ranging examination of EU's constitutional fundamentals. In so doing it argues that the new Constitution must accommodate the national perspective if it is to prove effective.