Psychometric Challenges in the Measurement of Constructs Underlying Criminal Responsibility in Children and Young Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study

At present, many countries have lowered the minimum age of criminal responsibility to deal with the trend of juvenile crime. In practical terms, whether countries advocate for lowering the age of criminal responsibility along with early puberty, or regulating the minimum age of juvenile criminal responsibility through their policies, their deep-rooted hypothesis is that age is tied to adolescents’ psychological growth, and, with the rise in age, the capacity for dialectical thinking, self-control, and empathy gradually improves. With this study, we aimed to test whether this hypothesis is valid. The participants were 3,208 students from junior high school, senior high school, and freshman in the S province of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). We subjected the gathered materials to independent-samples t-tests, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), linear regression analysis, and Bonferroni post hoc test. The influence of the age variable upon dialectical thinking, self-control, and empathy was significant (p = 0.002, p = 0.000, p = 0.072), but only empathy was positively correlated with age variable (B = 0.032); dialectical thinking ability (B = −0.057), and self-control ability (B = −0.212) were negatively correlated with the age variable. Bonferroni post hoc test confirmed these findings. Therefore, we concluded the following: (1) Juvenile criminal responsibility, based on the capacity for dialectical thinking, self-control, and empathy, is not positively correlated with age. (2) Age is not the only basis on which to judge a juvenile’s criminal responsibility. (3) More research that directly links age differences in brain structure and function to age differences in legally relevant capacities and capabilities(e.g., dialectical thinking, self-control, and empathy) is needed. (4) Political countries should appropriately raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility and adopt the doli incapax principle in the judicial process.

The criminal liability of the medical team considering the recent orientation of the Italian Court of Cassation

This article aims to analyze the thematic of medical team liability considering the recent Italian Supreme Court case-law, highlighting the various problems linked to the identification of the responsibility of each member of the team. The participation of several subjects in the execution of medical treatment makes the question of criminal liability very complex, especially when it comes to inauspicious events, such as injuries or death, occurring during medical treatment. The question concerns the exact identification of the duty of care and vigilance of the medical team and whether this duty is in line with the principle of individual criminal responsibility guaranteed by Article 27 of the Italian Constitution. In this regard, the case-law has elaborated the so-called “principle of reasonable confidence”, according to which the division of labour that belongs to each member should involve a delimitation of his responsibility, limited only to what is within his competence, except in case of the person who organizes, directs, and controls the team. Precisely, based on this principle, the Italian Supreme Court in 2018 reasserted that in the medical team is necessary to identify the role played by each member, thus avoiding resorting to objective responsibility.

Niemiecka doktryna i judykatura wobec problemu odpowiedzialności karnej „sprawców zza biurek” — uwagi na tle koncepcji „Organisationsherrschaft”

The aim of the paper is to present the concept of Claus Roxin’s Organisationsherrschaft as an alternative to attributing criminal responsibility for crimes committed by Nazi “desk murderers.” This concept arose against the background of criticism, after the trials of Adolf Eichmann and Bohdan Stashynsky, of the particularly low number of convictions in similar cases and the numerous omissions of the entire German justice system. Under West German criminal law, a distinction made between those who order murder and those who commit murder on their own initiative meant that the above-mentioned perpetrators who passed on orders from above could only be found guilty of accessory to murder. The novelty of Roxin’s views, however, consisted in an attempt to combine the previous only individualistic perspective of criminal law with the idea of mass, bureaucratic murders. The traditional system of individual attribution of responsibility, as applied for ordinary criminality characterized by the individual commission of single crimes, must be adapted to the needs of collective responsibility, in which the organization (for example, an administrative structure) as a whole serves as the entity upon which attribution of criminal responsibility is based. The first part of the text discusses the main lines of argumentation presented by the West German jurisprudence in cases concerning high-ranking members of the state power apparatus of the Third Reich. At the same time, efforts were made to emphasize the lack of homogeneity of legal solutions presented in national criminal jurisdiction in West Germany and their unacceptable consequences. The second part is devoted to the basic theoretical assumptions of the doctrine of Organisationsherrschaft and its significance for the perception of the boundary between perpetration and participation in German criminal law. The third part briefly presents the contemporary reception of Roxin’s thought, as well as the main points of his criticism, indicating, however, how important it was to effectively prosecute decision-makers from the power apparatus of the Third Reich.

CORPORATE LIABILITY FORMULATION POLICY ACCORDING TO ARTICLE 101 OF LAW NUMBER 31 OF 2004 JUNCTO LAW NUMBER 45 OF 2009 CONCERNING FISHERIES IN TERM OF CRIMINAL LEGAL REFORM IN INDONESIA

The corporation is the brain and source of funds for all illegal fishing activities and other crimes that occur along the chain of fishing business activities. According to Law Number 31 of 2004 in conjunction with Law Number 45 of 2009 concerning Fisheries, Article 101 states that: "In the case of a criminal acts as referred to in Article 84 paragraph (1), Article 85, Article 86, Article 87, Article 88, Article 89, Article 90, Article 91, Article 92, Article 93, Article 94, Article 95, and Article 96, the acts are committed by corporations; prosecution and criminal sanctions are imposed on their management and the fine is added by 1/3 (one third) of the sentence imposed." It is necessary to renew the Fisheries Law in order to provide an overview in determining the Corporate Liability Formulation Policy according to Article 101 of Law Number 31 of 2004 in conjunction with Law Number 45 of 2009 concerning Fisheries in the context of Criminal Law Reform in Indonesia. The type of this research was normative by using primary, secondary and tertiary sources of legal materials. From the results of research and discussion, it was revealed that Corporate Liability according to Article 101 of Law Number 31 of 2004 in conjunction with Law Number 45 of 2009 concerning Fisheries in Indonesia currently does not explain things about the meaning of the word "management", which parties in the management structure of a corporation that can be held accountable, or to what extent the authority possessed by parties in the management structure of a corporation can be subject to criminal responsibility. Therefore, the Corporate Liability Formulation Policy according to Article 101 of Law Number 31 of 2004 in conjunction with Law Number 45 of 2009 concerning Fisheries in the context of Criminal Law Reform in the future should be changed, this is important considering the formulation stage is the most strategic stage in the efforts to prevent and to control crime by including / expanding criminal liability, not only for the management but also for the corporation and its management.

Penalties for economic crimes in the criminal laws of the UK and the USA

The subject of the presented research is the criminal law on punishment and other measures of criminal law applied in Great Britain and the United States to persons who have been found guilty of committing economic crimes. Purpose of the study: to present scientifically grounded proposals on the advisability of including in the Russian criminal law certain measures of criminal law that are applied to persons convicted of economic crimes, as an effective means of preventing white-collar crime. List of methods and objects of research. In the course of the research, dialectical, comparative-legal, formal-logical, as well as other methods of cognition used in theoretical and legal research were used in aggregate. Conclusions of the study: in the UK and the US, the practice of attracting persons convicted of many economic crimes is characterized by a high degree of severity. Punishments and other measures of criminal law, as a rule, involve the imposition of imprisonment for long periods. In addition, the perpetrator is subject to penalties aimed at the seizure of illegally obtained material values, as well as compensation for harm caused to the victim as a result of criminal activity. Such methods of combating economic crime have a high effect of private prevention of the commission of new crimes. But a significant number of people held in places of deprivation of liberty has an extremely negative effect on the financial and other interests of the state. Therefore, the Russian policy of humanizing criminal responsibility is seen as more promising in terms of countering modern economic crime. At the same time, the rule on the application of property-related punishments should be considered as a priority in the fight against economic crimes.

On the Appropriateness of the Use of the Term “Inducement” in Article 2301 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

The problem of prohibited substances (methods) abuse in sport has existed for quite a long time. On the one hand, by criminalizing certain anti-doping rules violations, legislation expanded the liability limits of coaches, sports medical personnel, and of other specialists in the field of sports, which can be regarded positively. On the other hand, it made certain mistakes which impeded the effectiveness of these laws enforcement. Among other things, there is a problem with definition of the term “inducement”. The term itself is defined in the note to article 2301 of the Russian Federation Criminal Code, but there is a controversy in demarcation of inducement. methods. While deception, the use of violence and instructions as inducement methods are socially dangerous at substantial level and can be regarded as methods of committing the crime, the provision of information or the prohibited substances themselves (means of using methods) cannot be regarded as methods of committing the crime. Such a definition of inducement means also leads to contradictions with the corpus delicti under Article 2302 of the Russian Federation Criminal Code. In addition, there are also different interpretations regarding the methods of inducement, coercion, involvement in the other corpus delicti, which, all together with the lack of a unified interpretation of the terms affects the possibility of bringing the guilty persons, especially coaches, sports medical personnel and other specialists in the field of sports, to criminal responsibility. The survey conducted among lawyers also has revealed difficulties in distinguishing these terms in practice. Based on the criminal legislation analysis, the author comes to the conclusion that the amendments in the Russian Federation Criminal Code are necessary.

A Deeper Understanding of Child to Parent Violence (CPV): Personal Traits, Family Context, and Parenting

The increase in the rate of child to parent violence is a concern for society in various countries. Different psychological and personal characteristics tend to define the profile of the minors who commit this type of offense. Various social factors have been also related to this type of violence, including exposure to violence, the family environment and parenting. The relationship between child to parent violence and previous exposure to violence has yet to be clarified. Comparatively little research on this crime involving samples from juvenile court has been undertaken. This study uses a standardized measure (YLS/CMI) to determine the extent to which three of the most extensively studied groups of factors in child to parent violence—the family context, parenting and the adolescents’ psychological characteristics are relevant in the predicting this type of violence. The sample consisted of a total of 342 juveniles from a Juvenile Court in Eastern Spain, dealt with under the terms of Organic Law 5/2000 regulating the Criminal Responsibility of Minors. A child to parent violence group is compared with a control group committing the entire range of offenses. Personal variables, antisocial personality and exposure to violence play a clear role in the commission of this type of crime. Parenting has a determinant influence even when compared with family characteristics. What affects the commission of this type of violence in the most serious cases is therefore not having been exposed to it, but instead the individual’s upbringing and their current relationship with their parents.

Rola prawa karnego w systemie totalnej teokracji państwa muzułmańskiego

The aim of the study is to answer the question whether the way the system of criminal responsibility is shaped in classical Sharia law influences the characteristics of Islam understood as a political system seen as a total theocracy. The article presents the basic assumptions of the criminal law in Islam, focusing on the categories of crimes distinguished by traditional Muslim jurisprudence. The perceived features of Koranic criminal law regulation are juxtaposed with the attributes of criminal law of non-democratic systems, which leads to the conclusion that in the sphere of criminal law, there are many elements the two systems have in common. The individual’s position and the degree of protecting their rights resulting from the criminal law of Islam seem to make it impossible for a system based on classical Islamic law to meet the requirements of a modern democratic state.