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This article takes a closer look at a recent trial in which a man has been charged for having "sodomized" his pony Junior. The offence of "physical abuse of a sexual nature" related to animals was added in 2004 to the article 521.1 of the criminal Code which also condemns "aggravated physical abuse" and "cruelty". Whether animal-related laws are justified in the name of their protection and the prevention of unjustified suffering as they are subjected to humans, it appears that this piece of legislation actually condemns wrong sexual inclinations in a sheer moralistic way. The interpretation of the judges in this case reveals a pastoral conception of State intervention, strengthening the moral rationality which drives law-makers and judges in the realm of sexuality since the 1980's. Adapted from the source document.

L'importance croissante du pouvoir local à l'échelle globale doit être comprise comme une expression de la place de plus en plus importante de la valeur d'autonomie locale. Elle doit être guidée par une conceptualisation théorique des gouvernements locaux et de leur réglementation juridique, et par une analyse pragmatique des rôles juridiques des villes dans les développements mondiaux actuels. L'autonomie locale peut promouvoir des valeurs importantes telles que la participation démocratique et la responsabilité, le multiculturalisme et le pluralisme, la séparation verticale des pouvoirs et l'efficacité économique. Cependant, une autonomie locale non contrôlée augmente la dynamique de nivellement par le bas, rend la coopération interlocale plus difficile, exacerbe les inégalités économiques et sociales et pourrait radicaliser les tensions religieuses, culturelles, politiques et idéologiques. Cet article cherche à développer cette idée d'autonomie locale en tant que principe juridique, et étudie ses significations possibles dans le contexte de la (dé)mondialisation.

While the creation of public policies usually requires a process of consultation of the stakeholders, foreign policy is an exception to this rule. The concentration of the decision-making competences at the peak of the institutional architecture of the State is a characteristic that has lead scholars to consider it as pertaining to high politics. Nevertheless, identifying the main actors of decision-making is a relevant issue when it comes to the attribution of responsibility for a State's external action. This issue is at the heart of this article, which tries to locate this kind of responsibility for the post-communist Romanian foreign policy. Thus, after outlining the main theoretical tools that can be used for such an endeavor, the author proceeds to examine the legal and institutional framework that circumscribes foreign policy decision-making in Romania. The third part of the article is dedicated to a deeper approach to the informal relations established between the persons holding the key positions in the decision-making apparatus, based on a methodology that triangulates official documents, interviews with Romanian officials, and autobiographic texts published by the latter.

Cet article analyse l'influence des normes sociales sur les comportements de recyclage des ménages à partir d'une base de données américaine originale. Cette base de données unique fournit des informations sur les normes personnelles (ou privées) des ménages, ainsi que sur les normes sociales descriptive d'une part et d'injonction d'autre part. Les normes sociales sont évaluées empiriquement à partir des quatre variables suivantes : les croyances que le recyclage est socialement désirable ; la perception subjective que le voisinage voit défavorablement un manquement au recyclage ; les formes standards de recyclage dans la communauté à laquelle le ménage appartient ; et, l'impact des lois et de la réglementation en matière de consigne. Nous montrons que l'environnement légal et réglementaire est fortement lié aux taux moyens de recyclage ainsi qu'aux perceptions privées des attitudes de son voisinage en matière de recyclage. Ces régimes légaux, ces perceptions, ces taux sont corrélés avec de plus hauts taux de recyclage individuel montrant que les normes sociales descriptive et d'injonction sont d'influence. Les ménages qui recyclent sont probablement ceux qui possèdent des normes privées de recyclage. Les politiques incitatives financièrement en matière de consigne et celles qui rendent le recyclage plus facile d'accès sont associées avec des taux de recyclage plus élevés.

Legal paternalism is commonly defined as interference with someone's choices and actions, against his will, which aim is to prevent harm to self. This type of paternalism is frequently believed to be incompatible with liberalism. However, is it possible to exclude paternalism from criminal law? Joel Feinberg's theory of "soft paternalism" preserves autonomy and justifies interference to prevent individuals from committing harmful self-regarding actions that are non-voluntary. In this paper, we analyze this version of paternalism, its principles and its consequences in criminal law. Adapted from the source document.

Legal France is completely groggy. Public opinion has witnessed the Outreau & Colonna trials. Legal professionals have experienced twenty procedural reforms in twenty years. Legislators have reacted to cases in the news with great fussiness. These legal texts are only hasty answers aiming to satisfy public opinion & not the result of a serious reflection. They can have pernicious effects: they bring more complexity but less liberty & therefore produce a system in crisis which requires a broad reform. This is demonstrated by a positive law analysis around the theme "criminal law & liberties.". Adapted from the source document.

The reform of Vietnamese criminal law engaged in the early 1980s has proved deceptive: it never led to the de-politicization of penal practices & of the characterization of crimes. The judicial & legal apparatus of social control was merely superimposed upon preexistent disciplinary mechanisms, instead of replacing them. Admittedly, codifying criminal law, rationalizing judiciary organization & reinforcing judicial review have put an end to the lawlessness of the revolutionary era & to "government by morality" -- up to a certain point. But the reinforcement of legality has not established the rule of law, only a "government by the law" of sorts, because it was really only intended to consolidate social control, to provide a legal frame for economic reform, & to supply the regime with a new, legal, rational source of legitimacy. Besides, criminal charges are only superficially de-politicized in the 1999 Criminal Code: the influence of socialist theories of law, revolutionary justice & customary law is still obvious in the definition of criminal responsibility, & the characterization & hierarchy of crimes. Finally, the sentencing system remains essentially the same. Based on repression, exemplary punishment & reeducation, it is a product of socialist theories of social hygiene & certain Vietnamese popular beliefs. Adapted from the source document.

The loopholes in environmental law are not so much the result of the insufficient number of legal documents as of their inefficiency. This inefficiency is due as much to the fact that they are not implemented as to a basic weakness with regards to other branches of the law. At the national level, the multiplication of documents a source of discretionary and sometimes arbitrary power , the inappropriateness of jurisdictional procedures for environmental law, the rules of the burden of proof which make the situation of victims highly unequal and unfair, and the ambiguous role of public authorities all contribute to the fact that environmental law remains a minor law in its criminal and civil branches, and is rather inefficient in its administrative branch. In the absence of criminal charge, the law of liability, which should be the most efficient tool, is hampered by a number of derogatory common law regimes that have allowed the repetition of scandals such as Metal Europe. At the international level, the lack of world governance and of juridictional penalty attached to the Multilateral Conventions on the Environment means that environmental law remains a highly virtual reality. Adapted from the source document.

The author's comprehensive research project, of which this article is but an introductory outline, inquires into the kind of history written out by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). In order to investigate the interrelation between criminal law & history, the author faced the following question: what would the history of the disintegration of Yugoslavia & of conflicts in its territory look like if all we had were the judgments of the Hague Tribunal? The author bases his reply on an analysis of first-instance judgments of the Trial Chamber, from which he singles out "historical facts," & rejects the reflections of the Chamber on legal & procedural issues. As a model case he uses the first ICTY judgment pronounced against Dusko Tadic (the trial started on May 7, 1996, & the judgment was pronounced a year later). Although he estimates that the first judgment was not written in an optimal way, the author deems that most preliminarily established historical facts were relevant to historiography, & that, in particular, the judgment offers a universally acceptable notion of the history of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia & of socialist Yugoslavia. He is of the opinion that the extensive documentation of ICTY (the "Hague Tribunal") will have a major influence on the work of future generations of historians. Such a unique & replete archive of historical material is increasingly available to the public & to scientists through ICTY's online database. The most recent scientific works dealing with the former Yugoslavia also make use of the Tribunal's judgments & documentation. Scientists will have to pay due attention to the narratives included therein. Adapted from the source document.