内容简介
Publication of the new 17th Edition of Phipson is an occasion for welcome and congratulation. There are few topics in the law of so wide a reach, of such importance, and yet so demanding of illumination. Phipson is equal to its task. Its breadth is breathtaking. Where else can one find teaching of such quality in relation to the criminal law, the law relating to opinion evidence and to experts and the evidential role and use of statistics?
内页插图
目录
Foreword
Preface
Table of Cases
Table of Statutes
Table of Civil Procedure Rules
Table of Legislation
Table of Statutory Instruments
1. INTRODUCTION
1. Introductory
2. Definitions and classification
3. Inspection, view and production
4. Lex fo
5. Functions of judge and jury
6. Law and fact
7. Impact of the Human Rights Act
2. THE DEFINING OF THE ISSUES
1. Introduction
2. Statements of case and pleadings
3. Variance and amendment
3. JUDICIAL NOTICE
1. Judicial Notice: Introduction
2. Scope of the rule
3. Law, procedure and custom
4. Constitutional, political and administrative matters
5. Territorial and geographical divisions
6. Official gazettes, seals and signatures
7. Matters notified, and companies incorporated by statute
8. Notorious facts
9. Refreshing memory of judge
4. ADMISSIONS
1. Admissions generally
2. Formal admissions for purposes of trial
3. Principles common to admissions in civil cases and to confessions in criminal cases
4. Informal admissions-client, solicitor, counsel and witnesses
5. ESTOPPELS
1. Introductory
2. Legal estoppels
3. Equitable estoppel
6. BURDEN AND STANDARD OF PROOF
1. Concepts
2. Burden of proof in civil cases
3. Burden of proof in criminal cases
4. Presumptions
5.1mpact of the Human Rights Act on reverse burdens and presumptions
6. Standard of proof: criminal cases
7. Standard of proof: civil cases
7. RELEVANCE, ADMISSIBILTY AND WEIGHT: PREVIOUS AND SUBSEQUENT EXISTENCE OF FACTS: THE BEST EVIDENCE RULE
1. Facts in issue
2. Facts relevant to the issue
3. Facts which affect the legal reception or weight of the evidence tendered
4. Relevance and admissibility
5. Weight of evidence
6. Previous and subsequence existence of facts; course of business
7. Custom and usage
8. Standards of comparison
9. Treatment
10. The best evidence rule
8. ATTENDANCE OF WITNESSES
1. Scope of this chapter
2. Attendance of witnesses in civil cases
3. Attendance of witnesses in criminal cases
4. Witnesses within the United Kingdom
5. Witnesses out of the jurisdiction
6. Evidence in the jurisdiction for foreign civil proceedings
7. Obtaining evidence out of the jurisdiction or for proceedings abroad: criminal cases
9. COMPETENCE AND COMPELLABILITY, OATH AND AFFIRMATION Stephen Whale
1. Competence
2. Compellability
3. Competence and compellability in criminal proceedings of defen- dants and their spouses
4. Oath and affirmation
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精彩书摘
Further, it has been stated by way of dictum in the House of Lords,32 in the course of a speech with which three of the other law lords agreed, that the then view of the law lord in question was that "proprietary estoppel cannot be prayed in aid in order to render enforceable an agreement that statute has declared to be void". The only other law lord to give a reasoned speech33 did not think it necessary or appropriate to consider this issue, perhaps unsurprisingly in light of the fact that he had given the principal judgment in the original decision of the Court of Appeal that the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989 s.2 could be "outfianked" in this way. It may, however, be relevant that the latter law lord had akeady by then, in a decision which did not directly concern equitable proprietary estoppels,34 said that, despite his earlier judgment, he was "now rather less enthusiastic about the notion that proprietary estoppel and 'common interest' constructive trusts can or should be completely assimilated" because the former is a claim to a mere equity while the latter identifies the existence and size of beneficial interests.
Quite where all this leaves the original decision of the Court of Appeal that the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989 s.2 could be "outfianked" in this way and, for that matter, the law remains to be seen. However, it seems to follow from the remaining remarks of the law lord with whose speech the three other law lords agreed that at least he thought (and possibly the other three law lords also thought) that, while the existence of a constructive trust can render enforceable a contract which is prima facie void for failure to comply with Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989 s.2 (because of the existence of the specific exemption for constructive trusts in s.2(5)), the existence of an equitable proprietary estoppel will not, on its own and without more, any longer be capable of giving rise to the imposition of a constructive trust; if this proves to be the case, the statutory exemption willin future only be capable of applying where a constructive trust has been imposed for some other reason. This would not necessarily render incorrect the outcome, as distinct from the reasoning, of the original decision of the Court of Appeal that the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989 s.2 could be "outfianked" since in that case a constructive trust could conceivably have been held to have arisen on the different basis that the parties had entered into what was to all intents and purposes a joint venture.35
More generally the original and specific disapproval by the Court of Appeal of the notion that there are any "no go areas" for estoppels was anyway qualified by a subsequent comment in that case that the operation of equitable proprietary estoppels could nevertheless be restricted in the face of such statutory enact- ments. Whether it was to be restricted in a particular case depended upon an analysis of the "general social policy" behind the enactment; this was not simply a question of wording but also of statutory intent.
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普通法理论与实践前沿探索:一部面向二十一世纪的法律经典 《英美普通法原理精粹:理论构建与司法实践的深度透视》(第17版修订版) 图书概述 本书并非对特定案例或单一法域的深度挖掘,而是一部旨在全面梳理和系统阐释英美普通法(Common Law)核心原则、历史演变及其在当代社会中的适应性与挑战的权威性著作。本书的撰写目标在于为法律学者、执业律师、高级法官以及法律专业研究生提供一个既扎实又前沿的理论框架,用以理解普通法体系的内在逻辑与外在表现。 不同于聚焦于证据规则(如菲普森的经典著作)或特定侵权行为的教科书,本卷以宏观的视角,审视普通法作为一种法律传统的生命力及其在现代法律环境中的角色定位。它深入探讨了普通法赖以生存的基石——判例法(Stare Decisis)的运作机制,以及如何在保持法律稳定性的同时,容纳社会变革带来的新需求。 第一部分:普通法的历史基因与理论基石 本部分首先追溯了普通法自诺曼征服以来的漫长发展历程,重点分析了“皇家法院”(Curia Regis)如何从王室行政机构演变为具有独立司法权的机构。 第一章:历史溯源与共同体叙事 深入剖析了普通法如何从地方习俗中提炼出“普通”规则的过程。讨论了大法官法庭(Court of Chancery)的兴起及其对普通法僵化性的修正作用,强调了衡平法(Equity)与普通法在历史上的张力与融合,这为理解现代法律体系中法律与公正之间的平衡提供了历史语境。 第二章:判例法的核心:遵循先例的复杂性 详细论述了“遵循先例”(Stare Decisis)原则的内在构造。不仅阐述了其强制性(Binding Precedent)和说服性(Persuasive Precedent)的区别,更重要的是,探讨了下级法院如何区分(Distinguishing)、重申(Reaffirming)或在极少数情况下推翻(Overruling)上级法院的先例。本章特别关注了现代司法改革对判例效力的影响,例如上诉法院对自身先前判决的限制性应用,以及最高法院在面对重大的社会经济变迁时如何灵活处理既有判例。 第三章:法律解释的方法论革命 本章集中讨论了普通法在解释成文法(Statutory Interpretation)时的主要流派,包括字面解释(Literal Rule)、黄金法则(Golden Rule)、以及自启蒙时代以来占据主导地位的“首要目的原则”(Purposive Approach)。探讨了在普通法背景下,立法意图的界定难度,以及法官如何利用辅助材料(如委员会报告、立法历史)来填补法律的空白。这部分内容着重于展示普通法法官作为“法律发现者”和“法律制定者”的双重角色。 第二部分:实体法领域的结构性张力 本部分将焦点从方法论转向实体法律领域,分析普通法如何在关键的法律分支中构建其概念体系。 第四章:合同法:从严格形式到合理预期的飞跃 探讨了合同法中从早期的“契约”形式主义,向现代基于“对价”(Consideration)与“承诺”(Intention to Create Legal Relations)的核心原则演变。着重分析了“合同目的受挫”(Frustration of Contract)原则在两次世界大战后的发展,以及在数字经济背景下,电子合同与“默示条款”(Implied Terms)的新挑战。本章避免了对特定合同类型(如销售法)的细致描述,而是关注这些原则背后的经济效率与公平考量。 第五章:侵权法:从“过错”到“风险分配”的范式转移 侵权法是普通法最富活力的领域之一。本章超越了传统的“注意义务”(Duty of Care)分析框架,探讨了“不作为的责任”(Liability for Omissions)的边界。重点分析了在专业服务、公共安全领域,普通法如何通过引入“合理程度的预见性”(Reasonable Foreseeability)和“临近性”(Proximity)测试,逐步从纯粹的过错责任(Fault-based liability)向更侧重风险分配的机制过渡。同时,讨论了普通法在面对环境污染、产品责任等新型损害时的适应性挑战。 第六章:信托与财产权利的交织:对世权利的构建 本章区别于仅阐述信托工具的介绍性文本。它深入剖析了“衡平信托”(Equitable Trust)如何成为普通法体系中对“财产权利”进行再分配的核心机制。探讨了“受益人权利”(Beneficiary Rights)的演变,以及“可撤销信托”(Revocable Trusts)和“酌情信托”(Discretionary Trusts)在当代财富管理中的法律地位,强调了信托在隔离资产、保护弱势群体方面的不可替代性。 第三部分:程序法与当代司法挑战 本书的第三部分将目光投向司法系统的运作方式及其面临的外部压力。 第七章:诉讼程序与司法能动性 本章对比了英美法系(对抗制)与大陆法系(纠问制)在程序设计上的根本差异。重点分析了证据开示(Discovery/Disclosure)程序在现代诉讼中的成本与效率问题,以及法官在管理复杂、多方当事人的诉讼中,如何行使自由裁量权以确保审判的公正性与可管理性。特别关注了“诉讼费用分担原则”(Costs Shifting)对当事人进入司法系统的影响。 第八章:法治的边界:对公共权力的司法审查 本章聚焦于普通法如何对政府行为进行制约。阐释了行政法中司法审查(Judicial Review)的三大支柱——合法性(Legality)、合理性(Rationality)和程序公正(Procedural Fairness)的内涵。通过分析重大公共决策的司法审查案例,展示了普通法在维护宪政秩序与尊重行政部门专业性之间的微妙平衡艺术。 第九章:全球化背景下的普通法:趋同与抵抗 探讨了普通法在全球化浪潮下面临的外部影响,包括国际条约、欧盟法律(在特定司法管辖区内)以及国际商事规则对本土普通法的渗透。分析了普通法在国际仲裁中的主导地位,以及其概念如何被引入到非普通法国家(如东亚和欧洲的许多地区),讨论了这种“软权力”的传播机制,以及它在坚持自身核心价值(如陪审团制度、对抗制)与吸收外来效率工具之间的持续拉锯战。 结论:面向未来的普通法 本书的收尾部分总结了普通法作为一种活的法律体系的持久生命力,强调了其通过审慎的、渐进式的演变来适应不断变化的社会结构和道德观念的能力。它不是一成不变的教条,而是一个持续进行中的对话过程。 --- 本书特色: 概念的深度解构: 专注于对“公平、合理、义务、信赖”等核心概念的哲学与法理学基础的深入探讨。 跨界融合: 结合了法律史、经济分析和制度比较,为读者提供多维度的分析视角。 理论与实践的桥梁: 引用了跨越数个世纪的标志性判决作为分析基础,但重点在于提炼背后的普遍性原理,而非罗列具体规则。 目标读者: 本书适合所有寻求超越基础教科书层面,深入理解英美法律思维模式的专业人士。