The Compulsory Jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice: How Compulsory Is It?

The "compulsory jurisdiction" of the International Court ofJustice is not truly compulsory. The Court's jurisdiction isbased on the consent of the parties. States have the optionto accept or not to accept the Court's jurisdiction and cando so under terms and conditions they determine themselves.However, once a State has granted its consent, and when a disputethat falls within the scope of that consent is submitted tothe Court, the State must subject itself to the Court's jurisdiction.It is that legal obligation that is at the root of the term"compulsory".     

国际体育仲裁中的管辖权问题研究

作为解决国际体育争议的主要机构,国际体育仲裁院进行的仲裁极大地促进了国际体育运动的发展,其仲裁争议的前提是它对有关的争议具有管辖权。国际体育仲裁中的管辖权主要涉及国际体育仲裁的管辖体制、奥运会临时仲裁机构的管辖权、仲裁协议的特殊性、强制性仲裁条款问题以及对国际体育仲裁院管辖权的限制。     

国际法院咨询管辖权初探

从常设国际法院到国际法院,其咨询管辖权和“司法性”之间的协调一直是一个难题。要想满意地解决法院当前面临的困境,不必急于扩大有权寻求咨询意见的机构的范围,而必须确保各机构在利用国际法院的咨询管辖权时,更多的是出于解决法律问题的目的而非政治目的。     

涉企业数据竞争行为的法律规制

企业数据在既有法律框架下无法获得充分保护,作为一种财产性利益,企业数据与一般条款具有耦合性。但是,一般条款的裁判思路依赖于传统侵权模式,最高人民法院在"海带配额案"中创设的三个构成要件,使一般条款陷入困境,无法应对行为规制法的本质要求,无法与《民法典》相衔接。企业数据涉及个体经济利益、行业利益及公共利益,"全有全无"构成要件式的侵权判断,不能应对复杂多变的涉企业数据竞争行为的法律规制。动态系统论以"或多或少"的思路考量各要素的数量和强度的协作,按照价值位阶和顺序,考虑企业数据本身的合法性、行为人主观过错、行为影响,根据具体场景综合权衡损害与收益,可以为涉企业数据竞争行为的正当性判断提供正确的裁判思路和理论支持。     

The CCJ decolonizing Caribbean constitutionalism

The Caribbean Court of Justice was conceived to further the Anglophone Caribbean’s decolonization process. Decolonization included not just transitions from colony to independent statehood but also the repudiation of imperial formations. The Court’s capacity to do this is evident in the McEwan Case. Using bold approaches to interpretation, the CCJ effectively erased the general savings law clause (which was previously treated as effective in immunizing colonial laws from inconsistency with the Bill of Rights) and affirmed the fundamental rights of trans persons. Since those clauses tethered post-independence constitutionalism to colonial era legal arrangements, erasure has the effect of bringing the Constitution forward and home. I argue that erasure is the result of proper methods of interpretation and not overreach since savings clauses are now functionally obsolete. The CCJ also signalled its decolonising capacity by articulating Caribbean identity in inclusive terms. It rightly affirmed that trans persons are entitled to full membership in the political community, in circumstances where its position is likely an anti-majoritarian one. The CCJ is demonstrating its decolonizing capacity in a context where, it is argued, the Privy Council cannot. It is hoped that other Caribbean States will be encouraged to accede to the CCJ’s appellate jurisdiction.     

International legal issues on china’s recourse for cultural relics pillaged overseas: dilemma and way out - take the litigation on the auction of rat head and rabbit head bronze statues for example

Facing the dilemma on the recourse for Chinese cultural relics pillaged overseas, China shall get a clear understanding of the international legal situation, strengthen international communication and promote international compromise. Based on this foundation, China shall take rational, beneficial, and moderate legal actions to uphold and protect national rights. The recourse on the ground of international custom has been deemed as a failure by the view of the majority; the recourse in a foreign court will almost certainly encounter numerous obstacles in law that are very difficult to deal with, and the recourse in a national court will not only achieve the expected goals but also raise considerable disadvantages. If China hopes to retrieve the pillaged cultural relics by means of international treaty, it is necessary for China to conclude special agreements with relative states. The latter shall exercise best efforts to recover the cultural relics and return them to China at the expense of Chinese tax payers. On the other hand, there are two choices available if China hopes to settle the problem through general principles of law: One is to make an agreement with relative states, and the other is to authorize certain international tribunals to adjudicate the case according to the general principles of law. If the International Court of Justice (“ICJ”) is chosen, then the relative states can authorize the court to decide the case according to the principle of ex aequo et bono; however, the best way is to conclude an international arbitration agreement and renounce the application of certain general principles of law which might hinder the dispute resolutions. The other choice is to make unilateral legal activities with each other according to relative general principles of law, on condition that certain tacit agreement or understanding had been achieved between relative states. However, whether the above international legal methods can be used for the settlement of the problem, it depends on sufficient negotiation and mutual compromise between China and other relative states; the relative national authorities shall pay more attention to such aspects instead on unilateral declarations or sanctions.     

从苏丹情势分析国际刑事法院管辖权的补充性原则

联合国安理会向国际刑事法院的检察官提交的苏丹达尔富尔地区发生的情势,引发了非缔约国对国际刑事法院管辖权补充性的质疑。将达尔富尔的情势提交国际刑事法院,应由独立的机构判断苏丹政府“不愿意”和“不能”行使管辖权的客观证据。这样做,一方面为了充分支持安理会向检察官提交情势的行为;另一方面为了国际刑事法院审判工作的独立性和有效性吸引诸如中国和美国等司法制度健全的非缔约国批准《罗马规约》。中国虽然是非缔约国,但始终支持国际刑事法院的建立及其工作,并对国际刑事法院的审判活动采取一种审视态度。有理由相信,通过国际刑事法院建立的良好工作模式,如对达尔富尔公正有效的处理,以及在我国法律条件成熟的情况下,中国会成为《罗马规约》的缔约国。     

我国“或裁或审”条款的反思与突破——兼评《仲裁法司法解释》第7条

由于没有明确的立法规定,“或裁或审”条款的性质与类型在认定上十分模糊,因此各级人民法院经常在该问题上产生混乱。例如,“或裁或审”条款与“一裁终局”条款相混淆,多份协议与单一协议中的“或裁或审”条款相模糊,以及对《最高人民法院关于适用〈中华人民共和国仲裁法〉若干问题的解释》(以下简称《仲裁法司法解释》)第7条的理解不一致等。虽然最高人民法院发布的司法解释或指导性案例能为各级人民法院在“或裁或审”条款的性质与类型的定性中提供指引,但并不能从根本上解决《仲裁法司法解释》第7条中对于仲裁协议无效的规定。纵观各国对于既约定仲裁又约定诉讼的条款的态度,我国对于仲裁无效的判定过于严厉,这与我国正在推进建立亚太国际仲裁中心的政策考量不入。只有对法律制度的突破与变更才能在实质上修正立法的滞后性。先管辖先受理原则的借鉴,不仅可以为维护当事人意思自治提供出路,而且可以为我国鼓励与支持仲裁的发展消弭弊端。     

欧洲法律下的提单管辖权条款

本文通过对荷兰法律及有关管辖权和民商事判决执行方面的两个主要公约 (EEX公约和 L ugano公约 )的介绍 ,结合大量的案例和欧共体法院对公约的解释 ,论述了欧洲法律下一个有效的标准格式中的管辖权条款所包含的条件及公约和各国国内法对当事人自由订立的标准格式中的管辖权条款的限制。     

Focusing on How Rather Than on Whom: Constructing a Process-Based Framework for Interpreting the Press Clause in the Network-Society Era

The Internet has made it possible for anyone to become a publisher, thus raising questions regarding how the press clause of the First Amendment will be defined in the twenty-first century. This study proposes a process-based framework for understanding the press clause that moves away from the historically problematic questions that arise with approaches that seek to determine who is a journalist. This approach aligns with historical conceptualizations of the press clause and the characteristics of the network society. The proposed framework is drawn from an analysis of recent lower-court cases in which citizen publishers claimed protections that have traditionally been associated with journalism, as well as an examination of the decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States and of legal scholars’ historical understandings of the clause.     

Regulation of Cohabitation and Marriage in Canada

Marriage in Canada had lost much of its legal significance because of the extension of many of the incidents of marriage to unmarried cohabitants of the same or opposite sex. This process has resulted in large part from decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or marital status is constitutionally impermissible. In a decision that seemed to many a surprising reversal of this trend, the Supreme Court of Canada in 2002 ruled that legislators could constitutionally exclude unmarried couples from family property laws. The effect of this decision has been to revive the legal significance of marriage. At the same time, courts have resurrected the social significance of marriage by accepting the argument of same-sex marriage advocates that a "separate but equal" civil union institution would not respect the constitutional guarantee of equality and by endorsing the constitutional right of same-sex couples to the symbolic value of marriage as a public and legal celebration of a relationship. Same-sex marriages may now be legally celebrated in three Canadian provinces, and the federal government has made a commitment to open up civil marriage to same-sex couples across the country. While some same-sex couples and unmarried cohabitants have fought for spousal or marital status, others have sought to avoid the burdens associated with spousal status. After the same-sex marriage debate is concluded, Canada will be ready to move on to consider whether all of the legal privileges and burdens now assigned to those in conjugal relationships, whether married, unmarried, same-sex or opposite-sex, can be justified.     

A Proposal for Formalizing the "No Case Exists" Objections Procedure at the International Court of Justice

This paper describes and analyses the "no case exists" objectionsthat have been made and dealt with in various ways before theInternational Court of Justice. The argument underlying theseobjections usually runs as follows: the Court clearly or manifestlylacks jurisdiction or there is clearly no dispute. This wouldlead to the result that no case exists, because, for a caseto exist, there must be, at a minimum, some dispute as to theCourt's jurisdiction so as to trigger the Court's function underArticle 36(6) of the Statute. Neither the Statute nor the Rulesof Court contains a specific procedure for addressing such objectionsand the various existing procedures do not allow the Statesmaking such objections to achieve their goals. The parties andthe Court have had to struggle with these objections in variousirregular ways. This paper proposes that the Court formalizethe procedure to deal with these objections by amending theRules of Court to provide for a "no case exists" objectionsprocedure. The essay concludes by presenting a proposed ruleas an illustration.     

论疫情防控常态化下的专利申请新颖性丧失例外——评2020年《专利法》第24条第一项立法

2020年《专利法》在专利申请新颖性丧失例外中增加了“国家紧急状态或非常情况下为公共利益目的首次使用”的条款。这一修订体现了专利法在平衡不同位阶公共利益、鼓励发明人积极创新以及对新技术贡献者的正向回馈中的价值取向。虽然该条款与强制许可的规定在条文结构中存在类似之处,但二者在适用范围上却呈现出较大不同,揭示了专利授权制度和强制许可制度的本质差异。对于该条款在实务中的解释,应当做好“紧急状态”在《专利法》与宪法及相关法律中的衔接、为“非常情况”设定宽严相济的判断标准,并正确认识二者的关系。最后,对“公共利益”的理解做到与具体情境相结合,从而最终实现对该新设条款的准确适用。     

区块链纠纷的民事管辖权配置:法理创新与立法应对

区块链的自动性与透明性特性使其具有增强交易主体彼此之间信任的功能,在民商事领域内被广泛推广,由此触发了越来越多的区块链纠纷。当前流行以区块链社区自治作为解决此类纠纷的管辖手段,其理论依据是区块链初创者主张的"新主权主义"。该理论过于强调区块链社区管辖,从而排除司法的管辖。需要重新审视区块链社区管辖权与司法管辖权之间的辩证统一关系,实现司法管辖为主、社区自治为辅的和谐统一。基于区块链自身的特性,一般法院管辖中的"原告就被告"原则难以适用,专属法院管辖于法无据,应通过修改相关法律来解决这些难题,包括拓展原告所在地管辖原则的适用和增加新的管辖连接点,以及在条件成熟之际建立区块链法院,实现区块链纠纷的专属管辖。     

再谈海运提单中的管辖权条款问题

从构成合同义务的法律强行规定、法律的任意规定及当事人的自由约定三个层面,依次剖析海运提单中的管辖权条款的法律效力问题,同时探讨影响该种效力的一些特别因素,以期有益于这些问题的研讨与解决。     

Anti‐suit Injunctions and the Doctrine of Comity

Hin‐Pro International Logistics Limited v CSAV is an important case in the areas of anti‐suit injunctions, contractual interpretation and private international law. Despite the ambiguities surrounding the jurisdiction clause contained in the bills of lading, the Court of Appeal construed the jurisdiction clause as ‘exclusive’ in the context of a ‘contractual background’, and affirmed the continuation of the anti‐suit injunction granted by the Commercial Court. It is argued that the approach of applying the common law principles of contractual interpretation to a bill of lading is questionable. The approach used to apply English private international law is problematic in a number of ways. There are legitimate reasons for concern that the doctrine of comity in English private international law may become undermined as a result.     

美国“F立方”证券欺诈诉讼管辖权规则及其晚近发展

"F立方"证券欺诈诉讼近年来在美国呈迅速增长态势,在美国证券立法框架下,此类诉讼的管辖权主要涉及1934年《证券交易法》中"10b规则"的性质及域外适用问题。2010年联邦最高法院对"莫里森诉澳大利亚国家银行案"的判决,使得"F立方"诉讼管辖权规则开始由"行为"和"效果"标准向"交易标准"转变。而该案之后《华尔街改革和消费者保护法》的出台,以及美国联邦地区法院对"交易标准"的适用与发展,丰富了"F立方"诉讼管辖权的规则内容。美国"F立方"诉讼管辖权规则的发展,也将对我国上市公司以及私人证券欺诈诉讼机制的构建产生一定影响。     

Treatment of procedural irregularities in Nigerian courts and the need for a principled approach: Yaki v Bagudu (2015) in retrospect

The courts are usually stuck in between the need to do substantial justice to litigants and the strict observance of procedural rules. The article considers this issue in Nigerian legal system using the Supreme Court’s decision in Yaki v Bagudu as a signpost. The article argues that the absence of any clear-cut guidelines on procedural irregularities often leads to legal uncertainty and unpredictability of results. Drawing on experiences from other jurisdictions, the article suggests a principled approach which distinguishes between irregularities affecting the substantive jurisdiction of courts and those which do not as a panacea.     

The Small-Case Procedure of the United States Tax Court: A Small Claims Court That Works

Professor Whitford finds that the small-case procedure of the United States Tax Court, unlike most other small claims courts, provides a meaningful avenue of redress for taxpayers contesting small amounts and appearing pro se. The success of this procedure is attributed to the unique dispute'posture" of the Tax Court petitioner and to the extensive resources assigned to the small-case procedure by both the Tax Court and the chief counsel to the IRS. This special Tax Court invention is not likely to be replicated in courts of more general jurisdiction. Lack of political support will prevent allocation of resources sufficient to make pro se litigation work. The expenditure of such resources in the Tax Court apparently reflects a felt need to legitimate the tax system by providing fair disputing procedures.     

India and the ICC

The Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC Statute)would have been more acceptable to India if it had containedan opt-in provision whereby a state could accept the jurisdictionof the ICC by declaration (possibly for a specified period),and this might be limited to particular conduct or to conductcommitted during a particular period of time. The lack of sucha provision, and the inherent jurisdiction which replaced it,are perceived as representing a violation of the consent ofstates, and thus a threat to sovereignty. India's resistanceto accepting the inherent jurisdiction of the ICC is explained,in part, by anxieties about how investigation, prosecution andcriminal proceedings in the Indian system may be judged by aninternational court. The inclusion of ‘armed conflictnot of an international character’ in defining ‘warcrimes’ in Article 8 ICCSt. constitutes another reasonfor India's concern (that the conflicts that persist in Kashmir,the North-East and as was experienced in Punjab, as well asthe violence of more recent vintage in Gujarat, could be referredto the ICC). Further elements giving rise to India's misgivingsare the fear that the Court might be used with political motives,the power conferred on the Prosecutor to initiate investigationsproprio motu and the role allotted to the Security Council.