Distorting Vicarious Liability

The note considers the decision of the Court of Appeal in Maga v The Trustees of the Birmingham Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church and analyses the application of the status based risk approach to vicarious liability in that case. It considers its application outside of the area of clerical sexual abuse, and also the role in vicarious liability of job conferred status which materially increases the risk of the commission of a tort, or helps to facilitate a tort.     

Enterprise Liability: Justifying Vicarious Liability

In Lister v Hesley Hall [2002] 1 AC 215 the House of Lords reformedthe law on vicarious liability, in the context of a claim arisingover the intentional infliction of harm, by introducing the‘close connection’ test. The immediate catalystwas the desire to facilitate recovery of damages on the partof victims of child abuse. The precise form the revision assumedwas derived from two Canadian Supreme Court cases: Bazley vCurry [1999] 174 DLR (4th) 45 and Jacobi v Griffiths [1999]174 DLR (4th) 7. The Canadian jurisprudence contains a detailedreview of the policy factors underpinning the law of vicariousliability and expresses the view that the most significant ofthese is ‘enterprise liability’. This article attemptsto establish whether enterprise liability holds the same significancein the UK. And, on the assumption that it does, the articlegoes on to consider any difficulties that may ensue and anyfurther common law reforms that may result. In particular itconsiders whether the law on vicarious liability for independentcontractors is likely to change.     

论雇主的替代责任

我国立法还没有关于替代责任的规定 ,雇员侵权案件的审理 ,尚无法可依。应借鉴国外的相关立法 ,在民法典中规定雇主替代责任制度 ,对雇主、雇员的连带责任、雇主的追偿权等问题作出明确规定 ,为解决相关纠纷提供法律依据     

论风险责任概念的确立

自己责任原则是现代侵权法的基本原则之一,但在适用非按份责任形态的数人侵权责任中,却普遍存在责任人可能为本不属于自己的最终责任份额承担责任的现象。对此问题学说上不但鲜有专门研究,甚至连指称这部分责任的专门术语也不存在。通过对债务与责任的区分、多数人债务与多数人责任的区分,可以清晰地看到最终责任与风险责任的区分。所谓＂风险责任＂,就是责任人承担的超过最终责任份额的责任部分,其实质是受偿不能风险。确立风险责任概念,就形成了＂自然债务—最终责任—风险责任＂的侵权责任概念谱系,能够精确地描绘债务和责任的重合或单独存在状态。     

加拿大侵权法中的转承责任

加拿大侵权法中,转承责任不是一种独立的责任形式,但却采用严格责任归责,被告与侵权行为人之间必要关系的建立是转承责任的前提。这与英美法和法国法的规定相似,与德国法、日本法和我国台湾地区的规定不同。加拿大侵权法中关于雇主和雇员、本人和代理人等有关转承责任的规定,为我国转承责任归责原则的确立提供了有益的借鉴。     

雇主替代责任的雇佣范围之考量

雇佣范围的判定是雇主是否承担替代责任的至关重要的决定因素,必须考察具体案情,进行综合的判断。一般要考察雇员的行为是否是在雇主授权的时间和地点内;考察是否其行为是服务于雇主的目的或者促进了雇主的利益;其行为是否与雇主的事业具有内在的关联等因素。另外,加之一些排除的条款也是很重要的判断标准,如是否是完全为了雇员自己的目的与利益的不合理的绕道和嬉戏行为。     

版权法上的转承责任研究

在我国版权司法和理论界,间接责任作为网络服务商归责原则的重要性日益体现,但对其中某些基本问题的认识并不一致.在系统研究版权间接责任中的转承责任制度,包括转承责任的法律渊源和实践意义,以及具体案件中常有争议的"监督侵权的权利和能力"、"直接经济利益"等构成要件的基础上,结合各国经典判例,进一步分析了转承责任的实践运用,并提出对我国建立转承责任制度的若干建议.     

网络等领域垄断看门人的替代责任

在网络以及其他领域中,垄断看门人是指有权并有能力将侵犯他人版权者排除出其服务网络的人.垄断看门人的行为可以起到有效防止侵权的作用.尽管一个垄断看门人不能直接控制侵害的发生,但是可以通过将侵犯他人版权者排除出网络的威慑来遏制侵权.本文依据三种不同的关系对替代责任的构成要素进行探讨:雇主与雇员的关系,经营场所提供者的情况和基础设施垄断提供者的情况.本文论述了版权侵权中垄断看门人替代责任的可取性,并且对诸如制止理论和矫正正义的理论基础进行了探究.垄断看门人应当建立一套责任制度,以平衡阻止侵权的需要和它们的风险.     

派遣劳动者职务侵权时的雇主责任

派遣劳动者作为劳务派遣关系中的一方主体,在执行职务的过程中致人损害时我国现有的雇主责任规则难以适用,由此,在未来的侵权责任法中对其雇主责任应规定如下:在外部责任的承担上,派遣单位和要派单位承担连带赔偿责任。在内部责任承担上,派遣劳动者承担重大过错责任;派遣单位与要派单位有约定的依约定承担,无约定或约定不明时,派遣单位承担选任雇员的过错推定责任、要派单位承担无过错责任。     

揭开雇主“替代责任”的面纱——兼论《侵权责任法》第34条之解释论基础

我国民法学界和立法机关的主流观点认为,雇主责任的性质是替代责任,这种看法并不合理。替代责任原理及规则渊源于英美普通法,其立基于近代手工业社会,反映了当时较为简单的雇佣关系。到了现代工业风险社会,随着企业规模的扩大和雇佣关系的复杂化,这一原理及规则不能为遭受企业活动侵害的受害人提供充分的法律保护,也不能为雇主积极履行义务提供法律上的激励机制。因此,使用替代责任原理并不能对《侵权责任法》第34条作出合理、妥当的解释。目前,英美法上的"企业责任理论"和德国法上的"组织过错理论"反映了比较法上雇主责任领域的最新发展趋势。     

Liability and Risk Assessment in Student Activity Abroad—The UKCOSA Survey

Universities in England are required to assess risk in all activities they undertake. This enables proper procedures to be put in to place to provide effective delivery whilst at the same time minimising risk and potential liability. The individual components of the law involved in student activity abroad are essentially 'standard' but the total package of law and the procedures that it is advisable to follow is more complex. A survey of universities was carried out to ascertain what procedures they had in place and what their level of awareness was. The findings of the survey have been used to indicate what management procedures should be put in place in order to minimise risk in the form of answers to a series of Frequently Asked Questions (UKCOSA, 2002). The total elimination of risk is not possible, but use of information can reduce risk, minimise liability and enhance the quality of service provided.     

Holes in the Safety Net? State Liability and the Need for Private Law Enforcement

Following Francovich and Bonifaci v Italy[1991] it was widely considered that State Liability would be an enforcement mechanism that would end the problems the European Court of Justice (ECJ) had contended with through its battle over the adoption or denial of Horizontal Direct Effect of Directives (HDE). In the subsequent years it has been demonstrated that the debate for and against HDE's adoption has continued. This has been due in part to the limitations of State Liability as an effective enforcement mechanism which provides individuals not with their rights, but rather a damages action against the State. This article critiques State Liability and demonstrates the severe limitations which this enforcement mechanism has for those who wish to avail themselves of EC rights denied to them. Such limitations include the piecemeal nature of this method of enforcement; whether cases, particularly from employment law issues, should be heard against the State or the employer causing the problem complained of; and the nature of an enforcement mechanism based on the award of damages. It concludes by analysing this evidence as to whether State Liability is an adequate alternative to HDE, and hence should the enforcement of EC law be brought back from a public law action to the private sphere.     

私法视野中的新闻自由

在私法视野中,表达自由在本质上可以归结为一般人格权,是人格独立、人格自由、人格尊严的具体化。从民法上的意思表示理论出发,新闻自由表现为采访自由、写作自由、发表自由、编辑自由、表现形式自由这一环环紧扣的连续性过程。新闻自由的演变史与民法的现代化发展史之间存在根深蒂固的契合。思想的自由市场理论与私法自治之间亦存在不可忽略的勾连。     

从易趣案看美国ISP代理侵权责任之演进

易趣(eBay)是一个网上论坛服务的提供者,用户可以将商品放置论坛上出卖,也可以在论坛上通过竞价或固定价格购买商品或服务。罗伯特·亨(Robert Hendrickson)是纪录片《曼森》(Manson)的著作权所有人。他发现,《曼森》未经其许可,以DVD的形式在易趣上被拍卖,遂以其著作权受到侵害为由,向易趣发出通知信函,要求易趣立即停止侵权行为,移除侵权材料。易趣收到通知函后,提出按罗伯特·亨照DMCA4的要求制作一份合法有效的通知,从而确定侵权材料所在并予以删除。罗伯特·亨拒绝了易趣的建议,并将易趣诉     

Criminal Liability of Directors of a Private Limited Company Seated in Germany

During the last decade, a great number of German businesses formed private limited companies by shares in England and transferred the company’s real seat to Germany in order to avoid the minimum capital rules for the German limited liability company. The discrepancy between the place of registration and the real seat leads to questions about the criminal liability of company directors under English and German law. This article shows that English courts have jurisdiction over certain offences regardless of the place the director acted. In particular, he may be convicted for failing to comply with statutory duties under the Companies Act 2006 as well as false accounting or false statements under Theft Act 1968 ss. 17, 19. With respect to German law, the company law reform of 2008 explicitly imposed the duty to file for insolvency on directors of foreign corporations. Also, the criminal offence for failing to file for insolvency in § 15a (4) of the Insolvency Code is compatible with the freedom of establishment under European law. If the director causes a financial loss to the company by breaching his director’s duties, he may be convicted for breach of trust under § 266 of the Criminal Code regardless of the fact that the relevant duties are regulated by English law. The German Federal Supreme Court recently held that recourse to English company law in order to establish a criminal breach of trust does not violate the principle of legal certainty in Article 103 (2) of the Basic Law. Furthermore, German bankruptcy offences may apply if the director violates the authoritative English accounting standards.     

浅论加强大学生网络道德教育

随着人类进入信息社会,网络以其独特的方式影响着社会的各个领域。大学生作为一个特殊群体,网络给他们带来了诸多影响。重视与加强网络时代大学生道德教育是当前高校德育与思想政治工作的一项重要任务。文章分析了探讨加强大学生网络道德教育的必要性,并提出加强大学生网络道德教育的途径。