中美知识产权"刑事门槛"争端的法律问题

In April 2007, the United States filed an application with the DSB of WTO with respect to the issue of criminal law protection mechanism of intellectual property rights in China, which was the first dispute accepted by the DSB arising out of the issue of criminal law protection mechanism of intellectual property rights. The core of the dispute of the case is how to interpret the “commercial scale” under Article 61 of the TRIPS Agreement as the “criminal threshold”. It can be seen from the practice of the interpretation of the DSB that while each WTO member is entitled to interpret the term “commercial scale”, the boundary of interpretation is subject to Article 61 of the TRIPS Agreement. It is unnecessary for China to lower her “criminal threshold”, since China’s criminal law protection in intellectual property policy is in compliance with the TRIPS Agreement. In fact, the United States should change from lowering the criminal threshold to how to strengthen the criminal crackdown on piracy under the circumstance of lowering the price of genuine works when imposing pressure on China in the protection of intellectual property rights. He Xiaoyong, Ph.D, is presently a professor in the Faculty of International Law in the University of East China University of Political Science and Law. He studied as a visiting scholar at the University of San Francisco (2001). He was awarded a Chevening Scholarship in 2002 sponsored by British Council and Shanghai Outstanding Teacher Award in 2004. He has released more than 80 academic articles on WTO issues and international financial law, and his monographs include Legal Aspects on Supervision under Financial Globalization (2002), International Trade Dispute Settlement and China’s Perspective: Under the WTO framework (2006) and new issues under the WTO (2008).     

试论跨国公司的社会责任

As for international direct investment, the transnational corporations are playing a leading role in the fields of international trade, international investment and international intellectual property. In theory and reality, this authors analyze the rationale of the social responsibilities taken by transnational corporations, the main problems in the social responsibilities of transnational corporations and the legislative status, and put forward the functions of the social responsibilities of transnational corporations in promotion of the legal construction of socialist market economy, the reform of the corporate governance and the development of transnational corporations in China. Wang Chuanli, Professor and Doctoral Supervisor of China University of Political Science and Law, Vice-chairman of China Society of International Economic Law, and Vice-chairman of Research Institute of WTO Law (China Law Society), also Arbitrator of China International Economic & Trade Arbitration Commission and Beijing Arbitration Commission. Her main publications are “The Legal Effectiveness of Foreign Economic Contracts”, “International Trade Law of Sales of Goods”, “International Protection of Intellectual Property Rights” and “International Trade Law Government Control on Business”. Moreover, she has published over ten influential discourses on international economic law. In addition, her ongoing research projects include WTO Agriculture Agreement and the Rules of International Agri-products Trade, WTO and International Core labor Standards, and the Role of Judicial Independence of European Court of Justice to Promote the Integration of Europe.     

犯罪人的本质属性辨析

The difference between criminals and non-criminals has always been a topic for criminal psychologists. It is easy to describe the features of offences by their social and legal attributes, while it is still difficult to find any significant difference of the features from ontological perspective of criminals. To get to know criminals from the point of personality, we may discover the essential features of criminals. However, while acknowledging the role of personality, the variables such as situations, moods and social relationships can not be neglected. Meanwhile, it is also necessary to study the personality mechanism of criminals. Zhang Shaogang, an associate professor in Communication University of China, also acts as compere in the program of the “Jinri Shuofa” (legal report) and “Dajia Kanfa” (all get close to the law). Since 2006, he became a Ph.D candidate at China University of Political Science and Law, majoring in the direction of criminal psychology. His publications include “TV Planning Outline”, “On the New Planning of TV”, “Television Programs and Program Planning”. The large-scale live broadcasts called “20 Hours of Life” referring to three cross-strait districts, presided by him, achieved the first prize of China News Awards in the category of live televisions.     

罪刑法定视域中的刑法适用解释

The judicial interpretation of criminal law should be an application interpretation to individual cases that is guided by judges and participated by the prosecutor and the accused, for which the judicial judgment should be combined with the application of criminal law of specific cases, and the criminal precedents should be as a carrier. The Supreme People’s Court should change from the previous practices of issuing normative and abstract interpretation to the dual approaches of the interpretation of criminal law application through direct creation and indirect acknowledgement. Liang Genlin, Professor and Vice Dean of Law School of Peking University and as a visiting professor of University of Tuebingen (2001–2002). His main research focuses on criminal law and criminal policy, and his important publications include “On the Structure of Punishment”, “Liang Genlin’s Review on Criminal Policy, Volume I, Criminal Policy: Standpoint and Category”, “Liang Genlin’s Review on Criminal Policy, Volume II, the Arm of the Law: Expand and Limit”, “Liang Genlin’s Review on Criminal Policy, Volume III, Criminal Sanction: Manner and Choice”. Besides, he has also published over 40 discourses on criminal law and criminal policy since 1996.     

我国刑事赔偿制度之改革

In reference to the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (hereinafter referred to “the Covenants”), the state compensation system of China in criminal justice shall be reformed as such: Compensation for a miscarriage of justice should not be determined by the results of first instance or second instance, but no guilty through retrial in the final trial upon finding of new evidences. If policemen, prosecutors and judiciaries take lawful measures, causing loss to the suspected due to arrest, detention or other enforcement in the criminal proceedings, the suspected should not get the state compensation for that even if he is decided no guilty in the final trial. If the suspected is cooped up illegally, he should get the state compensation even if being decided guilty finally. The measures of search and seizure should be included in coercive measures, hence differentiating the lawful search and seizure and the unlawful infringement of the property rights. Yang Yuguan, Professor of the Procedure Law Institute in China University of Political Science and Law, whose research mainly covers procedure law and human rights law. He wrote many books and essays, for instance, “Computer and Crime” (1986), “On Plea Bargaining” (1986), “Basic Education in Prisons in China” (1995), “The United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Policy” (1996), “On the Ratification and Implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights” (2000), “On Hearsay” (2001), “On Exclusionary Rule” (2002), “Human Rights Law: Study On International Covenant on Civil and Political Right” (2003), “The International Criminal Court: Idea, reality and Prospective” (2007), “Death Penalty Control with Procedural Law” (2006), “On Due Process of Law and Human Rights Protection” (2005). He was once a researcher fellow of Ministry of Justice of China, a member of the Crime Prevention Branch of the United Nations Office at Vienna, and an editor-in-chief in some books, such as “The United Nations Criminal Justice Norms and Standards”, “The United Nations Human Rights Treaty Bodies and their Comments”, “A Study On UN Convention of Anti-corruption”.     

试论"超越法律"的企业社会责任

The corporate social responsibility “beyond law” is the responsibility of enterprises beyond the mandatory obligations by force of law but in line with social values and expectations. Indeed, the legal norms on such kind of responsibility are “soft law”, which mainly incorporate social values and expectations in corporate business behaviors and governance structure, so as to realize corporate “self-regulation”. By protecting the substantive and procedural rights of stakeholders and improving their negotiation power, the “soft law” aims at realizing the spontaneous confrontation and balance of the market, and the corporate reputation mechanism and the functions of NGOs adds much to the performance of corporate social responsibility. He Zhaodan, Economics Doctor of Sun Yat-Sen University, mostly focuses on Law and Economics. She has published six research articles in the academic journals of China.     

法律判断形成的模式

Legal decisions are results of the use of law, which includes the application of law and the finding of law, but mainly referring to the latter. In the application of law, facts match norms, and thus legal decisions could be obtained directly through deduction thereof, which is called the deduction mode. However, in the finding of law, since facts are not symmetric to norms, before making judgment through deduction, facts and norms shall be equalized. That is to say, facts shall be generalized and then upgraded to the provisions, while norms shall be concrete and downwards to specific cases, conducting for spiral upwards, which is called equalization mode. Zheng Yongliu, professor at the Institute of Legal Philosophy of China University of Political Science and Law, also a visiting professor at University of Saarland in Germany (till 1996), and a guest professor at Jilin University (since 1998), whose research is focusing on legal philosophy, particularly on the legal methods as well as law and society. Prof. Zheng once published 4 books, i.e., The Orientation of Rural Law in Contemporary China (1991), The Farmers’ Legal Awareness and the Development of Village’s Law (1993), Das Wirtschaftsrecht Chinas (1997) and The Rule of Law: the British and German Origin, International Standards and Its Practices in China (2002). In his published articles, the follows are most dear to his heart: What is Legal Philosophy (1998), the Origin and Evolution of the “Rechtsstaat” in Germany (2000), the Legal Hermeneutics and Its Relationship with the Legal Interpretation (2002), Academic Freedom and Its Enemies (2004), Pluralistische Ordnungen im chinesischen Wirtschaftswandel (German, 2006).     

中国行政执法困境的个案解读

Due to lack of effective, and adequate communication on the standpoint of the government and the attitudes of civil society in legislative process, this has led to tension between the government and the general public. Within the context of law enforcement, the government sticks to “problem-based strategies” and “campaign-based enforcement”, who believe in the power of coercive force. As a way out of the dilemma in law enforcement, it is required that in the process of rule-making, the government should communicate effectively with the civil society in the institutionalized system, focusing on learning, reflection, and strategic adjustment. Wang Xixin, Professor at Law School of Peking University. Since 1999, Prof. Wang is a working member of China Administrative Legislative Research Group an academic team advising China’s Legal Affairs Working Commission on administrative law reforms. Since 2001, he is a major drafter for China’s Administrative Procedure Act. Since 2002, he is a research consultant for the NPC Standing Committee General Office. Since 2003, he is a research fellow of the China Law Center of Yale Law School. Since 2005, he is a Vice-chairman of Beijing Administrative Law Society. In academia, Prof. Wang is focused on administrative procedure, public participation, rulemaking and comparative administrative studies, whose publications include books, such as “Administrative Procedure: A Theoretic and Institutional Inquiry” (Beijing, 2007) and “Public Participation and Administrative Process” (Beijing, 2007) and some 30 articles for journals published in China and America. Moreover, Prof. Wang often submits papers and gives lectures in academic forums, including Columbia Law School, Yale Law School, the Woodrow Wilson Center for Int’l Scholarship, and Carnige Endowment for Int’l Peace.     

博客侵权问题研究

In recent years the cases of blog infringement are on the increase, attracting more attention from all walks of life. The author provides a preliminary discussion on the status, elements, and judicial finding of blog infringement, as well as civil liabilities for blog infringement, in the hope of contributing to the research and legislative regulation of blog infringement. Fang Yiquan is a professor and postgraduate supervisor of Law School of Wenzhou University, and a legal adviser of Wenzhou Municipal Government, whose main researches focus on civil law, commercial law and educational law. Professor Fang has been chosen as one of the “151 Talents of the New Century” of Zhejiang Province, one of the “Ten Outstanding Youths” in Wenzhou city, a “Prominent Educator” in Zhejiang Province. His scientific research achievements have received prefectural, provincial and ministerial rewards for over ten times. He has presided ten projects funded by the Humanities & Social Sciences of the Education Ministry of China and the Philosophy and Social Sciences of Zhejiang Province. He has released over 60 articles in academic law journals, such as Politics and Law Forum, Jurists Review, etc. His monographs include Compensation Liability of Student Injury Incidents, Research on Legal Problems of Campus Infringement, etc.     

利用ATM故障恶意取款案的法律性质辨析

Malicious withdrawal from ATM constitutes offence of theft and belongs to “theft from financial institutions”. In case of “extremely huge amount”, according to China’s Criminal Law, the minimum statutory penalty for the accused is life imprisonment, which is undoubtedly too severe. So far as judiciaries are concerned, reflection should be made with respect to the relevant legislative provisions. In handling individual cases, the wisest practice for judiciaries is to refer to the provision of clause 2 of article 63 of the Criminal Law, hence submitting them to the examination and approval by the Supreme Court for mitigation of penalties. Fu liqing, Ph.D graduate of Peking University (major in the science of criminal law), is now a lecturer at Law School of Renmin University of China. He once learned at Law School of Tokyo University of Japan (2004.10∼2006.9). His representative works are Make-up of the Rule of Law, Voice of the Rule of Law, Theory of the Subjective Illegal Elements—Evolving with the center of intention crime. Meanwhile, he has about 40 articles published in academic journals. His recent research is in the field of theoretic re-construction of the constitutive crime elements and the application of interpretation method on criminal law, etc.     

Democracy,rule of law and human rights protection under gradually developed constitutionalism —by the clue of administrative law

With the shifting of the economic pattern and the developing of administrative law, the modern constitutionalism of China has adopted a progressive development process. Over 20 years, the development of democracy, the rule of law and the human rights protection clearly illustrate this point. For the gradually developing constitutionalism, the theory of limited rational is a theoretical basis, the stability of society is a social basis, the changing economic system is a economic basis, and Confucianism is a cultural basis. Constitutionalism of China should continue to go in such an active, steady and gradual way.     

高管薪酬规范与法律的有限干预

The determination of corporate executive compensation is a kind of affiliated transactions including special conflicts of interest in the company. The regulation of executive compensation by law is extremely necessary but plays a limited role, and the scope and mode of such role are specific. The due process and information disclosure system in determining executive compensation prescribed in company law and securities law, the policy guidance of the tax legal regime, and the active and prudential judicial review are the three aspects of the regulation of executive compensation by law, the common goal of which is to ensure and enhance the correlation between executive compensation and corporate performance, i.e., the realization of the principle of “performance-based compensation.” Li Jianwei, Ph. D, is an associate professor of law at China University of Political Science and Law, and a visiting scholar at Faculty of Law, University of New South Wales, Australia. His major research is in corporate law, corporate governance and corporate management system, and his major works include: Corporate Law (RUC Press, 2008), Legal Regulation on Affiliated Transaction (Law Press, 2007), The Role of Law in Corporate Management (People’s Court Press, 2005), A Research on Independent Director System (RUC Press, 2004), A Research on the State-owned Exclusive Company (Law Press, 2002). Moreover, he has more than 30 articles released in core academic journals.     

对中国登记离婚制度的评价与反思

The Regulations on Marriage Registration promulgated in 2003 advocates the ideas for autonomy of private law, such as “autonomy of individual will”, “self responsibility” and “self-determination right”, ushering a new era of Chinese divorce registration system from supervision by employed institution to self responsibility, however, such issues also result in excessive freedom and insufficient restriction. In setting up the divorce registration system, therefore, it shall also be considered for the protection of disadvantaged parties and minor children so as to ensure the fairness and justice of law and the harmony and stability of society. Xia Yinlan, LL.D, is a professor and doctoral tutor and the dean of the School of International Studies in China University of Political Science and Law. She is also the vice chairman of Beijing Women’s Federation, the member of the executive committee of China Women’s Federation, the director of Marriage and Family Legal Research Institution under the supervision of China Law Society, the vice director of China Association of Marriage and Family Studies, the standing director of the International Family Law Society, the vice director of Beijing Women’s Law Research Institution. Her major academic interest covers women’s human rights, heritage law and family law. She was once a Fulbright visiting scholar in the United States and a legal expert in Macau Legal Affair Bureau. She’s one of the experts in drafting the P.R.C. Law on the Protection Of Women’s Rights (revised), the Marriage Law of P.R.C. (revised) and the Regulation of Marriage Registration of P.R.C., and she is still active in participating in the legislation activities of China. Prof. Xia wrote or co-wrote more than 20 monographs and textbooks, including American Modern Family and Marriage System, the Freedom and Restriction of Divorce, the Basic Framework Research on Domestic Violence Law, etc. In Chinese and foreign academic journals, more than 60 articles have been released, such as the study on property segmentation in divorce in China, the study on family violence under the framework of women’s rights, the comparison on the factual marriage in Macau and the Mainland of China.     

关于完善中国缺陷产品召回制度的若干问题

Defective product recalling system is a new regime in modern civil law, characterized by its special functions to prevent and eliminate the harms concerning consumers’ body and property due to potential defects of products. In legal nature, it is necessary to define “recalling defective products” as the obligation rather than the liability of manufacturers or sellers, so as to encourage both manufacturers and sellers to take effective remedies immediately upon defective products. Product recalling is of two categories, i.e., active recalling and compulsory recalling, and the breach of such recalling obligation will lead to a series of legal liabilities. Considering the importance of the recalling system and the economic development of China, it is strongly proposed that China shall formulate the Law of Defective Product Recalling. Wang Liming, Ph.D of Law, is currently a vice president of Renmin University of China and dean of the Law School. Prof. WANG is also a member of the Law Committee of 10th and 11th National People’s Congress, vice president of China Law Society. Prof. WANG is a leading expert in the drafting and formulating important civil laws in China, such as the Law of Real Rights of PRC. His main research area is civil and commercial law. Quite a number of his monographs won national academic achievements award, including but not limited to Study on Civil Law Regime (Renmin University of China Press, 2008), Study on General Principles of Civil Law (Renmin University of China Press, 2003), Draft of Law of Real Rights and its Interpretation (China Legality Press, 2001), etc. He also has 100 or so articles published in law journals home and abroad.     

Interdisciplinary research on international relations theory and international law in China over the past 10 years

From the origin, there has been a strong connection between international relations and international law. In the development of the history of different academic subjects, the research on international relations and international law are interdependently promoting each other. As a result, the realization of interdisciplinary research on international legal theory and the study of international law is inevitable. As a matter of fact, even though the interdisciplinary research of the two subjects has been separated for almost half a century, the need for the development of the subject and the changing world political and economical status give them a new chance for reunification. Recently, the interdisciplinary research on international relations theory and international law by the Western academic is becoming the order of the day, which has become the latest shining point of the recent development of the two subjects, which is even regarded as the new revolution of international relations theory and the study of international law. In this context, the past ten years is a period of emergence of Chinese international relations and the interdisciplinary research of international law. In the past ten years, some scholars have overcome “the difficulty of interdisciplinary research,” “the prejudice within the subject” and “the gap among different subjects,” and made pioneering research in the field of “systematic connection” and “issues in overlapping field.” Moreover, they gradually make the interdisciplinary research to be a popular method and a common recognition. Based on the current studies, interdisciplinary research will have a broad future in the fields such as “the interchange of concepts,” “the exchange of method,” and “the mutual assistance of materials,” which will provide scholars in this area with a broad space for research.     

论中国和平发展与国际法的交互影响和作用

A peaceful and harmonious world is an important social basis for China’s peaceful development, and international law lays a legal foundation and guarantee for building such a world. In the “village of globe” with co-existence and economic globalization, international law provides China a peaceful development with legal certainty in external environment of peace and security, fair and equal international competitive order, and international cooperation; and on the other hand, it puts on an increasing legal restraint on the internal and external strategies of China’s peaceful development. At the same time, the peaceful development of China deems to make a great contribution to the world, which are the main subject of international law in peace and development, as well as to human rights, rule of law and democracy, which are the universal values pursued by international law. Zeng Lingliang, Ph.D of law, is presently a dean and professor in the Faculty of Law in University of Macau. He is an awardee of the Cheung Kong Scholars Award Program and Jean Monnet Chair of European Union Law in Wuhan University, and one of the first three individuals nominated by the China government on the list of panelists in the WTO. He has published many articles on WTO issues, EU law and international law, and his influenced monographs are European Communities and Modern International Law (1992) and its revised edition—European Union and Modern International Law (1994), Law of World Trade Organization (1996), International Law and China in the Early 21 ^st Century (2005) and the Essentials of EU Law—in the New Perspective of the Treaty on the Constitution for Europe (2007).     

A Dialectic Study of the Structure and Basic Concepts of Traditional Chinese Law and an Analysis of the Relationship Between li (ceremony) and fa (law)

In the course of history, the meaning of fa (a Chinese character with an approximate meaning of “law”) has not been invariable, and its connotation in modern times has been enriched constantly, so as to incorporate many elements of ancient li (ceremony). If the modern concept of law, already changed and still changing, is to be used to mechanically compare and interpret traditional Chinese law, misunderstandings might arise. Actually, li and fa are indispensable components of traditional Chinese law, and the lack of necessary study of the li will prevent us from understanding and explaining the spirit of traditional Chinese law. In traditional Chinese law, “fa” usually refers to an institutional dimension, especially after Qin and Han dynasties, whereas li, especially li yi (moral basis for rites and ceremonies), is where the value and spirit of traditional Chinese law can be found. Translated from China Social Science, 5^th Issue, 2003 in Chinese     

Coase’s world and Coase’s blackboard

In this contribution I focus on a particular characteristic of Ronald Coase’s work, as exhibited in “The Problem of Social Cost”: his ability to force upon his audience a clearer grasp of reality than they previously held. More specifically, I aim to consider to what extent the “blackboard economics” that Coase himself derided have been avoided in a Coasean world, taking that expression to refer in some sense to a world where Coasean insights can flourish, and as such to be a world not simply of Coase’s own making but a world that has been developed by others in applying the Coase Theorem. My strategy is to interrogate the nature of a Coasean world through developing a framework that can look more closely at different approaches to theoretical modelling, the different worlds involved in these models, and the different positive and normative applications that can be derived from them. I shall further consider whether the understanding of the law that inhabits a Coasean world reflects a “real-world” legal environment. Finally, I shall seek to assess the impact of Coase’s work on our understanding of the relationship between law and economics, in our world.     

Thoughts on the theories and practice of chinese private international law

“The parties can only choose facultative legal norms,” “the parties of all foreign-related civil and commercial cases may agree to choose Chinese law as the applicable law governing their legal relationship,” and “the applicable law to the contract chosen by the parties shall not avoid the mandatory provisions of Chinese law” —such viewpoints that have substantial influence among the theorists and in the judicial practices of Chinese private international law are actually based on misunderstandings of Chinese private international law. It is a task of the private international law community of China to eliminate such misunderstandings, hence facilitating the healthy development of Chinese private international law.