Labour Law in a Service World

Drawing on the genealogy of the theoretical thought about services in economic and geographical economic literature, I argue in this article that in today's Service World it is highly important to develop an integrated approach that sees both consumption and production as impacting work relationships within legal thought. The current structure of labour law, which is based on the Fordist model of employment, is centred mainly on the production side, thus creating an incongruity between labour law and services. I propose thinking about work relations through a new framework –‘the nexus of service work’– that incorporates consumerism into the legal thought of work relationships, detaching it from the Fordist model of employment to achieve a more attuned approach to today's Service World.     

Liberalism and Its Other: The Politics of Primitivism in Colonial and Postcolonial Indian Law

Liberalism is widely regarded as a modern intellectual tradition that defends the rights and freedoms of autonomous individuals. Yet, in both colonial and postcolonial contexts, liberal theorists and lawmakers have struggled to defend the rights and freedoms of political subjects whom they regard as “primitive,” “backward,” or “indigenous.” Liberalism thus recurrently encounters its primitive other, a face‐off that gives rise to a peculiar set of dilemmas and contradictions for political theory and law. In what ways can postcolonial law rid itself of its colonial baggage? How can the ideal of universal liberal citizenship overcome paternalistic notions of protection? How might “primitive” subjects become full and equal citizens in postcolonial societies? To explore these dilemmas and contradictions, I study the intellectual trajectory of “primitivism” in India from the construction of so‐called tribal areas in the 1870s to legal debates and official reports on tribal rights in contemporary India. Through a close reading of these legal provisions for tribal peoples and places, I explore the continuing tension between the constitutional ideal of liberal citizenship and the disturbing reality of tribal subjecthood produced by colonial and postcolonial Indian states.     

试论就业歧视及其公法规制

就业歧视既是经济问题、社会问题,更是法律问题。当前我国普遍存在的就业歧视问题之根源在于市场经济条件下用人单位效益至上价值原则与劳动者平等就业价值理念两者之间的难以趋同,是当今法律面对的一种尴尬。国家对单位用人自主权进行公法意义上的规制是社会本位理念下的现代劳动法发展趋势之所在,制定反就业歧视法应作为完善劳动立法的一个重要方面。通过立法进一步明确平等就业的权利保障机制和违法救济措施,以期消除就业歧视、引导和推动我国劳动就业市场健康向前发展。     

The Origins of the ‘Nonmarket Economy’: Ideas,Pluralism & Power in EC Anti‐dumping Law about China

‘Market’ and ‘market economy’ exercise a powerful, even magnetic grip on our collective imagination. But what do we mean by ‘market economy’? Does it make sense to speak of a ‘nonmarket economy’, and if so, what does it mean? How are the ideas of ‘market economy’ and ‘nonmarket economy’ related? Focusing on EC anti‐dumping law, this article seeks to answer these questions. It argues that the legal concept of ‘nonmarket economy’ in EC anti‐dumping law has been socially constructed, by means of relations among a plurality of institutional and normative sites, as part of a changing configuration of legal ideas in specific historical circumstances, and in contexts of political, economic, social, and symbolic power. This argument is articulated in three parts. First, the concept of ‘nonmarket economy’ in EC anti‐dumping law, though drawing on earlier elements, had its main roots in the early Cold War. Second, starting in the 1960s, the GATT multilateral negotiating rounds began to define more specific international rules of the game, but a variety of more localised processes played essential roles as forces of change. Of special importance were, first, the tension between legislative rules and administrative discretion in the United States, and, second, the Europeanisation of foreign trade law in the course of European integration. Third, the EC law concept of ‘nonmarket economy’ was born in the late 1970s. The main reasons were changes in the international anti‐dumping law repertoire, specific ideas in Europe about comparative economic systems, and the perceived emergence of new economic threats, including exports from China.     

Sociological interpretations of legal development

This paper seeks to outline some ways in which sociological inquiry has helped to interpret general processes of legal development. It comments on a few aspects of a vast subject. Furthermore, it was commissioned in a specific context of debate: as part of an agenda of discussion of the relative merits and potential of sociological and economic analyses of law. Hence, to provide a setting for what I try to argue about the character and value of sociological interpretations of legal change, it seems appropriate to preface those arguments with some general ideas about the nature of sociological inquiries in legal contexts and about perceived contrasts between the orientation of these inquiries and what I take to be certain orientations in economic analysis of law. Accordingly this paper is in two parts. The first offers a few prefatory remarks on the character of theoretically guided sociological inquiries about law (sociology of law). The second discusses various kinds of interpretation of legal development, which have been offered from the perspectives of sociology of law.     

Contradictions, Law, and State Socialism

The relationship of law to antagonisms and contradictions within state socialism is explored from a Weberian and a Marxian perspective. Examining legislation, court decision making, legal control of economic behavior, and law enforcement reveals contradictions between (I) a radical participatory ideology versus muted or extinct civil society; (2) the ideology of comprehensive planning versus the impotence of law; (3) strategies aiming at total control of public life versus the emergence of a niche society outside the reach of the state; (4) regulatory norms versus the functional necessity of norm-breaking behavior; (5) reliance on a revolutionary sense of justice versus the cultivation of "doublethought"; (6) a program of total control of economic behavior versus the emergence of deviant, even criminal, forms of organization to fulfill functionally necessary but ideologically unapproved economic tasks; and finally, (7) two distinct practices of law, responsive or postliberal versus repressive. Yet, contradictions typically did not lead through conflict to subsequent reform during the state socialist era, as conflicts were repressed. When reforms were attempted, they furthered conflict and system breakdown.     

John R. Commons and Max Weber: The Foundations of an Economic Sociology of Law

This article underlines contemporary economic sociology's lack of interest – until recently – in legal phenomena, unlike the close attention paid by two historic figures in ‘economic sociology’, Max Weber and John R. Commons, to the relationships between law and economy. It argues that to grasp fully the importance of the legal dimension in socio‐economic analysis, we must return to their foundational insights. However, they particularly stress differences between Weber and Commons as to the unity or heterogeneity of law and the economy, the role of ethics, the search for an all‐encompassing approach in the construction of ideal‐types, the various forms of constraint that characterize law (whether psychological, economic, or physical), and the distinction between state law and non‐state law. The latter element is why the authors argue that due consideration for legal plurality should be a central thread in any sociological analysis of the interplay between law and the economy.     

反垄断法的经济学分析——兼评中国《反垄断法》的适用和完善

《反垄断法》作为经济法的核心、市场经济国家的基本法律制度,在关国等现代资本主义国家具有悠久的历史,素有“经济宪法”、“市场经济大宪章”之称。我国的市场经济起步较晚,导致适用于现代经济的法律体系构建也比较迟缓和不健全。结合法经济学的理论对我国《反垄断法》适用中的一些问题进行分析,着重以经济学的博弈均衡理论分析行政垄断问题,以此说明经济学分析方法不仅是完善反垄断法律体系的理论基础,而且也是重要的辅助性工具,可以为法律的适用和执行提供新的思路和指引。     

争议与困惑:经济法中的法律责任研究述评

经济法学界对法律责任已有20多年的研究,在法律责任的一般理论基础上形成了多种学说。在这些研究中,经济法中的法律责任的称谓、独立性问题争议尚存;对经济法中的法律责任的特点形成了一定程度的共识;在具体责任形态方面,经济法通过直接和间接方式承继了传统法律责任,同时又以企业社会责任、缺陷产品召回、惩罚性赔偿、纠正性广告等形式展现了经济法中法律责任的特色。相关研究的争议和困惑反映了经济法学理论研究中较为普遍存在的概念术语范畴体系的矛盾冲突,这主要是经济法学非传统的新兴交叉学科特征所决定的,用"经济"一词在传统术语上贴标签式的研究进路值得反思。     

经济法与社会法关系初探

社会法作为寓于法律社会化过程中的公法与私法相融合的第三法域 ,在其发展到一定阶段 ,出现了作为经济领域法律社会化现象的经济法。因而 ,一方面 ,经济法具有广义社会法的基本属性 ;另一方面 ,经济法与狭义社会法之间 ,各自所对应的国家干预在范围、宗旨和手段上都不尽相同 ,但在经济与社会趋于一体化的现代市场经济体制中 ,需要完善其功能的配合。     

论“用工建立劳动关系”规则的目的性限缩

司法实践与学说理论一般认为，《劳动合同法》第7条和第10条第3款确立了所谓的“用工建立劳动关系”规则。将该规则机械地理解为劳动关系统一自用工之日起建立将导致诸多现实不公以及法律体系的内部违反，构成法律漏洞。“用工建立劳动关系”规则的立法目的是为了解决没有签订书面劳动合同的情况下劳动关系难以证明的问题，第7条和第10条第3款的文义超过了立法目的预设的范围，应当通过目的性限缩，将该规则的适用范围限制在有用工行为而未签订书面劳动合同这一特定情形。同时，对该规则进行目的性限缩的附带效应，是重新确立了当事人合意在劳动关系建立问题上的决定性地位。     

民事法益的证成——以有限理性为视角

人类的理性是有限度的,这就必然导致有限理性下的立法具有不完备性。法律的不完备性在民法上集中体现为两个方面:一是在立法时基于立法者的有限理性,将某些利益遗漏,没有纳入到法律之中,从而形成了预见缺失型立法漏洞;二是民事权利体系的建构与利益生长性之间的矛盾。上述两种情况实际都导致了应然权利和法定权利的分离状态。在应然权利尚未上升到法定权利但是通过法律间接地予以保护之后,则表现为法益的正常状态。     

The Structure of American Legal Institutions and the Diffusion of Wrongful‐Discharge Laws, 1978–1999

This article evaluates how the social structure of American legal institutions influenced the diffusion of wrongful‐discharge laws over the period 1978–1999, and it assesses whether economic or political variables influenced the diffusion process. The results are surprising and quite striking. Precedents by other courts within the same federal circuit region were generally more influential in the diffusion process than precedents by courts in neighboring states or by courts within the same census or West legal reporting region, even though the precedents were on matters of state law rather than federal law and the decisions were usually made by state courts rather than federal courts. There is some limited evidence that political variables may also have been a factor, but economic variables were not statistically significant, even though the new employment laws may have had important economic consequences.     

现行跨国公司之法律管制缺陷评析

跨国公司是全球化的动力,同时也是全球化时代各种矛盾的聚焦点。组成跨国公司的各实体在经济上的一体性与法律上的独立性之间的矛盾,使得有效管制跨国公司成为世界性的难题。恰当地进行法律设计的一个重要前提是,对现行跨国公司法律管制机制的缺陷进行科学的分析,从而寻找克服缺陷的方法,探索新型跨国公司法律管制的模式——全球管制治理机制。     

略论构建社会主义和谐社会与经济法的职能作用

经济法是以科学发展观为统领的构建社会主义和谐社会的实践所需的法律系统工程的重要组成部分。经济法调整社会关系的“平衡协调”的特质与构建和谐社会的理念和精神是一致的。这一特质及其“综合性”的特点,对于解决或缓和公平与效率的矛盾,并使之形成良性互动的最佳状态,促进经济社会的协调发展和构建社会主义和谐社会具有现实意义。同时,亦可由此对经济法的作用、地位、与其他相关法律部门的关系等基本问题有进一步的认识。     

中国经济刑法法益:认知、反思与建构

当前基于秩序、利益、自由等表述的经济刑法法益学说在认知进路上存在问题,无法形成本体和功能自洽的法益观。应当承认集体法益的独立性,立足法益二元论对经济刑法法益进行本体重塑与功能展开。它勾连宪法,是保障在经济领域中实现个人自由的外部条件的统一体,也是经济秩序市场经济规范保护的客体。法益不是刑法独有的保护目标,仅根据法益标准难以有效区分刑事不法与行政不法。经济刑法的犯罪化应坚持保护适格的集体法益,同时更加注重合比例原则和明确性原则的补充与限制。经本体重塑的经济刑法法益兼具体系超越与体系内在功能,有助于在反思当下中国经济刑法立法与司法的基础上,重构经济刑法的立法理念与犯罪化标准,厘清经济犯罪的类型与解释原理。     

“需要国家干预说”的法哲学分析

“需要国家干预说”是 20世纪中国经济法学最重要的学说之一。有限理性假设、国家适度干预、经济民主、社会公平、经济法治是其基本的法哲学叙事立场。国家是干预需要的满足者,“需要”是通过干预重建经济自由秩序的法律理由。国家超越市场利益关系对经济进行干预调节,国家干预由此构成经济法的基本哲学范畴与法理标志。经济宪政哲学是国家干预经济的法哲学进路,通过经济民主机制设定的干预才能避免经济专制,国家与社会成员共同分享经济权力才能保障干预的社会性与民主性,干预的达成并非一定为了公共,公共中的个体主义是结成公共的价值指引。     

Between the Law: The Unmaking of Empire and Law's Imperial Amnesia

Asian victims of Japanese imperialism have filed lawsuits against the Japanese government and corporations since the 1990s, which became prime sites for redress decades after Japan's defeat in World War II. As this ethnography demonstrates, this process paradoxically exposes a legal lacuna within this emergent transnational legal space, with plaintiffs effectively caught between the law, instead of standing before the law. Exploring this absence of law, I map out a post‐imperial legal space, created through the erasure of imperial and colonial subjects in the legal framework after empire. Between the law is an optic that makes visible uneven legal terrains that embody temporal and spatial disjuncture, rupture, and asymmetry. The role of law in post‐imperial transitions remains underexplored in literatures on transnational law, legal imperialism, postcolonialism, and transitional justice. I demonstrate how, at the intersection of law and economy, post‐imperial reckoning is emerging as a new legal frontier, putting at stake law's imperial amnesia.     

Under the quasi-judicial state: H-1B employment rights in an era of judicial retrenchment

Foreign workers holding H-1B visas gained recourse to federal employment rights under the Immigration & Nationality Act (INA) for the very first time when Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1990 (IMMACT90). This paper examines H-1B employment rights enforcement under the INA as it has intersected with broader features of the American legal system: what political scientists call judicial retrenchment and the quasi-judicial state. I first show how H-1B rights, already limited by the domestic politics that shaped the IMMACT, became subject to judicial retrenchment when the federal courts confined H-1B disputes under the INA to the quasi-judicial state at the Department of Labor (DOL). I then use published data on DOL investigation outcomes, published and unpublished administrative case records, and judicial cases reviewing agency action to examine the extent to which and how H-1B workers can use the quasi-judicial state to solve workplace problems. My empirical findings contribute to a new understanding of the relationship between rights retrenchment, the judiciary, and the rise of alternatives to court in immigration and employment law and point to possible fine-grained changes for future immigration reform.