Substantive rules of argumentation for value judgment in civil law: In the context of academic practice of civil law in China

Value judgment is at the core of civil law. This paper explores how scholars of civil law reach mutual understanding and consensus on specific value judgment by rational discussion in the context of multiple value orientation. Based on a brief evaluation of the theory of legal argument and with the basic value consensus of Chinese civil law scholars as the premise, this paper proposes two substantive rules of argumentation for scholars of civil law to discuss value judgment: First, a strong of equal treatment should be carried out in the absence of sufficient and justified reasons or otherwise; Second, the freedom of civil subject should not be restrained in the absence of sufficient and justified reasons or otherwise. To reach mutual understanding, and on the basis of that to reach new consensus on specific value judgment further, scholars of civil law should base their discussions on substantive rules of argumentation for value judgment, follow rules and forms of argumentation as procedural techniques, and apply proper methods of argumentation. This paper also explores the application of substantive rules of argumentation on two specific value judgment issues of civil law scholars.     

Making the Case for Socio‐legal Research in Land Law: Renner and the Law of Mortgage

The aim of this article is to enhance knowledge of and to encourage further research into two areas not traditionally the subject of socio‐legal research, namely, the work of Karl Renner and the English law of mortgage, for three reasons. First, an account of them supports the proposition that a true understanding of law requires knowledge of its origins, content, and function. Second, Renner's theory can contribute significantly to our understanding of law by offering an alternative to the polarized debate between legal autopoiesis and other sociological conceptions of law. Third, it has much to tell us about the relationship between legal and social change. In particular, Renner's work suggests that those seeking legal reform should look not to the legislature, but to those capable of influencing its ‘social function’. Those frustrated by the lack of doctrinal reform within the law of mortgage can take heart, therefore, from the continual process of change evident in its social function. Ultimately, however, further socio‐legal research is required, for a more developed understanding of the law of mortgage.     

Open and distance learning in a New Europe*

Legal education is gradually moving away from the teaching of national law towards a more European, transnational, or even “global” way of teaching. This paper seeks to explain why an international legal education is to be preferred to a national curriculum and what this means for how law is taught and how law schools are ideally organised. The arguments for an international legal education lie in the increasing plurality of legal sources, the desire to attract students from a larger pool, and the need not only to give students a specialised professional training but also to prepare them for global citizenship. It is claimed students should be exposed to alternative ways of achieving justice, thus creating a dialogue with otherness. This can be done by a focus on the arguments behind the choices made by the relevant authorities and not on the doctrinal intricacies of national legal systems. This type of international curriculum, in which competing conceptions of justice are at the centre of attention, requires a specific teaching method. Two methods seem best suited to allow students to construct their own understanding of legal problems: problem-based learning (PBL) and the Socratic method. In addition, teaching law in an international setting forces us to think through the sequence in which the various jurisdictions come to the fore, the assessment of students and the use of teaching materials and language of instruction. Also discussed are the challenges for the law school as a whole, such as the relationship between teaching and research, the recruitment of faculty and the decreasing relevance of the traditional departmental structure.     

Why Interpret?

Abstract. My article is about legal interpretation, but not about the question: how to interpret the law. Rather its aim is to make us consider seriously the question: Why is interpretation central to legal practices? After all not all normative practices assign interpretation such a central role. In this regard the law contrasts with morality. The reason for the contrast has to do with the status of sources in the law. There are no “moral sources” while legal sources are central to the law. Legal interpretation is primarily—I will suggest—the interpretation not of the law, but of its sources. To understand why interpretation is central to legal practices requires understanding the role of sources in the law: the reasons for having them, and hence also the ways in which they should be treated. I will show how reflections about these topics connect with some traditional jurisprudential puzzles, such as the relations between law and morality. Are there gaps in the law? Is the law or its interpretation objective or subjective?     

试论我国的区域经济一体化与判决的自由流动

香港、澳门回归后,中央政府分别与香港特区和澳门特区签署了更紧密经贸关系的安排。内地与特区实施CEPA协议后,加速了地区经济一体化进程,客观上要求圆满解决在货物、人员、服务、资本流动中出现的各种争议,特别是要求实现判决自由流动问题。我国特别需要在宪法中明确规定中国区际司法协助的原则,即在＂一国两制＂下,相互尊重和信任各法域的法律制度及根据其法律做成的民商事判决,促进相互之间判决的自由流动。     

基于经验法则的法律论证

我国法官的裁判文书说理欲实现规范化,必须重视法律论证,为每个主张与判断提供充分的理由。最高人民法院的指导意见表明经验法则是法官进行法律论证的重要理由。经验法则作为一种实践描述能够推动法律论证填补规范缝隙。在事实认定的论证环节,经验法则既是证明规则与证据规则的形成背景,更是事实推定的直接依据。只有妥善把握经验法则的盖然性,才能规避逆谬误与后见偏差等认知陷阱,合理借助经验法则论证三段论中的小前提。在法律适用的论证环节,经验法则是类比过程中相似点与规范效果之间相关性的判断依据。法官可以借助经验法则论证立法理由与事物本质,进而根据法律目的判断相似点的相关性。基于经验法则的法律论证既能回应当下释法说理的需求,也是法律论证理论扎根中国司法土壤的尝试。     

麦考密克论融贯

麦考密克对规范性融贯和描述性融贯的区分，启示我们在司法裁判或证立过程中不但要重视规范要素的融贯、而且要重视事实要素的融贯，规范性融贯与描述性融贯密不可分，法律方法领域不应忽视对证据融贯性要求的研究。努力在法律体系内确保价值融贯的原则论证方式，不仅是对司法证立的一种形式要求，而且含有正当性要求，它把司法行为限制在合法范围内，在约束法官判决主观因素的同时，增加了司法行为的机动性。     

How Do Fictions Construe Our Laws for Us?

This paper on van Schooten’s book starts from the observation that citizens untrained in the law are yet able to live by the law, while not being part of the established interpretive community. They manage to live with fictions. Neither the discredited flow model of legal communication rejected by Van Schooten nor her own semiotic and institutional alternative theory manages to deal with this phenomenon in an adequate way. We can learn from Plato’s discussion with Crito in which the laws were imagined as speaking beings that there is a long philosophical tradition according to which laws are imagined to speak to us (while everybody knows otherwise). Working with this legal fiction in our own democratic societies requires an analysis of the way fictions construe our laws for us. Five of these fictions are then briefly mentioned: perfect or at least adequate legal knowledge; legislative intention; instrumental reason; the General Interest; and the rule of measures, not of men.     

法律交易论

在一部民法典中对“民事法律行为”作出专门规定,这在法律逻辑上是有问题的。考察所谓“民事法律行为”的由来及其本质,可知产生这样的问题是必然的。因为我们在上个世纪初接受西方法律,特别是德国民法时,并没有完全把握《德国民法典》中法律交易的实质及其整个理论体系,一开始就将法律行为与法律交易混淆,从而导致了一系列理论上的混乱。在德国民法中,法律行为与法律交易是明确区分的,前者的法律后果是法律规定的,而后者的法律后果则是交易人意思指向的。就此而言,法律交易的合法性乃毋庸置疑的题中之义。与此同时,它又必然是民法的核心。因为它既从根本上体现着私人自治和意思自治的法律理念,又从技术和制度上表明着最基本法律活动的最一般抽象。从法律史上考察,这种思路早在古代罗马法中就已现端倪,但最终形成于19世纪德国法学。至于现今我们民法中所谓的“法律行为”或“民事法律行为”,其实就是德国民法中的法律交易。它原本是民法中的一个专属概念,但由于我们原始的概念混淆与误解,才不得不用“民事”加以限定,以至于造成不用“民事”限定就无法区别于法律行为,若用“民事”限定就导致逻辑问题的尴尬与两难。解决这个问题的途径只能是:从整个法律理论,特别是民法理论体系上梳理把握法律交易和法律     

未完全定型背景下的协商性法律监督——作为协商内容的制度改良

检察机关法律监督内容在当前世情、国情、社情下必须有新的内容。目前检察机关面临的外部环境要求检察机关以更积极的态度、方式来应对社会矛盾,依托执法办案参与政治活动。检察机关主要工作是刑事案件办理,但从延伸检察检察职能的角度看,更应关注犯罪发生的深层制度原因,并针对制度原因提出相应的政治建言。单个刑案所反映的制度原因可能是碎片式的,但将这些碎片式的制度原因结合到一起,就可能发现罪犯的产生具有必然性。因此,协商性法律监督就是要通过个案反映出的制度累积性矛盾,以对话、沟通、建议等协商性形式提出针对性的法律监督意见。在实务方面,检察机关参与制度改良既有现成的政治环境,也有相应的工作方式。今后的检察执法更应当注重点对面式的监督。     

Making the innocent pay

Even those of us who enter the legal profession for reasonsof personal advancement or greed can spot an injustice whenwe see it. As students and raw recruits to the profession, weshare with our clients the notion that, in any cause, one sideis ‘right’ and the other ‘wrong’. Toallow the party in the wrong to vanquish the party in the rightwould be unjust, notwithstanding the fact that the law permitsit. In time our perspective mellows: we learn to appreciatethat     

论网络游戏中虚拟物品的价值属性及其法律保护

互联网的普及与技术的进步,给我们带来了许多发生在网络空间中、甚或现实空间的围绕网络游戏中虚拟物品的纠纷。有关网络游戏中虚拟财产的法律性质不明确,通过司法途径解决类似的网络游戏纠纷存在诸多不确定的因素,对虚拟财产的保护处于无奈的状态。从经济学及法学的角度分析,很有对网络游戏中虚拟物品及其权益进行保护的必要性。对网络游戏中虚拟物品及其权益进行保护,可以从民法、刑法、网络法的制定与完善上进行。     

法院裁判文书中的法条引用问题研究

正确引用法条是裁判文书正确适用法律的重要环节,对于提高裁判文书质量、实现司法公正有重要意义。但是,在审判实践中,错误引用法条甚至不引用任何法条就作出裁判的文书时常可以看到,影响了案件审判的质量。规范裁判文书中的法条引用,不仅可以向当事人说明裁判结果的形成原因,而且还可以有效地制约法官的自由裁量权,减少司法腐败,提升司法公信力。     

PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION: RETHINKING THE REASONS,NATURE, AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK

This paper rethinks the reasons for and the nature and means of personal data protection. The reasons for personal data protection are that it could promote the fairness and effectiveness of information flow, help individuals develop their independent personality, and equip them to deal with risks. With respect to the nature of personal data, this paper argues that such data should not be perceived from a purely individualistic point of view. Rather, there should be a contextualized understanding of the data, which considers the appropriate information flow of personal data within a particular context. Regarding the legal framework of personal data protection, this paper suggests that consumer protection law and public law are better equipped to protect personal data than tort, contract, or property law.     

探寻法律效力的来源——分析实证法学之理论述评

以探求法律效力来源问题在实证分析法学中的解答为目标,从哲学上的休谟难题开始阐发,试图通过对选取的几位分析法学家的理论分析,最终理解实证分析法学对于该问题的解答,并试图阐明:法律效力的来源应当是来自于法律体系的内部,即来自于法律自身。法律与道德不可分离的论断只会掩盖问题的实质,只有厘定法律的界限,才能有助于我们更加清晰地理解法律效力的来源,最终真正理解法律以及法律体系的内涵。     

Location privacy: The challenges of mobile service devices

Adding to the current debate, this article focuses on the personal data and privacy challenges posed by private industry's use of smart mobile devices that provide location-based services to users and consumers. Directly relevant to personal data protection are valid concerns about the collection, retention, use and accessibility of this kind of personal data, in relation to which a key issue is whether valid consent is ever obtained from users. While it is indisputable that geo-location technologies serve important functions, their potential use for surveillance and invasion of privacy should not be overlooked. Thus, in this study we address the question of how a legal regime can ensure the proper functionality of geo-location technologies while preventing their misuse. In doing so, we examine whether information gathered from geo-location technologies is a form of personal data, how it is related to privacy and whether current legal protection mechanisms are adequate. We argue that geo-location data are indeed a type of personal data. Not only is this kind of data related to an identified or identifiable person, it can reveal also core biographical personal data. What is needed is the strengthening of the existing law that protects personal data (including location data), and a flexible legal response that can incorporate the ever-evolving and unknown advances in technology.     

刑法规范的结构、属性及其在解释论上的意义

从一般法理学出发,对刑法规范结构、属性的揭示,对于合理定位犯罪论的基本范畴、解决刑事违法性判断与一般违法性判断的关系具有重要意义。从对某一类社会关系的法律规制出发,刑法规范结构具有开放的、不完整的特征;而从刑法条文出发,则刑法规范结构则呈现出封闭、完整的形象。从不同视角看待刑法规范,在理解构成要件、违法性判断等基础问题方面会有着相应的、不同的结论。刑法规范属于保护性法律规范,如此即应认为刑事违法性判断存在实质从属性的特征。     

意思表示分析

意思表示是私法秩序下绝大多数法律关系的起点。意思表示作为人的内心活动的外部传达或宣示 ,必然要引出意思与表示是否一致 ,以及两者不一致时如何对已有意思表示进行判断的问题。解决这个问题的关键是如何理解意思与表示在法律交易中的实质作用及其相互关系。较可取的做法是认为意思表示的内容与效力应该通过规定性的表示获得。     

The place of law in a business studies curriculum

Abstract

LEGAL ETHICS are the values that inform the practice of law. This article establishes what and how Australian law schools teach about legal ethics and suggests what and how Australian law schools should teach about legal ethics.

First, the article establishes that Australian law schools tend to teach legal ethics as if it were only concerned with the law of lawyering. It also establishes that Australian law schools tend to teach legal ethics discretely over the course of one subject out of the whole undergraduate curriculum.

Secondly, this article suggests the adoption of a new approach to legal ethics as the ability to exercise legal ethical judgment. It also suggests a pervasive method of instruction that integrates issues of legal ethics and the process of legal ethical judgment into every subject in the undergraduate curriculum in combination with discrete subjects on the context and substance of the law of lawyering.     

Between Law and Social Norms: The Evolution of Global Governance

Abstract.  It is commonplace that economic globalization poses new challenges to legal theory. But instead of responding to these challenges, legal scholars often get caught up in heated yet purely abstract discussions of positivist and legal pluralist conceptions of the law. Meanwhile, economics-based theories such as "Law and Social Norms" have much less difficulty in analysing the newly arising forms of private and hybrid "governance without government" from a functional perspective. While legal theory has much to learn from these approaches, we argue that they fail in one crucial point: They cannot uphold the analytical distinction between law and non-law. The reasons for this shortcoming are theory-immanent in that the economic theories' focus on efficiency and their actor-based perspective are necessarily blind to "law's own rationality." We therefore propose to further develop those functional approaches to the study of global governance by complementing them with elements from Niklas Luhmann's systems theory of law. This will provide us with a conceptual framework for analyzing the workings of global governance regimes without ignoring their potential for "legalisation" and "constitutionalisation." As we will show in three concrete examples (Corporate Social Responsibility, lex mercatoria , and internet regulation) we can thus describe the evolution of new forms of legal regulation beyond the nation-state. This will also allow us to draw some preliminary conclusions on the role of law in the context of globalization and, at the same time, show the direction for further empirical research.