2010年香港海商法判例综述

2010年香港海商法判例,包括海事和商事案件,来自香港高等法院原诉法庭和上诉法庭。案件主要涉及再保险人诉讼法律地位、官方法律程序及豁免、香港和内地法院管辖争议及法院对仲裁裁决的认可。作为香港普通法,2010年的判例涉及范围广泛,案件比较复杂,涉及实务中的常见问题,案件的判决结果值得实务界参考和借鉴。     

2011年香港海商法判例综述

2011年香港海商法判例,来自香港高等法院原诉法庭和上诉法庭。案件主要涉及海上货物运输责任限额、海运单的法律适用、建造中船舶的所有权、管辖地的选择、船舶碰撞责任等法律问题。这些案件既有实体法律问题,也有程序法律问题,涉及多国法律的选择和管辖地法院的选择,充分体现了海商案件的复杂性和多元性。     

关于自诉案件二审程序中的几个问题

自诉案件的第二审程序,从总体上看与公诉案件基本相同,无论是在上诉的理由、期限、提起上诉的方式,还是二审法庭的组成、审理程序和方式以及处理的结果上,都     

实行规范化管理 提高庭审水平

今年以来,济南市中区法院通过对法庭工作实行全方位规范化管理,提高了法庭庭审水平,推进了民事审判方式的改革。今年1至7月份全院各法庭共计审结民事,经济案件1684件,比去年同期提高33.5%;上诉的案件在继续保持无发回重审的基础上,维持率     

美国小额求偿法庭介绍

<正> 美国的法院制度包括通常的联邦法院制度和州法院制度。常规的联邦法院制度由1个联邦最高法院、12 个联邦上诉法院和90个联邦区域法院组成;州法院制度由上诉法院(每个州都至少有二个上诉法院,州的上 诉法院通常又称州最高法院)和初审法院组成,除了常规的上诉法院和初审法院以外,每个州几乎都有一些处 理特殊案件的专门法庭,如遗嘱查验法庭、小额求偿法庭。本文特就美国的小额求偿法庭作一介绍。     

美国“法庭之友”制度初探

＂法庭之友＂来源于古罗马法,经历了漫长的历史发展,早期运用于英国普通法律中,然后运用到了美国法律并且由此逐渐发展开来。这种制度的主要设立原因是为了给非案件当事人向法庭陈述意见的平台,在上诉审中得到了较大的运用。运用这种制度的能够促进非案件当事人对法庭提供与案件有关的实用信息,讲述出与案件事实相关的内容。而＂法庭之友＂能够对法院的判决起到影响作用,其主要以书状的形式实现,又能称作为＂法庭之友陈述＂。     

北京远程视频庭审扫描

北京远郊区县的老百姓上诉打官司往往需要乘坐公交车翻山越岭,行程两三百里地往返于城区的中级法院和远郊山区之间,且需要耗费大量的路途时间和精力、财力。北京市在全国法院系统率先启动视频法庭,既有远郊区县法院及基层人民法庭的视频法庭,又有城区中级法院及集中审理类型案件的法院的视频法庭;庭审内     

扬州法院努力提升人民法庭服务社会主义新农村建设的水平

扬州全市法院共设置有16个人民法庭,辖73个乡镇,约340万人口。各法庭至少配备一个合议庭,85%的法庭设置了执行组,75%的法庭庭长落实了副科以上职级。各法庭主要审理民商事案件和少量的刑事自诉案件,法庭审理案件数约占基层法院案件总数的38%,案件调解率平均达60%,简易程序适用率为85%,上诉案件发改率仅为2%,法庭利用网络直接立案、使用电子印章方便当事人诉讼率达到100%。近三年来,全市人民法庭投入建设和装备资金1459万元,总建筑面积达13440平方米,平均每个法庭达到840平方米,至2006年底全部完成人民法庭基本建设,并在全省率先完成法庭达标…     

法国最高法院的机构设置与职能

法国法院分为司法法院和行政法院两个独立的法院系统。司法法院负责处理刑事、民事和商事诉讼案件,行政法院则负责处理行政诉讼案件。根据法国司法部截止到2001年底的统计资料,法国司法法院系统包括最高法院(Cour de cassation)1所,上诉法院(cours d'appel)35所,高等上诉法庭(tribunaux superieursd'appel)2所,大审法院(tribunaux de grande instance)181所,一审法庭(tribunaux de 1re instance)5所,少年法庭(tribunaux pourenfants)139所,社会保险事务法庭(tribunaux des affaires de     

澳大利亚海商法律的改革与发展

澳大利亚是一个普通法系国家,其海商法律制度长期受英国法的制约和影响。至今英国枢密院对来自澳大利亚联邦法院的上诉案件作出的判决仍是澳大利亚法院的办案依据。尽管海事判例在该国司法中起着十分重要的作用,但该国的海商法堪称完备,二者的结合则构成它的海商法规范。随着世界政治经济形势和航运事业的发展,澳大利亚于本世纪八十年代加速了法律改革的进程。     

表达自由的理念与限度——香港特别行政区终审法院国旗案与美国最高法院焚烧国旗案比较研究

表达自由权是《香港特别行政区基本法》所确认的公民基本权利之一。该权利在香港特别行政区的司法实践中表现出与美国宪法上的表达自由权很强的可比性:香港特别行政区终审法院与美国联邦最高法院所秉承的表达自由基本理论以及所适用的法律解释方法和司法审查标准等都极为相似;与此同时,在个案处理上,两个法院又结合各自不同的社会背景保持了必要的差异性。香港特别行政区终审法院在基本法的框架下已经初步形成了比较鲜明和稳固的表达自由权的法理。     

香港法律下对中国内地“船舶挂靠”现象中船舶所有人的识别

考察了中国"船舶挂靠"现象所导致的船舶的登记船东与实际船东不一致的问题,以及这样的登记船东和实际船东在香港的对物诉讼中会遇到的法律问题,结合2000年至2006年分别涉及香港的高等法院海事庭、上诉法院及终审法院的几个判例,分析香港不同等级的法院及不同的法官如何认定"船东"一词所指为谁及他们有否及如何考虑在涉及"船舶挂靠"关系时登记船东与实际船东究竟谁是香港法律中所称的船东,并提出香港的法院应根据事实而非登记册认定真正船舶所有人的观点。     

Internet intermediaries: The liability for defamatory postings in China and Hong Kong

The debate between protecting the freedom of expression on the one hand and the right to an individual privacy on the other is not new. Certainly with the introduction of the Internet, the debate has moved onto a whole new level. While no-one disputes that the Internet has significantly transformed lives by allowing netizens to create, share, and communicate within the global village, the Internet has also provided the means to publish and disseminate false information and derogatory remarks callously and expediently. The aim of this paper is to provide a brief comparative study of the approaches in China and in Hong Kong with respect to Internet intermediary liability for defamatory postings and whether the approaches taken provide the necessary balance between the right of free expression and the right to protect one’s reputation. The paper starts by dealing with the position in China pre and post Tort Liability Law. The paper then continues by examining the position in Hong Kong focusing particularly on the recent Court of Appeal decision in Oriental Press Group Ltd v Fevaworks Solutions Ltd. In comparing the position in China and Hong Kong, the paper provides a conclusion as a possible way forward for Internet intermediary liability in China and Hong Kong.     

文本、目的和语境——香港终审法院解释方法的连贯性与灵活性

针对香港终审法院有关《基本法》适用的3个判例,着重对文本、目的和语境的解释方法的话语特征和具体应用方式进行可以看出分析,普通法体制下解释方法的连贯性与灵活性使得香港法院仍然从实质上保有基本法适用的相对独立的权力。这值得内地学者进一步关注。     

An Incomplete Victory: The Implications of QT v Director of Immigration for the Protection of Gay Rights in Hong Kong

QT v Director of Immigration is the most important decision on gay rights in Hong Kong since the unequal ages of consent between heterosexuals and homosexuals were held to be unconstitutional 10 years ago. The Court of Appeal of Hong Kong affirmed the right of same‐sex couples married or in a civil partnership overseas to be treated on an equal basis with married heterosexual couples. This note considers the strengths and shortcomings of the Court of Appeal's reasoning, in terms of its potential significance both to the rights of sexual minorities and to the wider protection of human rights by means of the common law.     

Constitutional Competition Between the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal and the Chinese National People's Congress Standing Committee: A Game Theory Perspective

The competition between the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal, a cosmopolitan common law supreme court, and the Chinese National People's Congress Standing Committee, a Leninist parliamentary body, over the “proper meaning” of the Hong Kong Basic Law constituted a very important facet of the territory's constitutional history since the end of British rule in 1997. This article applies the insights of game theory to explain why constitutional stability, in the sense that the two players have never entered into an open collision with each other despite the ambiguity of the Basic Law and the “One Country, Two Systems” formula, endured until the present day. It is argued that successful coordination between the two resulted from the strong aversion of the Court and the Standing Committee to constitutional crises, as well as from the fact that neither entity was capable of credibly signaling its commitment to an aggressive strategy all the time.     

Interpreting the Basic Law and the Adjudication of Politically Sensitive Questions

In this paper, I shall essentially lay out five interpretiveprinciples that the Hong Kong judiciary should observe. First,the Hong Kong judiciary can disable themselves from giving effectto National People's Congress (NPC) Acts that are inconsistentwith the Basic Law. Second, the Court of Final Appeal has aduty to make a reference to the NPC's Standing Committee (NPCSC)when it needs to adjudicate over two conflicting Basic Law provisions,one whose affairs fall within the Central Government's concernsand the other which falls within the limits of Hong Kong's autonomy.Third, in reading the text of the NPCSC Interpretation narrowlywhile observing its central tenor, the Court would be respectingthe plenary interpretive mandate conferred on the NPCSC whileretaining its role as the primary interpreter of the Basic Law.Fourth, so far as a Mainland National Law has been formallyincorporated into the Basic Law, it cannot be deemed in violationof another constitutional clause. Finally, I would argue thatnot all constitutional affairs falling within the limits ofHong Kong's autonomy are automatically justiciable; where thereis a textual commitment to a coordinate branch of government,the Court may only interfere with the decisions made by thepolitical branches on traditional grounds of judicial review,i.e. illegality, irrationality or procedural impropriety.     

A Director's Duty of Loyalty and the Relevance of the Company's Scope of Business: Cheng Wai Tao v Poon Ka Man Jason

The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal has utilised a ‘scope of business’ inquiry to delineate the boundaries of the no‐conflict rule for the company director. Such an inquiry is directed at discerning the realistic ability of the company to exploit any particular business opportunity and a strict capacity approach is eschewed, at least where the no‐conflict rule is concerned. The decision is premised on a bifurcation between the no‐conflict and no‐profit rules, suggesting that the tests to determine breach of these fiduciary rules are not necessarily the same, thus permitting a more nuanced consideration of directorial breaches.