Global Privacy Concerns and Regulation-- Is the United States a World Apart?

The regulatory approach to privacy protection taken by many foreign jurisdictions is markedly different from that of the United States. The European Union (EU) best illustrates the international approach with its comprehensive privacy directive that applies to all EU members. By contrast, the approach regarding data privacy in the United States has been to pass industry-specific laws and often only in response to public outcry over some privacy concern. These fundamental differences have been the source of some conflict in international commercial transacting. Now that the global community is committed to eliminating terrorism, it remains to be seen if these different attitudes toward privacy by the United States and much of the rest of the world will affect global attempts to weed out terrorists. This article discusses the constitutional basis for most US policy approaches to privacy regulation. The article explains how the US constitution is the source for most of the differences between the US and international regulatory approaches to information privacy. Finally, the discussion addresses how new issues regarding privacy in the war on terrorism may be addressed by US Constitutional law.     

Information Privacy Protection in the New Chinese Civil Code: Priority or Replacement?

The right to privacy has been developed through judicial practice and has evolved from “the protection of the right to reputation” to “privacy interest” then to “privacy right.” The Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China (2020) clarifies the right to information privacy and the right to personal information as two independent personality rights and establishes a privacy priority protection mechanism for private information in civil law. The comparative efficiency of the right to personal information may mean that the protection of the right to information privacy is weakened or even replaced by the right to personal information. The uncertainty and fragmentation of private information also creates a wide gray space for judicial decisions. The development from traditional privacy right to information privacy right and personal information right is generally positive and shows the active legal response to the protection of private information in multiple ways. However, clarifications and systematization are required to increase the effectiveness of such protections.     

New Governance,Old Norms,and the Potential for Corporate Governance Reform

While the new governance approach to corporate governance offers intriguing ideas about participatory governance, it cannot evade the effects of economic self‐interest. This article addresses three nested concerns relating to the potential of new governance in the corporate context, using three specific examples that illustrate the challenges. The first case illustrates that new governance principles cannot be easily integrated with models of corporate governance that rest on the logic of shareholder primary. The second case study offers an example of a new governance type corporation, but illustrates that new governance faces thorny internal structural challenges, given economic incentives and power imbalance. The third example illustrates that even without these normative and structural problems, new governance would face issues arising out of current strategies employed by corporate decision makers to hedge their own personal risk through equity swaps and other derivatives products, which in turn create new incentives for shirking their responsibilities.     

The legal construction of personal information protection and privacy under the Chinese Civil Code

Personal information protection and privacy interact in diverse ways, especially in the contemporary information age. Although books and articles have focused on this topic, the new tendencies of worldwide legislation and judicial practice bring challenges, as the legal construction of personal information protection and privacy differs from culture to culture and time to time. In 2017, the General Provisions of the Civil Law of the People's Republic of China (“the General Provisions of the Chinese Civil Code” hereafter)¹ (expired) addresses the legal concepts of personal information protection and the right to privacy simultaneously, to which this article refers as the dual model, differing from the one-dimensional mode of privacy protection before. Subsequently, the “The Right to Privacy and the Protection of Personal Information,” a chapter of the newly issued Civil Code of the People's Republic of China's (“the Chinese Civil Code” hereafter), ascertains the dual model and details related provisions. It has been dubbed a landmark ruling of China's personal information protection, greatly boosting the modernization of China's civil system.Despite the many articles that discuss approaches to China's civil protections, little attention has been given to the fundamental question concerning what exactly encompasses the personal information protection and privacy to which these laws refer. Based on the regulations and applicability of the General Provisions of the Chinese Civil Code and the Chinese Civil Code, this paper explores the legal construction of personal information protection and privacy under Chinese legal orders, including the differences, similarities, and interplay between the two rights. By distinguishing the legal value, contents and remedial approaches, this paper concludes that the two rights are distinct but overlap. On one side, personal information protection is elevated to the status of a separate civil right in the legal context of China, rather than part of privacy. On the other side, tailored regulations should be establish according to the criteria of the nature of information, the extent of information processing, and the elements of damage when confronted with overlaps in the two rights in judicial practice. Thus, this paper provides a perspective from which to clarify the approaches to civil protection of personal information and privacy in China and a reference model for enactment of the Chinese Personal Information Protection Law in the future.     

Governing Condominiums and Renters with Legal Knowledge Flows and External Institutions

This article explores the intertwined roles of legal knowledge and external institutions in condominium governance using a sociology of governance framework. Condominium legislation spread in North America in the 1960s. By the 1970s, renters had become the condominium's primary “other.” The article elaborates legal governance and strategies of property management and private insurance that converge on renters in condominiums. Through this analysis, the renter category is shown to be one point of convergence of mutually reinforcing institutional processes of juridification, commodification, and risk avoidance. Condominium governance is revealed as more complex, heterogeneous, and dependent upon legal knowledge flows through channels and “excerpting” practices beyond the courts, and upon external institutions beyond statute‐mandated condominium boards, than previously acknowledged. Implications for critical legal studies and condominium governance policy are discussed.     

Toxic Torts,Politics, and Environmental Justice: The Case for Crimtorts*

The borderline between criminal and tort law has been increasingly blurred over the past quarter century by the emergence of new “crimtort” remedies which have evolved to deter and punish corporate polluters. Punitive damages, multiple damages, and other “crimtort” remedies are under unrelenting assault by neo‐conservatives principally because, under this paradigm, the punishment for wrongdoing can be calibrated to the wealth of the polluter. If wealth‐based punishment is eliminated by the “tort reformers,” plaintiffs’ victories in crimtort actions such as those portrayed in the movies Silkwood, A Class Action, and Erin Brockovich will become an endangered species.     

细事细治 ——基层网格化中的科层化精细治理与社会修复

【问题】国家治理体系的落地需要微观治理机制的完善。网格化是近些年发展出的一种重要基层治理机制。然而,谁在治理,怎样治理,治理什么?网格化治理体现了什么样的治理逻辑,又有何种后果?这些问题在文献中并没有系统答案。【方法】本文从治理主体、治理方式、治理内容三个角度,采取内容分析法,对广州市某区2013年1-3月网格化服务管理信息系统登记的2091起事件进行研究。【发现】首先,科层化精细治理:网格化服务管理通过设置网格和购买网格员服务的方式,使得国家科层制组织体系延伸到比社区还要微观的基层社会领域,直接处理日常社会中的“细事”。其次,社会修复效应:网格化服务管理是在社会的日常自我修复能力不足的情况下,国家改革基层以“官进民退”促进基层社会修复的一项制度安排。因此,抑制国家权力过度介入基层日常社会事务需要社会自身提升“日常社会修复”能力。【贡献】本文尝试立足基层治理内容探究国家治理与社会发展的逻辑,以“治理什么”视角拓展国家治理研究视域,以“社会修复”范畴丰富“社会秩序何以可能”问题的研究范式。     

检察机关合规不起诉裁量权限制的三种模式

作为一种以合规激励为核心的合作性司法模式,合规不起诉制度是起诉便宜原则的又一适用场域。如何明确和限制检察机关的自由裁量权,是在探索合规不起诉制度时应该关注的问题。从比较法的视野来看,美国的内部控制模式和英国的司法监督模式是目前限制合规不起诉裁量权的两种主要代表模式。内部控制模式以美国司法部的内部文件的约束为主要手段,侧重发挥合规不起诉制度的犯罪预防和社会治理功能。司法监督模式以法官的司法审查为主要手段,关注对合规不起诉裁量权的实际控制问题。我国对合规不起诉裁量权的限制采用的是双重控制模式,即以保护民营企业这一基本原则与合规不起诉制度的适用条件为内部约束,以第三方监督评估机制与合规听证为外部监督机制。作为主管部门的最高人民检察院,可以通过制定司法解释或者规范性文件,总结实践经验,进一步细化合规不起诉适用对象的遴选条件,明确有效合规的标准,促进程序公开透明。     

Privacy and the precautionary principle

The precautionary principle – which implies that where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing protective measures – has been adopted as a standard of environmental and health protection in international and European legislation. This article offers an overview of the precautionary principle as a legal standard applicable to European privacy and data protection legislation. For this reason, it takes particularly into account the guidelines of this legislation as well as the privacy impact assessment framework, raised by the European Commission through the Recommendation on Radio-Frequency Identification applications. In brief, the article stresses the role of the precautionary principle in improving privacy protection through liability, prudence and transparency.     

Building Norms from the Grassroots Up: Divestment,Expressive Politics,and Climate Change

The fossil fuel divestment movement is at the forefront of civil society initiatives to raise public consciousness about the need for a “fossil‐free” future. Through the lens of the social movement literature, this article shows how the movement has harnessed grassroots activists, engaged in innovative and sometimes disruptive forms of protest, and used cognitive framing and symbolic politics to gain media interest and persuade the public of the importance and legitimacy of its claims as well as to promote a new social norm. The relative instrumental, structural, and discursive power of the movement and its adversaries is also examined, showing how, notwithstanding the fossil fuel industry's deeply embedded structural and instrumental power, the movement has managed to shift the contest onto a terrain where it holds a comparative advantage. Finally, the movement's role in nonstate climate governance is considered, taking account of its interactions with and impact on a range of other climate actors. This article's conclusion is that climate governance is not only an instrumental or pragmatic process of mandating changes in behavior but an expressive and symbolic one of nurturing a new norm and institutionalizing a new set of moral principles.     

Systematic construction of lawfulness of processing employees’ personal information under China's personal information protection law

With the rapid development and widespread use of digital technologies in the workplace in China, employers’ right to monitor and direct employees has often been abused, raising a number of disputes over the infringement of employees’ right to privacy in terms of their personal information. China must urgently develop an appropriate approach to balancing these two conflicting interests. However, there is currently no coherent and uniform regime governing the protection of employees’ personal information in China. The primary legal source on which employers can rely is the latest version of the Chinese Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL), which offers three lawful bases for employers’ processing of their employees’ personal information. These bases are employee consent; “necessity for the conclusion or performance of an employment contract”; and “necessity for conducting human resource management.” Concerns have been expressed regarding the reasonableness and effectiveness of the three lawful bases under the PIPL. First, it is both legally and practically problematic for the PIPL to rely so heavily on employee consent. Second, it is unclear whether the other two lawful bases relieve employers of the duty of notification and, if so, how to safeguard employees’ right to know. Third, the ambiguous standard of “necessity” requires clarification.This article argues that China should adopt many elements from EU law, while US law should be only followed in relation to the standard of “necessity”. In relation to employee consent, the EU approach is preferable to the US approach. As the EU approach does not generally regard employees’ consent as a lawful basis for the processing of their information and uses the other two lawful bases as alternatives to employee consent, this approach better reflects the customary practices of employee subordination and employer control in China. In contrast, US law deems employee consent to be an absolute general defense to the tort of privacy violation and adopts an employer favoritism approach to balancing these two conflicting interests, which is not appropriate in the Chinese context. In relation to the scope of necessity, three tests taken from the EU and US approaches should be considered by the Chinese courts. In addition, when processing personal information based on the other two lawful bases, employers should safeguard employees’ right to know through collective contracts concluded with labor unions or employee representatives under the Chinese Labor Contract Law, which would effectively address employers’ arbitrariness. Ultimately, these changes would produce a better balance between employees’ right to privacy in terms of their personal information and employers’ need to subordinate and control employees.     

Basel III, the Devil and Global Banking

The 2008 financial crisis started on Wall Street, but rapidly spread to the entire world. The response of the G20, international regulators and central bankers was the design and issuance of a new set of regulatory capital, liquidity and corporate governance standards—known as Basel III. As much as Basel III has gained the support of depositors and politicians, it has triggered a wave of stern opposition from bankers. In his widely distributed book—Basel III, the Devil and Global Banking—Dimitris Chorafas includes a detailed analysis of the concerns and anticipations of bankers, domestic supervisory agents and global regulators. This book review gives an appraisal of the book. Other than stressing the need for a total cultural transformation, embracing the ethos of risk management, Chorafas introduces a comprehensive restructuring program including efficient fiscal and monetary policies, enhanced governance procedures, improved risk management practices and the total separation between monetary authorities and politicians.     

The relationship between corporate governance characteristics and credit risk exposure in banks: implications for financial regulation

This article analyses board structures in listed Danish banks in the years prior to the financial crisis by exploring the relationship between corporate governance characteristics and credit risk exposure. The article presents a novel approach as it relies on a newly developed risk metric entitled the “Supervision Diamond” introduced by the Danish FSA, which “external” board directors must address. It contains five thresholds for measuring a bank’s exposure to credit risks i.e. the proportion of large customers, lending growth, the ratio of lending/deposits, liquidity buffer and the proportion of real estate loans. By employing quantitative governance variables the article finds that increased executive director remuneration is associated with increased credit risk posed by the bank’s borrowers. On the other hand, increasing the number of executive/“inside” directors is associated with a lower credit risk exposure. It is argued that more “inside” directors on the executive board constitutes a stronger “checks and balance” system. The article also documents that the probability of obtaining state capital from the Danish credit bailout package is negatively related to larger boards as well as higher executive director remuneration. The policy implication is that financial authorities should be increasingly aware of insufficient corporate governance characteristics in order to prevent excessive credit risk exposure. Moreover, the article provides important insights on which corporate governance variables have a significant impact on a bank’s credit risk exposure. This knowledge is valuable for financial authorities/policy makers considering future regulatory initiatives and how they should administer bank monitoring.     

“红色管家”何以管用?——基层治理创新“内卷化”的破解之道

【问题】基层治理创新实践常常陷入命名式、标签式伪创新,不仅无法实现“给社区减负增能提效”的目标,反而造成基层治理的低水平重复。在各类创新琳琅满目的情况下,如何才能使基层治理创新更具持续性,并且规避“内卷化”风险?【方法】本研究以S区“红色管家”项目为个案,该项目初期面临多方面的内卷化风险,但最终通过创新走出一套有效的社区治理之道。我们通过参与式观察和深度访谈等方法跟踪了“红色管家”项目的运作过程并结合多种定性资料进行分析。【发现】(1)如同诸多政府主导的基层治理创新项目一样,“红色管家”在项目初期也面临观念、利益以及组织等多方面的“内卷化”风险;(2)项目实施过程中逐步呈现出的实体化、制度化、专业化和协同化的特征,保障了“红色管家”项目创新发展的整体性、系统性、规范性和可持续性;(3)能否规避基层治理创新的“内卷化”风险,根本在于基层党组织力量能否成功嵌入项目全过程,发挥引领创新的核心主导作用;(4)党建引领下多方创新主体的协同、合作与调试,观念、制度与技术的融合,构成了制度创新能否突破“内卷化”困境的关键。【贡献】本研究梳理了基层治理创新“内卷化”问题的表征和成因。通过对“红色管家”项目案例的分析,本研究阐释了“党建引领社会治理创新”的内在机制,指出破解基层治理创新“内卷化”困境的关键在于新合作主义国家与社会关系的建构。     

“Critical Legal Histories Revisited”: A Response

The author responds to comments reappraising “Critical Legal Histories” (CLH) (1984). CLH critiqued “evolutionary functionalism,” the idea that law is a functional response to a typical modernizing process. CLH argued that “society” was partly constituted of legal elements and that law was too indeterminate to have reliably regular functional effects. CLH has been misinterpreted as calling for a return to internal histories of “mandarin” doctrine: all it said was that some doctrinal histories were valuable, without privileging them. This response clarifies that the relations of law to society and social change, and of high‐level official law to everyday local law are distinct issues. CLH is mostly moot today, since social‐legal historians have incorporated its insight that legal concepts are embedded in everyday social practice. But other fields have revived deterministic Whiggish accounts of progressive development and of law functional to it—to which CLH's critique still seems relevant.     

“利益相关者”公司治理模式探析

“利益相关者”治理就是要让所有通过专用性资产的投入,而为企业的财富创造做出过贡献的产权主体参与到公司的治理中。“公司所有者”理解的更新,人力资本因素地位的提高,社会契约理论,管理的伦理道德化及社会本位思潮,是“利益相关者”公司治理产生的理论基础。比较国际上几种主要的“公司治理模式”,“利益相关者”公司治理模式较符合我国的法律选择。“利益相关者”治理模式的法律价值是社会正义和经济民主,“利益相关者”的公司治理与公司的社会责任有很多相似之处,然而利益相关者内涵更加明确。“利益相关者”公司治理模式并不是最完善的,它只是在诸多的公司治理模式中的一种,但它顺应了世界范围内的公司治理模式从单边治理走向多边利益主体共同治理的趋势。     

Moving Children through Private International Law: Institutions and the Enactment of Ethics

This article examines how the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co‐operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention) plays a central role in justifying the institution of legal adoption. The Hague Adoption Convention has often been regarded as a response to the challenges that the “global situation” brings to adoption practice. Based on private international law, the agreement contains protocols and norms to ensure the protection of the child in intercountry adoption. In the article, I propose that the Hague Convention can be understood as a “transparency device”; a complex assemblage working in pursuit of global “good governance.” The device, however, also operates as justification within the institutional domain, allowing adoption agencies to make distinctions between legitimate and illegitimate adoptions. Idemonstrate how the logic of transparency disguises as much as it promises to reveal. While the doctrine's aim is to validate adoptability and combat trafficking, it also helps to mainstream Euro‐American adoption knowledge to other parts of the world.     

Privacy for the institutionalized mentally ill

During the past decade the courts have taken an increasingly active rule in shaping the physical facilities that house environmentally captive individuals. Perhaps the most influential of these cases was Wyatt v. Stickney (1972), which has been cited as a basis for standards promulgated by other courts (e.g., Davis v. Hubbard, 1980), for model standards (Staff, 1977), and for changes made by administrators fearing litigation (Sommer & Kroll, 1979). Despite this widespread acceptance, there was no apparent empirical basis for, or validation of, the standards. The purpose of the present study was to assess the validity of the behavioral assumptions underlying the Wyatt standards regarding physical changes intended to ensure patient privacy. Patient perceptions of privacy were examined on two units in a facility that met the standards mandated in Wyatt. The results demonstrated that although some of the court's assumptions were valid, several were not, and that overall the standards in this influential case do not ensure patient privacy for the institutionalized mentally ill. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Failed Governance: A Comment on Baker and Griffith's Ensuring Corporate Misconduct

This essay evaluates Baker and Griffith's book, Ensuring Corporate Misconduct, as a contribution to the social science literatures on regulation and governance, risk, and insurance. Previous social science work on insurance often took an “insurance on the ground” perspective comparing how insurance actually works with the theory of insurance and scrutinizing the actions of insurers as well as the actions of their policyholders. In line with this perspective, Baker and Griffith find that directors and officers (D&O) insurers do not actually charge premiums that vary with risk or monitor the actions of the officers and directors covered by the insurance. Because insurers and governments share governance tasks (a point Baker makes elsewhere), insurers' failures in fact amount to “failed governance” of the corporate world.