‘Customary internet-ional law’: Creating a body of customary law for cyberspace. Part 2: Applying custom as law to the Internet infrastructure

The shift in socio-economic transactions from real space to cyberspace through the emergence of electronic communications and digital formats has led to a disjuncture between the law and practices relating to electronic transactions. The speed at which information technology has developed require a faster, more reactive and automatic response from the law that is not currently met by the existing law-making framework. This paper suggests the development of special rules to enable Internet custom to form legal norms to fulfill this objective. In Part 2 of this article, I will construct the customary rules to Internet law-making that are applicable to electronic transactions by adapting customary international law rules; apply the suggested rules for determining customary Internet norms and identify some existing practices that may amount to established norms on the Internet, specifically practices relating to the Internet Infrastructure and Electronic Contracting.     

不当得利的法律适用规则

由于世界各国关于不当得利的法律制度不尽相同,国际民商事交往中不当得利的法律冲突问题日益突出。为保证支配不当得利之债的准据法与当事人的意愿相一致或有最密切的联系,并最大限度地减小因识别或定性不同而带来的难题,不当得利准据法应依序设计为:不当得利起因于合同时,适用该合同的准据法;起因于其他法律关系时,适用调整该法律关系的法律;起因于不动产交易时,适用不动产所在地法;在其他情况下产生,则其准据法为利益发生地所在国的法律。     

论现代国际关系理论与国际法研究的三次联结及其影响

自现代国际关系理论产生以来,与国际法研究的联结已有三次,均对国际法理论与实践的发展产生很大影响。一战后国际法的繁荣与理想主义对其的重视紧密相关。而在冷战时期现实主义占据国际关系理论与实践的主流的情势下,国际关系理论与国际法研究一度疏远,直到20世纪80年代国际机制理论的兴起才重新拾起这种联结纽带,并为国际法晚近的发展构建了合理性基础。在全球化迅猛发展的背景下兴起的建构主义实现了两个学科的第三次联结,并对国际法的理论与实践产生积极影响。     

判例:一种法律解释的方法--兼论我国国际私法判例制度的构建

判例法和成文法分别是普通法系和大陆法系的主要法律渊源.然而,作为一种创制法律、解释法律的技术方法而言,判例法与成文法并不是相互排斥、相互对立的.来自法官个案司法经验总结的判例法,由于其独特的直观性、灵活性,可以弥补大陆法系成文法适用与解释之不足.成文法亦是我国的传统,借鉴和移植判例制度,有助于克服我国司法解释中存在的种种缺陷,增强法律适用的确定性、灵活性和公正性.尤其在国际私法领域,立法的严重滞后,使得判例制度的引进和重构成为完善我国国际私法的一个重要路径.     

国际法与维护世界和平

本文从国际法基本原则及联合国安全体制着手,分析了国际法在促进国际社会和平与稳定方面的作用与成就,并探讨在当前国际形势下国际法存在的问题与危机,同时肯定了国际法的存在是不可或缺的,只要国际社会加强协作,它将继续在维护世界和平方面起到积极作用。     

Oversight of HMRC soft law: lessons from the Ombudsman

An investigation of the role which the Ombudsman plays in tax law, on which comparatively little has been written, reveals that the body makes an important and distinct contribution. There is now almost universal acceptance that tax law is overly complex and indeterminate. If the primary law offers few answers to the taxpayer, then HMRC’s role as administrator of the system becomes apparent. Soft law elaborating upon how HMRC will apply the primary law to a given class of taxpayers is rendered indispensable. In practice however, HMRC soft law has often been found to be deficient. Analysis of the current oversight arrangements for HMRC soft law immediately reveals the genesis of these issues. Select committees exercise Parliamentary control, whilst an independent body performs external audits. These entities however only incommensurately examine the soft law. Into this void steps the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, a body which has ‘carved for itself a distinctive niche’ in the public law framework. The paper accordingly seeks to elaborate upon the important role that the Ombudsman plays in scrutinising HMRC soft law and the lessons which can be derived from this analysis.     

试论刑事政策与国际刑法的关系

刑事政策是对犯罪有组织的反应,国际刑法以研讨国际犯罪为己任,对国际犯罪的研究需要以刑事政策为视角。本文通过分析刑事政策的含义及其国际化特征与国际刑法的发展方向,在刑事政策的视野下,揭示国际刑法的发展趋势——刑事政策的国际刑法化与国际刑法的刑事政策化,进而把握刑事政策与国际刑法两者的契合性。     

行政法视野中的金融危机及其应对

行政法在应对金融危机中的作用,主要通过规范政府的行政行为体现出来.行政法能够及时通过立法确认和保障政府宏观调控经济、整顿市场秩序的职权;能够督促政府积极转换职能,提高危机管理水平;能够有效稳定市场秩序,确保交易公平,规范权力运作.因此,在行政法学研究中应积极引入现代公共危机管理理论,健全行政法制,提高政府应对风险的能力.     

国内公法对国际法的影响

国际法包括私法意义上的国际法和公法意义上的国际法。近现代国际法本质上是一种私法意义上的国际法,但国际交往的日益频繁与复杂必然要求建立某种形式的等级制与集中化架构,公法意义上的国际法应运而生。作为一种后发的法律秩序,国际法受到较为成熟的国内法的影响是很自然的。在借鉴国内公法发展国际法时面临某些重要的障碍,也会产生不可忽视的风险,应该予以充分的注意。国内公法日益影响国际法的趋势对于中国的国际法理论与实践将产生重要的影响。     

国际人道主义法的危机——驻伊美军虐待俘虏事件的若干法律问题分析

战争的残酷性使得人们更为关注生命尊严的价值,国际人道主义法亦随之得以发展。然而,近期曝光的驻伊美军虐待战俘事件,侵犯了战俘的生命健康权、人格权、中诉及公平审判权,严重违反国际人道主义法,而现行国际法与国内法机制均无法有效地惩罚这种违法行为。因此,为了真正保护国际人权,惩治战争犯罪,应增强国际刑事法院等组织的地位。     

超越“传统与现代”：法律多线现代化

相关研究或明或暗地将“传统与现代”作为民间法与国家法的重要区别。然而,民间法与国家法都是各自以一种进化的方式发展起来的,都有自己的历史和现实,并都在内外因素作用下不断变迁以适应现代社会,都有自己的经验、理性和正义观,都满足一定的社会需要,都有传统性和自己的现代性,都有自身的现代化进程。而且,国家法与民间法从来都是相互影响并由此在一定程度上相互转化和承认,“你中有我,”“我中有你,”交错混杂。将国家法和民间法作现代与传统的区分缺乏事实和理论依据。在法律多元的社会中,法律现代化是民间法与国家法各自在内外因素作用下的多线现代化。我们应当引导民间法的现代化,确保民间法现代化与国家法现代化的协调,确保正义的弘扬和社会的和谐。     

论前法典化时期商法独立生长的轨迹与缺陷

在罗马法中即存在商法的萌芽,进入中世纪后,商法是在相对封闭的商人团体、商人阶层内部基于交易习惯自主生长起来的。缺乏罗马法上的制度与理论渊源的商法领域,也未能在欧洲理性法运动中形成体系化的理论成果。     

Creating markets in no-trust environments: The law and economics of smart contracts

Smart contracts, self-executing agreements based on blockchain technology, have the capacity to create trust in what we term no-trust contracting environments. We argue that using them in such environments is the path to unleash the full potential of smart contracts. Compared to the contract enforcement mechanisms characterized by traditional contract law or relational contracts, smart contracts can offer a superior solution for facilitating trade.Several lawyers and economists have debated whether smart contracts might offer the prospect of cheaper, faster and better transactions. As we discuss below, contract law scholars caution that they neither replicate the relational context essential for the day-to-day practice of contracting nor offer a superior solution to problems addressed by traditional contract law, such as contract validity and legality. We clarify and systematize the current thinking on the legal nature and reliability of smart contracts, and address the concerns of contract law scholars. While doing that, we suggest a step forward in characterizing contracting environments, contract enforcement mechanisms and the trust relationship underlying contracts.     

Documents signed or executed with electronic signatures in English law

There remains concern among solicitors about the evidential weight of electronic documents, including document systems that are used to execute high value transactions. This article considers the meaning, in electronic terms, of document, book or paper, instrument, writing, record and map – both in terms of legislation and case law. Consideration is also given to primary evidence, original document and certified copies, the requirement that an agreement or communication be in writing and what is mean by a signature. The discussion then considers execution as a deed and the requirement for signing in the presence of a witness, including where the witness is remote.     

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.     

当代国际法的新发展与价值追求

在人类面临新挑战与国际社会出现新变化的背景下,国际法全球化与碎片化共存的现象明显,国际法的刑事化现象不断增多,国际法与国内法相互渗透、相互影响的趋势更加凸显, 国际法的调整范围不断向非传统安全领域扩展。与此同时,当代国际法所肩负的期望和使命也越来越多。发展、安全、人权等国际法价值目标已经得到了国际社会的普遍认可,国际宪政思潮已经成为国际法学界不能回避的课题,国际社会的民主和法治已成为时代要求,国际社会共同利益的理念已渗透到国际法中。     

Lessons from Roman law: EU law in England and Wales after Brexit

ABSTRACT

The experience of Roman law in legal education in England and Wales may serve as a cautionary tale for EU law post-Brexit. Similarly, past debates as to the position of Roman law in the curriculum may also be instructive in the EU law context. After tracing the history of the teaching of Roman law in England and Wales, this article posits first that the factors that appear to have caused the decline of Roman law could apply equally in the context of EU law. Secondly, based on both pragmatic and liberal education arguments that have historically been proffered for the study of Roman law, it advances arguments for the retention of a compulsory stand-alone EU law module in England and Wales after Brexit. To this end, the paper contends that the arguments for the retention of EU law in legal education are more robust than those asserted traditionally in favour of Roman law.     

试论国际法的渊源

国际法渊源是国际法学的一个基本概念,然而在现实中的使用却极其混乱。因而有必要对法的渊源的含义进行考察,以重新界定国际法渊源的内涵和外延,区分国际法渊源与国际法表现形式这对经常被混淆的概念。     

无单放货的法律适用

在将无单放货定性为违约行为的前提下,以我国的国际私法规则为基础,论述了无单放货纠纷的法律适用问题:无单放货纠纷首先应适用提单准据法,在提单准据法不能规范无单放货行为时,应根据最密切联系原则确定无单放货地的法律作为无单放货纠纷的准据法。同时也分析了外国的直接适用的法、无单放货地公法适用的可能性,并指出根据中国立法,不存在根据场所支配行为而确定无单放货行为适用行为地法的可能。     

民法与经济法价值之比较分析

本文首先从经济关系层面出发 ,对民法与经济法的互动进行了分析。指出二者价值差异的根源在于经济思想、公平理念和利益观的差异。二者价值体系在总体上具有一致性、谐和性和互补性。同时揭示了他们间的文化与精神的互补、功能的相互矫正及调整对象的交叉。