Prime ministers and the electoral cost of using the confidence vote in legislative bargaining: evidence from France

Do prime ministers pay an electoral penalty for using procedural force to pass laws? Influential theories of parliamentary governance and legislative bargaining assume that the use of the confidence vote procedure – parliamentary governments’ most powerful legislative weapon – entails an electoral cost, but evidence on this important claim has been scarce. This article provides the first estimates of how prime ministers’ public approval responds to their use of the confidence vote. Analysing time series data from France 1979–2008, it is found that prime ministers experience a considerable drop in approval after their use of the confidence vote that is not accounted for by standard economic and political covariates. The effect size is similar to a 1 per cent decline in economic growth. The findings help explain French prime ministers’ selective use of the confidence vote procedure. They also suggest that political costs constrain the bargaining power conferred by the confidence vote.     

论刑事司法中公正与效率之均衡及途径

现代刑事司法中,公正与效率二者既相互统一,又时有冲突,如何求得二者之均衡,为刑事诉讼理论与实践所共同关注.辩诉交易,既能够有效地节约司法资源,提高诉讼效率,又能最大程度地保障公正价值的实现,是均衡公正与效率之最佳途径.引入辩诉交易制度,应为当今中国司法改革之必然选择.     

非公有制企业集体协商 ：问题、困境与对策

在我国劳动关系集体化转向的背景下,集体协商与集体谈判的区别、非公企业集体协商的适用范围、工会组织的角色与作用是推进非公有制企业集体协商亟待思考的深层次问题。当前,我国非公企业集体协商工作面临的主要困境是集体协商尚未成为非公企业劳资双方的强制性法定义务、集体协商尚未成为非公企业工会的核心工作、非公企业工会主席尚未在集体协商中发挥出关键性的作用以及各类主体在非公企业集体协商中所承担的角色亟待厘清。为进一步完善我国非公企业集体协商制度,在观念层面,应正确理解集体协商的实质性内涵及其重要作用;在工会层面,必须切实发挥非公企业工会的关键作用和各级总工会的领导作用：在立法层面,可以在条件成熟时制订修订相关法律法规。     

Industrial relations strategy and construction in the UK oil industry: the case of the national agreement

Abstract

This paper is a case study chronicling and analyzing the strategic considerations given to industrial relations in a proposal to upgrade and renew a major production unit in a UK oil refinery. The study is based on interviews and substantial internal documents provided by the case study managers. This represents a unique illustration as to the extent a company goes through in considering the way in which a major capital project needs to consider industrial relations issues before being considered acceptable to the Corporate-level audience and its decision-makers. In particular, the context is interesting – that of an American multinational taking up a national agreement from a process of sector-wide multi-employer bargaining.     

Labor conflicts in the Toronto construction industry, 1968–1973. A crossroads of ethnic issues,business innovations,class struggle,and union action

ABSTRACT

This article concerns a case study in labor history which represents an interesting example of union action in a workers’ community characterized by intersections between ethnic and class belonging.

The focus of the article is on labor conflicts in Toronto’s construction industry between 1968 and 1973. In that period, the Torontonian residential sector represented a sort of ethnic niche dominated by Italian immigrants, who populated this industry both as workers and as contractors. At the same time, important economic, technological, and organizational innovations formed part of this niche. In particular, it refers to the new Toronto real estate boom and to the introduction of new building techniques such as the drywall technique, or concrete forming, as well as business innovations such as the flying form or the creation of teamwork. This article tells the story of successful unionization in a peculiar industry dominated by continuous formal and informal bargaining. Moreover, the powerful presence of the phenomenon of mafiosi and widespread racism made the context still more difficult. In this situation, despite the ambiguities, the final result was the unionization of thousands of workers and the successful signing of collective contracts.     

被告人认罪认罚反悔问题研究

自认罪认罚从宽制度实施以来,被告人认罪认罚反悔问题引发了学界热议.从效果上看,被告人反悔权是一把"双刃剑",其有助于保障被告人认罪认罚的自愿性,确保认罪认罚案件的质量,但被告人滥用反悔权造成的负面影响亦不容忽视.为避免认罪协商程序运行受阻,有必要从规范反悔权行使、完善量刑激励制度、强化法律文书的释法说理、发挥值班律师作...     

双务合同履行中的抗辩权比较分析

《中华人民共和国合同法》第66条、第67条、第68条、第69条规定了双务合同履行的同时履行抗辩权、先履行抗辩权和不安抗辩权.在立法上解决了守约方履行合同义务可能造成无法补救的损失,不履行合同义务又要承担违约责任的矛盾,是我国合同立法的重大进步.对同时履行抗辩权、先履行抗辩权和不安抗辩权进行比较分析,具有积极的理论和现实意义.     

论显失公平的民事行为

不论是在《民法通则》中 ,还是在《合同法》中 ,均将显失公平规定为民事法律关系中当事人可以行使变更或撤销申请权的法定情形之一。构成显失公平民事行为的情形共有两种 :一是一方当事人利用优势 ;二是一方当事人利用对方没有经验。笔者针对这两种情况进行了分析并提出了一些看法与建议。     

VARIATION IN TRIAL PENALTIES AMONG SERIOUS VIOLENT OFFENSES*

We examine the differences in the sentencing of those who plead guilty and those convicted by jury trial among defendants convicted of serious violent offenses. Drawing from a focal concerns and court communities perspective on court decision making, we develop several hypotheses about jury trial penalties for serious violent offenders, and how such penalties may vary by offense characteristics, defendant characteristics, and court contexts. Our hierarchical models using Pennsylvania sentencing data from 1997 to 2000 reveal that defendants are substantially penalized if they exercise their right to a jury trial and then lose. Furthermore, this jury trial penalty is not evenly assessed, but depends on the seriousness and type of offense, defendant criminal history, and court contextual characteristics such as caseload, court community size, local violent crime rates, and the size of local black populations.