A Dialectic Study of the Structure and Basic Concepts of Traditional Chinese Law and an Analysis of the Relationship Between li (ceremony) and fa (law)

In the course of history, the meaning of fa (a Chinese character with an approximate meaning of “law”) has not been invariable, and its connotation in modern times has been enriched constantly, so as to incorporate many elements of ancient li (ceremony). If the modern concept of law, already changed and still changing, is to be used to mechanically compare and interpret traditional Chinese law, misunderstandings might arise. Actually, li and fa are indispensable components of traditional Chinese law, and the lack of necessary study of the li will prevent us from understanding and explaining the spirit of traditional Chinese law. In traditional Chinese law, “fa” usually refers to an institutional dimension, especially after Qin and Han dynasties, whereas li, especially li yi (moral basis for rites and ceremonies), is where the value and spirit of traditional Chinese law can be found. Translated from China Social Science, 5^th Issue, 2003 in Chinese     

论行政刑法的性质和概念

行政刑法在我国是一个崭新的研究领域。行政刑法在法律上兼具行政法与刑法的双重性质,行政刑法是国家为了实现行政管理的目的,维护正常的行政管理秩序,规定行政犯罪并追究其行政刑法责任的特殊法律规范的总称。     

THE EVOLUTION—OR END—OF MARRIAGE?: REFLECTIONS ON THE IMPASSE OVER SAME‐SEX MARRIAGE

The debate over legalizing same‐sex marriage implicates the question of whether doing so would signal the end—or destruction—of the institution of marriage. The appeal to preserving a millennia‐old tradition of marriage against change fails to reckon with the evolution that has already occurred. Invocations of gender complementarity between parents as essential to child well‐being also conflict with growing recognition in family law that children's best interests can be served by gay and lesbian parents. Canada's path toward same‐sex marriage suggests that impasse need not be inevitable. In the United States, this impasse stems in part from the problem that same‐sex marriage serves as an emblem of everything that threatens marriage.     

加强行政审批制度的配套措施建设

审批改革涉及经济、政治、法律等诸多领域,除进行自身改革外,要加强中介组织和公共财政体制建设,创新管理方式,构建先进的行政文化模式等配套措施推进改革进行。     

论我国行政指导制度的完善

行政指导在政府宏观调控和社会管理中发挥着越来越重要的作用,已成为我国行政法制建设和现代行政管理方式改革的重要组成部分。但是,我国的行政指导制度还存在许多问题,迫切需要对这些问题进行深刻剖析,重新对我国行政指导制度的完善进行架构:第一,培育现代行政意识,提高行政指导观念;第二,确立行政指导的基本原则;第三,健全行政指导的基本制度;第四,建立行政指导的救济制度;第五,构建行政指导的程序约束机制。     

文艺的德性：审美与伦理的耦合

文艺有着深刻的伦理学内涵,优秀的文艺作品的道德意义就在于它是人性的敞亮与主体性的高扬。缺乏伦理学的视野,就无法全面把握文艺的本真特质。文艺作品不同于道德教科书,文艺所传达的不应是抽象的直白的信条,而应该是活的生活———经过作家审美创造的生活。但文艺毕竟不是超人类的存在,文艺展示自然、社会、人际、心灵,提供测试人生价值和人生态度的光谱,文艺家的主观命意、文艺作品的客观意蕴以及受众的解读与再创造,本身就是一定价值的自觉选择和自然涵纳。伦理道德在文艺作品中必须是符合审美要求的存在,明晰的个性化(典型化)与生动的感性化,是其按照美的规律进行创造的实现机制。     

To Wonderland Through the Looking-glass: Conceiving a Critical Legal Argument for Contractual Justice in the South African Law of Contract †

The aim of this paper is to identify the possible substructure (looking glass/es) of a critical legal argument for contractual justice (Wonderland) in the South African law of contract. South African contract law still fails, ten years after the constitutional transformation, to reflect the constitutional ideals of freedom, equality and human dignity in an acceptable manner. I argue that this disposition places a question mark over the legitimacy of contract law and marginalizes opportunities for the social change envisaged by the Constitution. The paper explores Duncan Kennedy’s Form and Substance-argument and indicates that the reluctance to accommodate these values may be attributable to the fact that the majority of role-players position themselves on the individualism/rules side of Kennedy’s continuum – a paradigm that perceives the law of contract as a body of positivistic rules to be applied neutrally and regardless of the social or socio-economic distortions its application may generate. In an attempt to move away from this traditional approach, the privileged paradigm is criticised. A typical CLS-approach is followed which employs sociology, psychological jurisprudence and game theory to criticise the law from outside the restrictive realms of law itself. Simultaneously, I attempt to illuminate the argument for a shift (step through the looking glass) to another paradigm. I conclude that our judiciary finds itself in a position similar to that of Plato’s prisoners in the cave and will not reach the point where they apply relevant (constitutional) values directly to contractual disputes. The State is thus responsible for infusing contract law with contractual justice, by implementing legislation to this effect in order to limit the hegemonic consequences of the judiciary’s obsession with freedom of contract and utopian rules, which fail in reality to further the ideal of justice. Paper presented at the Critical Legal Conference, 4 September 2004, London, UK. This paper is dedicated to the memory of the late Judge of Appeal, Mr. Justice P.J. Olivier. The paper is based on research conducted for the thesis in partial fulfilment of the degree LLD in the Faculty of Law at the University of Pretoria under the title ‘A critical legal argument for contractual justice in the South African law of contract.’ The degree supervisor is Professor Karin van Marle in the Department of Legal History, Comparative Law and Jurisprudence. The author wishes to thank the following persons for valuable deliberations and input: Karin van Marle, Graham Bradfield and Anashri Pillay. In addition, the author wishes to acknowledge and thank the University of Cape Town for financially supporting this research. †Paper presented at the Critical Legal Conference, 4 September 2004, London, UK. This paper is dedicated to the memory of the late Judge of Appeal, Mr. Justice P.J. Olivier. The paper is based on research conducted for the thesis in partial fulfilment of the degree LLD in the Faculty of Law at the University of Pretoria under the title ‘A critical legal argument for contractual justice in the South African law of contract.’ The degree supervisor is Professor Karin van Marle in the Department of Legal History, Comparative Law and Jurisprudence. The author wishes to thank the following persons for valuable deliberations and input: Karin van Marle, Graham Bradfield and Anashri Pillay. In addition, the author wishes to acknowledge and thank the University of Cape Town for financially supporting this research. apply relevant (constitutional) values directly to contractual disputes. The State is thus responsible for infusing contract law with contractual justice, by implementing legislation to this effect in order to limit the hegemonic consequences of the judiciary’s obsession with freedom of contract and utopian rules, which fail in reality to further the ideal of justice.     

构建和谐社会对行政执法的影响

和谐社会是人类文明社会追求的一种理想社会形态,而依法治国与依法行政是实现与构建和谐社会的必备要求,本文从行政执法的角度分析构建和谐社会对行政执法的影响,以期待完善行政执法质量,提高行政执法水平,实现和谐社会。     

法治的实现目标及其途径

法治社会的价值目标是追求民主、平等;法治的核心问题是约束、限制权力;法治国家的本质特征是体现民治;实现 法治化的基本途径是建立安全、方便、经济的参政方式。     

经济法的价值取向和基本原则

经济法作为国家协调社会经济的基本法律 ,其价值取向体现在 ,经济法追求的一般价值取向———实质正义和社会公正。经济法直接将维护社会经济总体效益作为自己追求的目标和遵循的原则 ,这是经济法价值取向的独到之处 ,以人性的全面实现和人的全面发展为最终价值目标。经济法的三大原则 ,简明地表达了经济法的价值取向。