Mobilising the Periphery: Brazil's My House My Life Programme and the Homeless Workers' Movement

Brazil's Movimento de Trabalhadores Sem Teto (MTST, Homeless Workers' Movement) has grown dramatically in recent years. This growth was partly provided for by the use of a large government housing programme, Minha Casa Minha Vida (MCMV, My House My Life), which allowed the MTST to construct housing for its members and swell its ranks with thousands of new members. Yet some have argued that the MCMV programme used by the MTST may compromise the autonomy of civil society organisations. This article, by contrast, argues that while the MCMV programme encouraged bureaucratic practices, it also helped to promote the cultural politics of the MTST.     

商标恶意抢注中特定关系“非特定化”之反思--《商标法》第15条的解释论

商标抢注是我国商标法司法实践中一个重要问题。我国《商标法》第15条专门规制发生在特定关系人之间的商标恶意抢注行为、划分特定关系的类型,但未对其含义做明确界定,导致司法实践中对特定关系的判定出现分歧,特定关系的范围因此不断扩大,呈现出“非特定化”趋势。特定关系的无序扩张,在法理上缺少必要性和正当性,既有碍适用《商标法》其他条款,又不符合效率原则、社会成本理论及诚实信用原则的应有之意。为防止特定关系无序扩张,应将契约关系作为解释特定关系内容的核心,法官适用该条款时不宜随意扩大特定关系的内容,应严格按照商标法及相关司法解释的规定进行判断。     

认罪认罚从宽制度的体系性反思与建构

虽然认罪认罚从宽制度是在我国《刑事诉讼法》中得以正式确立的,但《刑事诉讼法》中涉及此制度的具体规定又都是操作层面的。据此,认罪认罚从宽制度的合理性并不能得以阐释。而依据我国《刑法》,对认罪认罚从宽制度的合理性则可以从形式逻辑、实质逻辑以及价值理念三个维度予以充分证成。由此可知,认罪认罚从宽制度本质上系《刑法》中的一种刑罚裁量制度,认罪认罚本质上是法定的从宽量刑情节。在定罪层面,犯罪嫌疑人、被告人只需自愿承认不法事实系其所为,即构成"认罪",而无需准确评价自身行为的法律性质并准确识别具体罪名;在量刑层面,"认罚"考察的重点是犯罪嫌疑人、被告人的悔罪态度和悔罪表现。应当通过刑法立法的方式将认罪认罚从宽制度与自首制度、坦白制度部分重叠地整合在一起,以避免"概念混同""重复评价"的错误倾向。     

商标侵权惩罚性赔偿的制度构建

我国《商标法》2013年第三次修改时首次在知识产权领域引入惩罚性赔偿责任。实证分析表明,惩罚性赔偿在商标侵权诉讼中适用甚少且适用不规范的问题突出,未能充分发挥其遏制侵权行为的预期作用。究其原因,主要存在适用条件不明确、赔偿基数难确定、程序保障不充分等问题。为规范适用,充分发挥惩罚性赔偿的作用,需要从以下四个方面完善其制度构建:一是强化程序保障;二是明确适用条件;三是完善赔偿数额的计算;四是厘清惩罚性赔偿与法定赔偿的关系。     

刑事被害人当事人化的反思与制度重构

刑事被害人当事人化的实质是犯罪损害追诉方式的公私合一,该制度设计混淆了公益和私益两种不同性质的诉讼,导致两种权益保护相互冲突进而对刑事司法结果公正造成负面影响。公私分离是刑事被害人去当事人化的当然制度选择,其立法对策主要包括在刑事立法中确立被害人为特殊诉讼参与人、废除被害人在刑事审判中就定罪量刑发表意见的权利、废止被害人刑事自诉权和切断其引起刑事二审、再审的程序路径。同时需要完善相关配套举措,如允许被害人对其物质和精神损害单独提起民事诉讼、完善精神损害赔偿制度、建立刑事被害人国家补偿制度等。     

Simple Rhetoric and Complex Punitiveness: Federal Criminal Justice Responses to White-Collar Criminality

Abstract

Though criminological literature shows that the manifestation of punitiveness in the criminal justice system is complex, it rarely differentiates between responses to different kinds of crimes. This constitutes a significant gap in knowledge, as it is widely believed that white-collar crimes are treated leniently. In light of the “heating up” of political rhetoric, the expansion of federal criminal law, and the increased maximum punishments on conviction, the article aims to explore whether prosecutorial and judicial responses to white-collar crimes have become more punitive, employing rarely used datasets from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) between 1996 and 2014. It is demonstrated that these responses are more complex and less consistently punitive than the rhetoric and policies advanced by politicians. It endeavors to capture the complexity of punitiveness in practice by measuring numerous variables and multiple points in the criminal justice process, studying punitiveness from multiple angles, using prosecution and sentencing data.     

From ‘Green Laggard’ to Regional Leader: Explaining the Recent Development of Environmental Policy in Chile

Environmental policy in Chile has developed rapidly in recent years, and the country has become a regional leader in renewable energy, climate change policy, recycling, and nature conservation. This contrasts with the previous neglect of environmental issues in the country and its depiction as a ‘green laggard’ (Orihuela, 2014: 251) within Latin America. In this article the recent development of environmental policy in Chile is reviewed and five factors affecting this development are analysed: international influences, institutional legacies, a window of opportunity opened by environmental movements, policy entrepreneurship, and business power.     

Parliamentary Prorogation in Comparative Context

This paper examines the power to prorogue (or suspend) Parliament following the 2019 prorogation controversy in the UK. We outline the legal basis of prerogative-based prorogation, survey its uses in the UK and other Westminster systems, and compare it with equivalent rules in other European parliamentary democracies. The comparative perspective highlights the outlier status of the UK among comparable European democracies. In the UK, the absence of explicit legal limits on the use of prorogation gives the executive exceptional scope to employ the power for political purposes to sidestep Parliament. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for current discussions about the desirability of reforming the UK’s prorogation rules and placing express legal limits on the executive’s power.     

全面从严治党背景下的农村基层党组织建设——基于陕西省延安市索洛湾村的调研

加强农村基层党组织建设是坚持和加强党对农村工作全面领导的必然要求,是巩固基层政权的迫切需要,是巩固党在农村执政基础的应然选择。但是,部分农村基层党组织软弱涣散,党员结构不平衡,在党意识不强,农村干部本领恐慌,管理制度、监督机制不健全。需要通过选优配强带头人,提升党员队伍素质,增强服务效能,提升乡村治理能力,落实主体责任等路径,推动农村基层党组织全面进步、全面过硬,促进全面从严治在农村落地生根。     

清代因案修例的现象还原与性质界定——兼论其对完善案例指导制度的启示

清代的因案修例,即基于某一司法案件对《大清律例》中的相关条例进行修改。这是清代司法实践中一种常见的法现象。《大清律例通考》《读例存疑》等考证类释本和《驳案汇编》《刑案汇览》等描述类案例集,分别以法律文本备注和刑事案例陈述的形式,记载了因案修例的诸多实例。结合因案修例的各方面特征来看,它属于清代法律的一种司法创制机制,带有典型的传统中国特色。清代统治者通过此种机制从司法案件中抽象出成文法则,进而实现法律文本稳定性与适应性的均衡。对于当前我国的案例指导制度,因案修例有着重要的启示意义,其对明确案例指导制度的发展路径和方向,以及完善“由案到法”的衔接机制、指导性案例的审核机制、类案判断机制、指导性案例的退出机制等,具有积极的可借鉴之处。