美国对外国国家的送达制度

美国《外国主权豁免法》明确规定了对外国国家的送达程序,以区别于《联邦民事诉讼法》中的送达程序。这些特殊的送达规则以及送达实践强调被送达的外国国家实际接收和接受送达的效果,更加注重程序公正,在某种程度上给予外国国家更多的正当程序保障,增强审判程序和判决的可接受性,减少或避免国家豁免诉讼可能带来的政治风险。中国应对在美国法院被诉时,应当充分利用美国《外国主权豁免法》中的送达规则和实践,更好地维护我国的尊严和主权。     

论“圈地”现象背后地方政府的利益追求

本文从近期的“圈地”热潮开始谈起,分析了土地与土地权,国家与政府,中央政府与地方政府三组关系,讨论了其对征地的影响,并将重点落到地方政府上面。然后,用经济学的有关理论论证地方政府“圈地”追求的并不是一般意义上的垄断利润,而是其他一些利益。文章提出了建立一套利益制衡机制以遏制地方政府利益追求,试图以此来规范征地行为。     

被盗艺术品跨国所有权争议解决的若干问题研究

艺术品相较于一般财产,价值较高,具有不可替代性.并常包含一定的公共利益.在被盗艺术品跨国争议中,物之所在地法是被盗艺术品的所有权判定的主要依据.时效规则是确立被盗艺术品返还请求权的关键问题.目前,已经有国家开始在立法和实践中更多地关注原所有权人、善意购买人、国家利益与公共政策等相关利益的平衡;并已经有学者提出需要结合最密切联系因素、以带有实质性色彩的冲突规则来确定被盗艺术品的所有权.     

宪法审查的穷尽法律救济原则

"穷尽法律救济原则"是各国宪法审查制度普遍采行的启动要件,它在集中式审查模式中主要存在于宪法诉愿程序中,而在分散式审查模式中主要体现为"穷尽行政救济"。然两类规范形态具有相通的双层结构规范内涵:在判断是否已穷尽相关法律救济之后,对于未穷尽者,进一步判断其是否属于具有普遍性意义或者会产生重大且无法避免之损害的例外情形,以谨慎决定宪法审查是否可提前。这既体现出宪法审查的备位性,也说明备位性须受到人权保障之价值目标的限制。     

论地方事务设定的合法性要件

针对地方事务的初次分配(设定),长期由国务院等中央行政机关负责的实践传统不能取代有限制性规定的现行法律。按照这些合法性要件,在设定主体上,全国人大及其常委会和经授权的国务院有权设定地方事务。同时,为适应综合治理的需求,1985年关于经济体制改革的授权决定应及时增补其他领域。在规范形式上,只有宪法、法律与依行政法规程序制定的暂行规定或条例可以胜任;并且要以宪法为依据,以法律为主体,提高人大立法的比重,控制授权立法。在制修程序上,代表团得充分行使提案权,为地方事务的设定发声;“中央和地方协商办事”的治理原则须转化为法定程序,以便地方意见的收集。     

被盗文物跨国流转所有权争议法律适用规则探讨——兼论《涉外民事关系法律适用法》第37条

文物由于具有稀缺性被视为保值增值的上佳投资品,因而其跨国流转日益频繁,不过其中相当一部分是被盗掘或盗窃后进八国际市场交易。不法分子利用各国所有权取得的种种歧异的规定,将非法获取文物的所有权“漂白”后转手给善意购买人,而最后的纠纷往往在原始所有人与善意购买人间发生。在相关国际公约在解决此类纠纷存在不足的情况下,应从国际私法法律适用的角度探讨解决上述问题的现实可行的方法,即：扬弃“物之所在地法”既有原则,引入文物最初来源地法,在平衡各方利益的基础上形成一套更具灵活性和综合性考量的法律适用方法。     

外交保护与对日民间索偿

外交保护是指允许一国按照一般国际法对另一国违反国际法使其国民遭受损害的行为要求赔偿的权利。外交保护的行使应符合一定的条件并采取适当的方式。在对日民间索偿问题上适用外交保护是符合国际法规范的,中国政府应考虑适时启动外交保护程序以取得对日民间索偿的理想结果。     

On the “Economic Dilemma” within the Performing Arts

This article contributes to our understanding public art at the local level by providing analysis of local government public art programs. A survey was conducted with cities and towns in Arizona that have public art programs. The article begins by defining public art and explaining how government funding for public art began in the United States. Next, it highlights the benefits of public art. Public art program funding sources, budgets, maintenance, personnel, and promotion techniques are discussed for the cities/towns surveyed. Last, recommendations are provided for cities/towns seeking to create or expand their public art programs.     

Denying Foreign State Immunity on the Grounds of the Unavailability of Alternative Means

Granting immunity from suit to a foreign state or an international organisation, deprives the plaintiff of access to court and appears incompatible with the rule of law. Since the European Court of Human Rights judgment in Waite v Germany (1999), the availability of alternative means for dispute settlement has been emphasised in the context of international organisation immunity. However in the case of foreign state immunity, this approach was not taken by the European Court of Human Rights in Al-Adsani v United Kingdom (2001) nor by the House of Lords in Jones v Ministry of the Interior of Saudi Arabia (2006). Likewise, foreign state immunity would be granted under the UN State Immunity Convention of 2004, regardless of whether there are alternative means. This Convention, rather than enhancing the rule of law, could lead to its attenuation. That several of these cases involve immunity in cases of torture sharpens their sensitivity.     

《劳动合同法》地方指导意见评述——关于劳动争议当事人和劳动关系的认定

各地法院和仲裁机构在《劳动合同法》实施后尤其是在全球性金融危机期间出台了各自的司法意见,对《劳动合同法》的相关条文进行了细化和补充,弥补了《劳动合同法》的不足和立法盲点。但是,也存在相当一些有悖于法理和立法法的解释误区,带来了各地司法不统一的混乱。如何认定劳动争议当事人和劳动关系是其中的重要部分,包括不具备合法经营资格及借用营业执照或挂靠的用人单位的用工关系、个人承包经营形成的用工关系、下岗、内退职工与新用人单位建立的关系、招用已达到法定退休年龄的人员所形成的关系以及未签订书面合同的劳动关系适用《劳动合同法》的问题等。因此,应当对地方性司法指导文件进行全面清理,吸收借鉴其合理之处,阐释其存在的误区,并在此基础上完善《劳动合同法》。     

RETHINKING JUVENILE STATUS OFFENSE LAWS: CONSIDERATIONS FOR CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF THE JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DELINQUENCY PREVENTION ACT

Families struggling with a breakdown in communication, trying to control the behavior of an unruly child, or experiencing a crisis often look for outside help. Many families, particularly those without resources to pay for private support, turn to their local status offense system. Status offenders are young people charged with behavior unique to their status as juveniles such as running away, truancy, or disobedience. In 2007, Congress will begin to consider reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), the federal act related to status‐offender policy. By providing an overview of recent state status‐offense legislation and case law, this article identifies issues to be addressed by Congress in reauthorizing the JJDPA.     

从Petrobras案看美国《反海外腐败法》的域外管辖问题

Petrobras案反映了美国《反海外腐败法》(FCPA)的域外管辖权存在合理性的问题。通过回顾该法的立法历史和研究其条款的规定,分析FCPA针对外国公司的典型案例,表明美国FCPA执法机构宽泛地解释法律,借助微弱的连接点,扩大FCPA域外管辖权的行使范围。这既与美国国内法和司法实践中确定行使域外管辖权的合理性平衡检验标准不一致,同时也不符合《经合组织公约》和习惯国际法规则的要求。究其实质,美国《反海外腐败法》一方面为国际社会治理跨国贿赂提供了国际公共产品,另一方面也在维护了美国和美国公司的利益,收取额外的霸权收益。     

论知情同意的豁免

本文围绕医疗实务中的知情同意豁免，首先讨论了知情同意豁免规则的法律政策，详细分析了紧急情形豁免、治疗豁免、知情同意权的放弃和强制治疗这四种豁免情形，简述了医务人员在适用知情同意豁免规则时可能的法律责任。     

《行政许可法》对地方立法的影响

行政许可法颁布和施行的意义不仅仅局限于行政法治这一领域,而且以独特的视角为地方立法今后的发展提供了难得的参考。在地方立法理念上的变化体现为:平衡公益和私益,追求效益,立法应务实创新;对地方立法体制及立法技术的影响表现为:地方对行政许可设定具有很强的局限性,地方立法主体需重新认识和定位,注重以立法事项的性质确定立法主体,在权限上既赋予地方一定的专有立法权,同时对地方立法权进行一些具体的禁止作为补充,健全地方立法的具体内容,完善地方立法技术。即便如此,行政许可法仍对地方立法可能造成以下负面影响:首先是借行政许可法留下的可观的立法空间,扩大地方立法权;其次是由于行政审批改革与立法同步,立法中部门利益将会反弹。     

Restitution, Rectification, and Mitigation: Negligent Solicitors and Wills, Again

A solicitor, when drafting a will, can owe a duty of care in tort to the intended beneficiary of a bequest under that will. The Court of Appeal has recently confirmed that where a solicitor has misdrafted the will, the intended beneficiary can sometimes rectify it, and recover the intended gift. The pattern of this rectification is restitutionary, raising the question analysed in this article of whether an intended beneficiary can have a direct personal action in restitution to reverse the unjust enrichment of an unintended recipient. It seems that, though fraught, such an action may indeed in principle lie.     

What the Trial Judge Needs to Know about the Convention of 23 November 2007 on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance

Since the 1950s, there have been several international multi‐lateral treaties for recognition and enforcement of child and spousal support orders. They operated, primarily, in civil law countries where “creditor‐based jurisdiction” allowed establishment of an order in the country of habitual residence of the child or the custodial parent. The United States, requiring “minimum contacts” with the debtor to establish personal jurisdiction, could not be a party to such agreements. For nearly fifty years the U.S., and a few states, sought to fill the need for international reciprocity by negotiating individual country‐to‐country or state‐to‐country arrangements. With ratification of the 2007 Family Maintenance Convention, the United States was finally able to join in a multi‐lateral treaty. The treaty took effect in the United States on January 1, 2017, establishing procedures for international recognition, enforcement and modification of family support orders with 35 other countries already party to the Convention (including the entire European Union). The grand bargain struck during the negotiations between 2003 and 2007 was that the U.S. would honor a foreign order if, under the facts presented, there were sufficient minimum contacts with the debtor that would have supported personal jurisdiction if the order had been entered in any state in the U.S. If unable to recognize a foreign order, the U.S. agreed to take steps to issue a new one. The treaty establishes administrative procedures that, in many respects, are nearly identical to interstate enforcement of domestic support orders in this country. But there are also aspects of the treaty that are entirely new and warrant explanation for family and juvenile court judges. This article focuses on several unique provisions of the treaty that judges and attorneys need to understand.     

The Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2018: Updating the Federal Approach to Youth Involved,and At‐Risk of Becoming Involved,in the Juvenile Justice System

On December 21, 2018, the Juvenile Justice Reform Act was signed into law, marking the first update in 16 years to the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, as amended. The reforms reflect much of the knowledge that has been gained through research and science over the past decade and strengthen the Act’s core protections for youth in the juvenile justice system. The changes also expand the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s role in research, and technical assistance, and provide for additional oversight for related programs.