The Kremlin and the Government Do Not Agree with the Duma

At the last session of the Duma, the deputies adopted amendments to the law on local self-government, allowing the reform, against which the governors have as a body been actively speaking out recently, to be "forgotten" for a time by the regions.     

European Writers on Their Meetings with Stalin

The Constitution of the Russian Federation states that citizens are to exercise their rights of local self-government by means of referendums, elections, and other forms of direct expression of their will through electoral and other local self-government bodies. The Law on General Principles of Organization of Local Self-Government in the Russian Federation of 28 August 1995, adopted as an extension of constitutional norms, defines the following: the role of local self-government in establishing democracy; the legal, economic, and financial foundations of local self-government; and the general principles of its organization.     

全面理解“共同富裕”思想，正确认识当代中国的社会分化

"共同富裕"是邓小平社会主义本质论的核心内容,也是中国人自古以来对理想社会的不懈追求.如何把深入人心的"共同富裕"思想与改革以来社会急剧分化的客观现实统一起来,正确认识当代中国社会中理论与现实的巨大反差,引导社会实践朝着理论指引的目标前进,是当前中国理论界面临的一个重要课题.当代中国社会的发展在总体方向上仍然符合邓小平"共同富裕"的发展思路.不容忽视的是,社会的贫富分化正日趋严重,地区差别越来越大,一部分人通过非法途径暴富,等等.但是这种消极现象主要是由社会转型期的结构扭曲造成的,属于发展中的问题,可以通过进一步的改革和发展加以控制与解决.     

Let Us Not Have Any Delays

Vladimir Putin meets with the Council of Legislators about once a year. Yesterday in the Kremlin the members of the Council discussed the reform of local self-government and legislative measures providing for it.     

A Land Council [Zemstvo] Without Land

Conversations about the fact that the reform of local self-government cannot tolerate delay have continued for three years already, if not longer. This time period, during which the reform has been legislatively conceived but still not brought to life, itself leads to the thought that delay is completely tolerable. And for the municipal powers, it is even desirable.     

Dissenting Opinion of Justice of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine V. M. Kampo Regarding the Decision of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine No. 14-rp of June 10, 2009 (Case of Canceling Preterm Elections in Ternopil' Oblast)

There is no question that the 2004 constitutional reform was not completed. Even the method of conducting it created a regime of semilegitimacy in the country. Obviously, the reform should have been continued, expanding the powers of local self-government and reducing the functions of the local state administrations. But this did not happen, primarily because the initiators of the constitutional reform, no matter who it was—Yushchenko, Tymoshenko, or the Party of Regions—were trying to carry out the reform not in order to increase the effectiveness of the governance mechanism, but to obtain the maximum preferences of power for their own dear selves.     

论我国“分税制”的宪法性质

我国1994年实行分税制改革的目标是在中央政府与地方政府之间建立起制度化的财税分权体制,然而时至今日这一目标并未实现,改革的结果演化为中央政府与地方政府的财税分工,导致这一结果的根源在于我国缺乏宪政国家意义的地方自治制度这一中央政府与地方政府（联邦政府与组成部分政府）财税分权的制度基础。或许具有高度地方自治性质的人民代表大会制度,能够作为实现我国未来分税制改革中央政府与地方政府财税分权目标的制度前提。     

Potential of Inmate Self-Government

Inmate self-government is one of the strategies for moving correctional institutions away from the crime control establishment model and toward the community subsystem model Authentic participation in government of these institutions, however, awaits resolution of basic questions. With the prison organization provide the prerequisite conditions?. Will the inmates be prepared for effective participation. since the suicide processes of criminal justice administration heavily from those segments of the American population king expunge and incentives for significant political participation? Penal dorm depends on sociocultural changes in the society of which formations is a creature. Whether or not inmate self-government is o via reform strategy pivots ultimately on the revision of social attitudes toward deviants generally and the capacity of the prison to reduce significantly its social psychological isolation from the larger community system.     

The Eletsk Gambit

In Eletsk—the city second in significance in Lipetsk Oblast—they have still not begun the reform of local self-government. The matter has reached such a state that two committees of the oblast council have considered taking an extreme measure—making recourse to a court with a suit against the Eletsk city council of deputies, who are unable to overcome an internal disagreement.     

Vladimir Shapoval: "The CEC Is Destined to Be the Scapegoat"

"The law is harsh, but it is the law"—the well-known ancient Roman saying is entirely suitable as a brief synopsis of the Lb.ua interview with the chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC), Vladimir Shapoval.

"Any electoral legislation, I emphasize, any, will always be 95 percent the product of political expediency. Always. This way gives them an advantage—so be it." This is how he calmly parried my emotional "How can the advantage of the strong be codified in the law (!), and the weak essentially have no chance? What can you do, how can it be?" "All this ‘whining and crying,’ say, the law is this and that in substance, I do not accept it. The laws were adopted—so we will follow them. You cannot get away from it," he added.

It might seem to someone who does not know Vladimir Nikolaevich that the chief vote-counting official is being clever, "covering up" the "distortions" of the authorities "at the local level." He is in fact speaking frankly. The chairman of the Central Election Commission formed on the eve of the 2007 preterm parliamentary elections by a "coalition"—a retired Constitutional Court of Ukraine (CCU) justice, and a doctor of legal sciences who is an active member of the High Council of Justice (HCJ), he can permit himself that. Shapoval contrives to call things by their names: "How the law is written is another matter. And its parts are written abominably," he states bluntly.

In view of this, my discussion with Shapoval—formally tied to the start of a local elections campaign—went far beyond the bounds of a discussion of the legislation on this topic, and even the specifics of the campaign. The more so as I had already discussed this in detail with CEC Deputy Chairman Andrei Magera. Vladimir Nikolaevich, without concealing his indignation, related just what the HCJ is really afraid of (and it turned out it was not at all, or more precisely not only, what they are portraying it to be). Relying on nine years of experience as a CCU justice, he elucidated the risks of the invalidation of the 2004 constitutional reform by the current Constitutional Court—"only those who have face can lose it." Sketching out the situation in the body politic, he summed up, "If the Party of Regions (PoR) does not win the local elections, many questions will arise."     

分权改革背景下的地方财政自主权

为实现政治统治的合法化,近现代国家在民主的基础上形成了以规范为中心的权力认知模式。建国与改革为主题的国家制度建设所呈现的渐进性和试验性,使我国在中央与地方的财政关系上,形成了规范内外不同的权力生长与存续机理。碎片化的规范,赋予了地方在特定领域内的财政自主权。同时,依赖政治过程的分散化策略,引致了权力的制度外溢,形成了诸多所谓的"事实上的财政自主权"。尽管正当的制度只能逐步建设和改进,但如果始终存在超越于法律规范之上的权力,法治秩序终将会崩裂。地方财政自主权,必须在规范主义的立场上循序形成。     

Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation,No. 1223 of November 5, 1999, "On Measures to Prevent Penetration of the Territory of the Russian Federation by Members of Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Importation of Weaponry and Means of Sa

The distinctive characteristic of regional budgets for the coming year is the entry into force of federal law No. 131 on local self-government. In all of the oblasts elections have occurred and new bodies of local self-government have appeared that are supposed to have the corresponding treasury to fulfill all of the functions assigned to them.     

首席法务官（CLO） 一个崛起的法律职业群体

在公司治理结构中,＂首席法务官＂（CLO）的头衔正日益成为其中重要的一极。企业法律事务究竟怎样开展？法务官们到底是怎样的一个群体？他们在公司治理结构中到底充当什么样的角色？发挥什么作用？成功的跨国公司的企业法务工作又有什么经验教训？目前中国的企业法务官群体又是怎样的一种状态？在本刊即将推出《法人.首席法务官》增刊之际,全球企业法律顾问协会（ACC）总部总裁费雷德.克雷布斯先生接受了本刊专访,这位杰出的公司法务专家对这一系列迫在眉睫的问题作出了极有价值的回答     

从山西村治看民国特色的地方自治

民国时期,阎锡山兼管山西军民两政,开始推行村本政治,历时数十年形成规模并影响全国,使得山西能够在政局动荡之时基本保持了比较完好的地方秩序。山西村治是地方自治思潮与中国传统文化相互影响下的产物,其中既具有西方地方自治经典定义中的一些成分,又具有传统儒家文化色彩,凸显了官治与民治的耦合。对山西村治的研究能够为地方自治在中国的具体化、本土化提供有益的历史启示意蕴。     

基层自治制度的理论阐述与路径选择

健全充满活力的基层群众自治制度,着力推进基层直接民主制度化、规范化、程序化是党的十九届四中全会决定的要求。通过开展基层社会治理体系和治理能力现代化研究,探索建立"自治、法治、德治"相结合的现代基层治理体系,加快形成共建共治共享的现代基层社会治理新格局。面对地方治理需求侧(社会公民的期望)与地方治理供给侧(地方政府能力)之间的落差,应摒弃地方政府与基层组织二元对立模式,建立全新的"分权、互动"基层自治的理论分析框架,将多元主体纳入地方治理体系来共同履行公共职责。通过借鉴国外的经验并经过创造性转化,为基层自治提供包括培养自治能力、培育自治组织、强化城乡社区自治协商、衔接居民自治与村民自治在内的充分而有效的制度供给。     

乡村自治：解决“三农”问题的重要路径

“三农”问题实质上是一个政治问题。是因农民的意志上升不到统治意志,平等权、自由权及社会经济权利得不到切实的保障。发展乡村自治能够实现农民的“自我管理权”,扩大农民的权力。因而是解决三农问题的重要路径。乡村自治的理论和实践及乡村治理的现状都证明了在这一点。     

村民自治：改革开放三十多年来的回顾与反思

改革开放三十多年来,我国逐步建立起了适应经济社会发展要求的村民自治制度。其中的启示是：村民自治必须把党的领导、人民当家作主和依法治国有机地结合起来,走中国特色的社会主义基层民主发展道路;在发展村民自治的过程中要继续完善相关法律法规,协调好村民自治组织与其它组织之间的关系。     

论我国海关报关制度的改革

我国新修订的对外贸易法中在外贸经营者的范围、货物贸易和技术贸易的外贸经营权等方面进行了大幅度的修改,外贸管理体制的变革必将对我国的报关管理制度产生深远影响。现行的海关报关制度如何应对因外贸经营权的扩大而出现的问题?这个问题应该引起关注和研究,以寻求适合我国实情的应对策略。     

欧盟宪治:一种亚国家主义的解读

欧盟宪法的出现,为欧洲治理提供了全新的思路,也预示着法律在区域层次的治理中能够发挥更大的作用,欧盟宪法为何能产生,这种新的法律诞生的背景是什么?这样一部旨在独立国家主体间调节的亚国家主义性质的宪法究竟能发挥多大的作用,它又将遭遇什么问题?本文试图从欧洲治理以及欧盟宪法的性质特点、目前所遭遇的困境以及其前景等方面加以分析。     

Carry the Banner Where It Can Be Seen: Small Wins for Social Justice

In this article we address the following questions: How is oppression maintained? What resources enhance human welfare, thereby weakening oppression? and How can the systems of oppression be challenged and interrupted? Our response to the last question is: “Organize on the local level with real allies to effect small wins that encourage political participation.”