Chronic Pain in the DSM-IV and the DSM-5 Draft: The Pain of It All

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, DSM-IV-TR (American Psychiatric Association 2000) includes the diagnosis of pain disorder, and it has been revised in major ways in the DSM-5 draft (American Psychiatric Association 2010). Pain disorder has been relegated as a specifier of the new diagnosis of complex somatic symptom disorder. It cannot be diagnosed prior to 6 months of the pain’s onset. Also, there are still the pejorative connotations with which the disorder is associated. In terms of treatment, it might be more difficult to get treatment plans accepted as a result of the changes, and in terms of the legal arena, it might prove more difficult to have the disorder serve as the basis of action in legal proceedings.     

It All Went Splendidly for the President

The Constitutional Court of Ukraine (CCU) announced on Friday that it has declared unconstitutional the 2004 constitutional reform, and brought back to life the 1996 version of the Fundamental Law. Now the Verkhovna Rada will have to bring all of the laws passed over the past five years into conformity with the "old" constitution. The CCU decision has given rise to quite a few questions, in particular, regarding the terms of office of the parliament and president. Speaker Vladimir Litvin is sure that the deputies will have to adopt changes to the transitional provisions of the constitution that will extend the authority of the current Rada for a year and a half, and of the head of state for eight months.     

论土地征用之公益目的性

公益目的性是土地征用制度合法性的基础 ,由于价值判断的多元性 ,对公共利益的理解千差万别。公共利益实际上并非纯粹抽象的概念 ,对其进行解释有可能性和现实必要性。我国应改变土地征用行为中由行政机关随意解释公共利益的制度设计     

The Evolution of Art and Culture as It Relates to Workforce Dynamics

The author discusses the relationship among art, culture, and the workforce, examining the historical context of these areas and outlining the implications for the arts and cultural sector.     

论刑事检察公诉的价值目的

检察公诉的职能作用,首先是指刑事检察公诉通过职务的履行,调整国家、社会的各种利益的功能。其次是代表国家和社会依照法定授权,在对已经侦查终结的刑事案件审查后,依据刑事实体法条文,对犯罪嫌疑人涉嫌犯罪的行为所作的政治、道德上的评价职能作用。第三是监督功能。刑事检察公诉的本质就在于,它是以对已经由侦查启动的刑事追诉的决定为载体,以监督刑事法律的统一正确实施为手段,主张和维护国家和社会受刑法保护的利益的国家公权力。     

法经济学视角下环境监管立法的价值目标与实现途径

公平与效率是环境监管立法过程中应当遵循的最重要的价值目标,它关系到环境监管法实施的有效性。依经济学市场均衡理论,环境监管立法供给应与可持续发展社会对法的需求相适应,这要求我国立法部门建立全面、具体而符合社会公众利益的环境监管法,以实现法的公平目标。依成本收益理论,应该尽量减少立法成本,法的内容要尽量使个体行为外部性内部化,对此应坚持民主科学立法,建立层次有致、奖惩分明、具有前瞻性和长效性的环境监管法,以实现法的效率目标。     

法与经济学视野中的外部性及其解决方法分析

对于外部性的含义,学者们多从经济学的角度进行界定;而对于外部性的解决方法,学者们又多从制度的角度加以寻求。从法律视角即权利和义务的角度,也可以对外部性进行界定,并由此提出法律解决的方法。在解决外部性方面,经济法机制优于民法和行政法机制,但经济法解决外部性也需要注意一些问题。     

Public Choice at the Intersection of Environmental Law and Economics

Management of environmental assets begins with a commons and ends with various legal institutions that assign property rights and control. Each step in the evolution of these legal institutions involves collective decision making. Public Choice analysis helps to explain the decision making process and institutional characteristics that emerge. A survey of Public Choice literature that addresses environmental issues illustrates how Public Choice sheds light on outcomes for the U.S. experience. In the absence of Public Choice theory, law and economics scholars would be hard pressed to explain why costly forms of environmental regulation seem preferred to apparently more efficient institutions and why the body politic seemingly accepts a high-cost, low-output outcome.     

Economics and Law of Works of Art in the Single European Market

This paper is concerned with the economic analysis of the European rules on the circulation of works of art. After reviewing the relevant literature, an economic framework of the international circulation of works of art is provided (social goals, efficiency and distributive aspects, an economic rationale for a general free trade rule integrated by selective protectionism). Using this framework the European system of circulation of works of art—resulting from the combination of the Maastricht Treaty with Regulation 3911/92 and Directive 93/7—is analysed. The main results of the analysis are: 1) the general free trade principle ruling the Single European Market is strongly limited by rules protecting national artistic heritages of member states; 2) this protectionism—working towards countries both outside and inside the European Union—is applied according to the national laws of each member state, while, contrary to what the Maastricht Treaty would call for, an artistic heritage of European significance is not defined and no autonomous role is recognized in this field to European Institutions; 3) this system shows some inconsistencies with economic theory, as strict limits to trade are not provided when they should be required by the preservation of the physical or artistic integrity of works of art, while in other cases an unduly restrained trade may derive from highly protectionist national laws and export-licencing policies of member states. Enforcement provisions are also analysed and some proposals to improve the system are advanced.     

论国际投资协定中的“根本安全利益”与“公共目的”

国际投资协定中普遍包含"根本安全利益"和"公共目的"条款。作为一种特殊公共利益的"根本安全利益"与可仲裁性及必要性抗辩紧密相关,而"公共目的"与征收问题并存,是合法征收的必备条件,并必须伴随相应补偿。就"根本安全利益"事项的可仲裁性而言,已有的判例和实践不足以给出定论,条款的措施似乎很有必要;就可补偿性而言,在理论上有不同主张,实践上亦有不同做法。在国际投资仲裁中,对"根本安全利益"而不是"公共目的"抗辩具有更重要的意义,从而也越来越受到各国的重视。     

Risk, Need, And Responsivity (RNR): It All Depends

Target populations have always been a thorny issue for correctional programs, primarily in response to the question "what works for whom?" In this experiment of seamless treatment for probationers in two sites, offenders were randomly assigned to the seamless model (drug treatment incorporated into probation supervision) or traditional referral model to services in the community. The experiment blocked on risk level, using a version of the Wisconsin Risk Tool, to measure the differential effects on rearrest and substance abuse. The seamless system model improved treatment participation with greater gains for the high-risk offenders in both sites. Yet, no main effects were observed on drug use or rearrest, although effect sizes illustrate that small effects can be observed for the high-risk offenders and the direction of the effect size demonstrates negative effects for moderate-risk offenders in one of the sites. Part of the failure to observe main effects may be due to instrumentation and measurement problems, namely that many of the substance abusers in the experiment had low severity substance abuse problems and the majority of the offenders were marijuana users which has a weaker crime-drug linkage. Study findings illustrate the importance of theoretically driven and dynamic risk and need measures. The focus on sound dynamic factors may assist with identifying the appropriate target populations for correctional interventions.     

代议制与公共财政——近代西方代议制宪政模式的形成及其作用机理分析

宪政包含着责任政府原则,其核心价值之一,就在于确保国家权力的公共性,以便保证国家权力用于公共服务。透视近代西方国家宪政的发展历程,就会注意到近代西方国家的宪政模式是代议制,而代议制宪政模式的作用机理又是与国家财政的公共化建构紧密联系在一起的。代议制既是近代西方国家的宪政模式,又是近代西方国家财政公共化建构的制度之基。因为,只有确保国家财政的公共化才能确保国家权力的公共性。这也正是近代西方宪政模式与其古典和中世纪时期宪政模式的不同之处:后者主要是通过司法来规制国王所代表的行政权力,表现为司法型宪政模式;而前者主要是通过议会对国家财政的公共化组建和监管,来实施对行政权力的政治规范和约束,表现为代议制型宪政模式。