Equity and Conscience

This article argues that the peculiarly ‘common law tradition’separation of common law and equity had at its origins a principledbasis in the concept of ‘conscience’. But ‘conscience’here did not mean primarily either the modern lay idea, or the‘conscience’ of Christopher St German's exposition.Rather, it referred to the judge's, and the defendant's, privateknowledge of facts which could not be proved at common law becauseof medieval common law conceptions of documentary evidence andof trial by jury. The concept of a jurisdiction peculiarly concernedwith this issue allowed the ‘English bill’ procedureto be held back to a limited subject area rather than—asin Scotland and the Netherlands—overwhelming the old legalsystem. By the later 17th century, however, the concept of consciencehad lost its specific content, leaving behind the problem, stillwith us, of justifying the separation of ‘equity’.     

Opportunity Costs Pacifism

Law and Philosophy - If the resources used to wage wars could be spent elsewhere and save more lives, does this mean that wars are unjustified? This article considers this question, which has been...     

Estimating Environmental Costs

A database of environmental remediation costs is described as the response cost database (RCD). The database, which contains both capital and operating costs, includes 220 entries for complete activities ranging from studies to remedy components, such as caps, dredging, and pump and treat systems. Information and data sources for the RCD included actual costs from the literature, construction handbooks, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-approved software such as RACER. Costs were compared to benchmarks, such as from actual projects, when possible. Guidance on assumptions and scaling is provided with unit costs. The database was developed by environmental engineers experienced in the activities included and thus represents insightful estimation. The RCD may be useful for valuation of environmental portfolios or projects for planning, financial reporting, project management, financing, or mergers/acquisitions.     

刑事和解的法律冲突与衡平

作为被害人保护的一种制度，刑事和解逐渐成为各国解决刑事纠纷的有效机制，但也面临着诸如私力救济和公力救济之间，法律面前人人平等原则和同罪不同罚之间的矛盾。对于我国刑事司法制度的引进与构建而言，有必要从深层次上探索这些冲突和矛盾问题。从我国现实考察，可以看出无论从历史传统、现实的刑事案件的压力以及国际环境，都具备了确立刑事和解制度的条件。但是，应当确立一定的程序和规则，使刑事和解制度在规范的轨道上运行。     

国有股权的行使与监管——以国有控股公司为考察对象

作为国有资产管理体制的关键环节,组建国有控股公司是实现我国国有资产科学有效管理的必然选择。然而,基于国有股权的特殊性质,实践中国有控股公司中的国有股权行使与法律监管还普遍存在诸如国有代表不合格、内部人控制严重、监管措施弱化等突出问题。本文认为,要明确国有股东的范围、代表制度及其职能定位,并对后股权分置时代即全流通条件下的国有股权行使与监管进行必要的制度建设。     

Fraud,Legal Formality and Equity

This article seeks to examine thecurrent scope of the equitable principle that``equity will not allow a statute to be used asan instrument of fraud'. In particular, itexamines the meaning of fraud in this contextand the question whether the so-called rule inRochefoucauld in Boustead [1897] 1 Ch.196 can be applied legitimately in theenforcement of informal rights for the benefitof third parties.     

交易成本与区域经济合作

交易成本对国家间的经济合作具有重要影响。区域经济合作的实质是区域内不同主体之间的权利交换,即交易。合作制度是对交易条件的相关规定。合作制度的选择,也就是现有条件下的交易成本最小化选择。区域的具体特点不同,相互之间所需的交易条件不一样,合作制度也不一样。     

The Wasted Costs Jurisdiction

The wasted costs jurisdiction is flawed for six reasons, based on an analysis of all reported cases in the last nine years and five years of statistics provided by the Bar Mutual Insurance Fund Limited, and despite the guidance laid down by the Court of Appeal in Ridehalgh v Horsefield [1994] Ch 205. First, it is very costly proportionate to the amount recovered. Secondly, judges can initiate a wasted costs enquiry, which is unfair and even more disproportionately costly. Thirdly, it is procedurally complex. Fourthly, it is unpredictable whether the client will waive privilege, and what the consequences will be whether or not privilege is waived. Fifthly, it is not possible for solicitors and barristers to make contribution claims against each other. Sixthly, it is mostly used against lawyers representing legally aided litigants from whom costs cannot be recovered.     

教育公平面临的现状及对策分析

教育是“培养新生一代准备从事社会生活的整个过程”。受教育是宪法赋予每个公民的权利,但是,还有相当一部分应该接受教育的人群因为诸多因素的影响而不能受到比较系统的教育。教育的不公平不仅拉大了社会成员之间的距离,也不利于社会的稳定和发展。为此,亟需制定相应的对策促进教育公平。     

Equity,health, and health care

Equity goals, such as equal treatment for equal need or equality of access, commonly take pride of place among the aims of health policy. But do these conceptions, or others derived from more fundamental philosophical systems such as those of the utilitarians or John Rawls, successfully capture the way in which the term equity is generally used? If not, is it possible to find some interpretation that can command a greater consensus? This paper answers no to the first question and yes to the second. It is argued that the standard conceptions of equity ignore the processes by which health states are determined and hence the extent to which they arise from factors beyond individual control. An alternative conception is proposed that directly incorporates these considerations.     

Equity, international trade and climate policy

The literature of welfare-maximising greenhouse gas emission reduction strategies pays remarkably little attention to equity. This paper introduces various ways to consider efficiency and equity simultaneously. Lower (higher) discount rates lead to higher (lower) emission reduction. Higher (lower) inequity aversion leads to higher (lower) emission abatement, unless one also considers the negative effects of OECD emission reduction on the exports of developing countries; in that case, the effect of inequity aversion is ambiguous. In the absence of international co-operation, higher (lower) risk aversion leads to lower (higher) emission abatement. With international co-operation, the effect of risk aversion is ambiguous because the higher risk aversion gives more weight to poorer regions and poorer generations. We analyse four ways to introduce compassion in a non-cooperative setting. If observed development aid is a guide, international altruism is small and has little impact on optimal emission control. If countries act as if they 'feel' but not 'physically experience' the climate impact of the most vulnerable country, optimal emission reduction increases, but not substantially so. However, if countries actually have to pay for the damage done, they would prefer to reduce their emissions to much lower levels. Finally, if countries pay as much for emission reduction as other countries suffer from climate change, (that is, if climate policy restores the income distribution to what it would have been without climate change), emissions are rapidly cut to very low levels.     

司法衡平艺术与司法能动主义

司法的最直接目的在于定纷止争。法官既不能迷信规则,也不应轻视规则。司法能动主义是一种开放性司法哲学,热衷于打破成规、法外能动和制衡。司法能动主义之所以盛行于美国,有其特定政治法律文化背景。我国情形则大为不同,司法能动主义须慎行。我们应该发展合乎国情的中式司法衡平艺术,倡导能动司法。     

Equity and Social Justice in Water Doctrines

The role of institutions in the management of natural resources, such as surface water, have long been seen as promoting an efficient and socially just distribution of the available resource. Perceptions of basic liberties and procedural and distributive justice are often at the core of many water disputes throughout the world. During the past 15 years there has been a number of extensive studies exploring community perceptions of fairness and justice in water management and the development of fairness principles (see e.g., Nancarrow, B. E., and Syme, G. J. (2001). Soc. Justice Res. 14(4): 441–452; Syme, G. J., and Nancarrow, B. E. (1992). Perceptions of Fairness and Social Justice in the Allocation of Water Resources in Australia. CSIRO, Division of Water Resources, Perth, Australia (Consultancy Report No. 92/38); Syme, G. J., and Nancarrow, B. E. (1997). Water Resour. Res. 32: 1843–1850; Syme, G. J., Nancarrow, B. E., and McCreddin, J. A. (1999). J. Environ. Manage. 57: 51–70; Syme, G. J., Nancarrow, B. E., and McCreddin, J. A. (2000). Risk Anal. 20(6): 905–916). This paper contributes to that body of knowledge by evaluating three water doctrines underpinning water management using a variety of social justice criteria, drawing examples from the United States and Australia as appropriate. The notion is that if the water doctrine of a state or country conforms to a set of social justice principles then the water policies derived from it should produce just outcomes.