Legal deduction,legal predicates and expert systems

Much of the text which follows was first presented to the Conference of the Legal Expert System Association at Meiji Gakuin University, Tokyo, in August 1987, and followed by a similar argument, slightly differently angled, at a Symposium in honour of Ota Weinberger in Graz, whose proceedings remain for the moment unpublished. I have also received valuable criticisms through discussions of the latter version at meetings of an Esprit Working Group on Foundations of Legal Reasoning convened by Dr. Tim Flanagan of Cambridge, 1988–91.     

Legal ethnography: Exploring the gendered nature of legal method

Beginning with the idea of law as discourse, this essay examines the ways in which legal method is gendered. Texts, such as affidavits and court forms, and local ‘mundane’ practices are part of the production and affirmation of the law as a producer of truth. A possible methodology for exploring legal method, ‘legal ethnography,’ is introduced as a means by which wemight explicate how legal method works to support and reify legal discourse, in the process silencing the voices of women. The essay also explores how legal method comes to be accepted as a ‘tool of the trade’ by lawyers, who then use it to translate the primary narrative of the client into a cause of action that is comprehensible to lawyers, judges, and other actors in the legal system. Finally, the limitations of the proposed methodology are considered.     

私有财产权与法律改革--1978-2003中国法律改革史考察

中国1978年至2003年的法律改革是围绕着确立和保护私有财产权来进行的.私法领域的改革确立了私法财产权,公法领域的改革确立了公法财产权.私法财产权和公法财产权的结合构成了完整意义上的私有财产权制度.2004年通过的宪法第22条修正案同时规定了私法财产权和公法财产权,是对中国25年法律改革的概括和总结.     

Automated consent through privacy agents: Legal requirements and technical architecture

The changes imposed by new information technologies, especially pervasive computing and the Internet, require a deep reflection on the fundamental values underlying privacy and the best way to achieve their protection. The explicit consent of the data subject, which is a cornerstone of most data protection regulations, is a typical example of requirement which is very difficult to put into practice in the new world of “pervasive computing” where many data communications necessarily occur without the users' notice. In this paper, we argue that an architecture based on “Privacy Agents” can make privacy rights protection more effective, provided however that this architecture meets a number of legal requirements to ensure the validity of consent delivered through such Privacy Agents. We first present a legal analysis of consent considering successively (1) its nature; (2) its essential features (qualities and defects) and (3) its formal requirements. Then we draw the lessons of this legal analysis for the design of a valid architecture based on Privacy Agents. To conclude, we suggest an implementation of this architecture proposed in a multidisciplinary project involving lawyers and computer scientists.     

E-commerce oriented software agents: Some legal challenges of advertising and semi-autonomous contracting Agents

This second article in a series on the legal issues raised by electronic agents presents a process oriented legal analysis of two agents involved in advertising and contracting activities, within the context of augmented reality: the application of Internet technologies to a real world shopping experience. We analyse the different processes to the agents to establish the legal requirements and limitations in relation to contract processes, consumer protection law, as well as privacy.     

As outcomes measurement and management become widespread, providers should beware of legal pitfalls

Until new statutes and court decisions clarify the law applicable to outcomes research, providers will continue to face new questions. In the meantime, paying careful attention to satisfying the requirements of existing laws protecting peer review information will put providers in the best position to minimize their exposure. Providers should review their current outcomes measurement and management systems to ensure that (1) they are structured to take full advantage of the confidentiality protections available under state law, and (2) appropriate access to outcomes data for those who need it is clearly provided for in the relevant documentation.     

论法治中国对法律合理性刑罚目的之双重期待

法律合理性,即在法的基础上对理性的认识、理解以及实现、展开的活动.异言之,即指法的发动具有正当合理的根据.法律合理性可分为形式合理性(Formal Rationality又称工具合理性)和实质合理性(Substantial Rationality又称价值合理性).作为法的一种具体表现形式的刑罚也不例外,有形式合理性和实质合理性之分.由于形式合理性与实质合理性二者的不可或缺,当今世界各国的刑法典呈现出将二者相结合的趋势.毫无疑问,法治中国对刑罚目的之形式合理性与实质合理性有着双重期待.