Determining health care rights from behind a veil of ignorance

Should our society establish positive rights to health care that each citizen could claim, as many health policy analysts believe? Or should it provide only background rules of contract and property law and leave the provision of health care to the free market, as Richard Epstein advocates in Mortal Peril? In this article, Professor Korobkin argues that this question should be addressed from the Rawlsian "veil of ignorance" perspective. That is, the question should be answered by asking what kind of society would individuals agree to form if they had no knowledge of their individual skills or endowments; if they did not know whether they were rich or poor, healthy or sick, weak or strong. Professor Korobkin contends that individuals behind such a veil of ignorance would balance their inherent risk aversion (which favors a safety net of "rights") against the inefficient incentives created by rights regimes that would reduce net social wealth (which favors a free market). Whether they would choose to establish rights to health care or not is ultimately an empirical question that turns on how inefficient any particular right would be. The question thus requires a case-by-case analysis of proposed rights. The article then considers the policy issues of (1) community rating of private health insurance and (2) the mandated provision of emergency medical care. It concludes that in these cases the inefficient incentives created by establishing rights are probably smaller and/or controllable enough to lead individuals behind the veil of ignorance to favor a regime of positive rights.     

"Body property": challenging the ethical barriers in organ transplantation to protect individual autonomy

One of two articles related to the current organ shortage, this article advocates the need for legislation to recognize organs and tissues separated from the body as a distinct category of personal property. After addressing the legislative history of organ procurement and psychological barriers to donor consent, the article examines the importance of separating the lifetime rights of ownership in our own bodies from postmortem rights. Ultimately, the author proposes a futures market approach to this problem in which individuals before death, or surviving family members after death, are permitted sell the decedent's organs in a private contract.     

预购商品房抵押法律效力的思考

预购商品房抵押是伴随着商品房预售制度的产生和银行为防范住房金融业务信贷风险而出现的一种担保方式。我国的法律、部门规章、司法解释在不同时期从不同角度对预购商品房抵押进行立法规制,但对其应具备何种法律效力未予明确,无法衡平商品房预售中各方参与主体的利益。本文通过对法律规制的变迁及相关司法判例的探讨,分析了预购商品房抵押的性质、效力及纳入预告登记制度的可能性,使其与现行的物权法律体系相协调,以维护住房金融市场的稳定有序。     

期货交易概念之法理甄别

期货交易的客体是期货 ,期货合同是期货买卖合同 ,对冲平仓的法律性质为债的抵销 ,而非合同权利义务的概括转让。     

南海渔业知识产权保护问题研究

南海渔业知识产权保护中存在着渔业知识产权保护意识不强、缺乏渔业地理标志、商标保护、立法不够完善、行政保护制度及司法保护欠缺等一系列问题。应当从加强渔业知识产权相关法律法规的普及宣传、实行地理标志知识产权保护、完善渔业知识产权立法及鱼种新品种权的保护、加强行政与司法保护及二者衔接等方面完善南海渔业知识产权的保护,以求促进南海现代渔业经济的发展、渔民民生的改善及维护国家的利益。     

The contractual alternative to patents

A patent grants the holder a monopoly over the use of the patented invention for a specified time period. Although economists are generally opposed to monopoly, there seems to be a general consensus that the patent system is desirable.¹ The rationale for the patent system is that without ownership rights in inventions, there would not be optimal allocation of resources to inventive activities, just as with any other valuable resource over which there are not well-defined property rights. However, the patent system, since it confers monopoly rights, has its drawbacks as well. If independent parties are working simultaneously toward an invention, the first to produce the invention will receive a monopoly over its use, even though others may have been only a month behind. This may encourage inventors to work too intensively toward a patent, and could also have the effect of producing monopoly in a market that was characterized by competition before the patent was issued. In addition, competitors have an incentive to develop substitute processes to avoid infringement of the patent, when the use of the patented process would be more economical. A substitute for patents which provides ownership rights in an invention without governmental grant of a monopoly is the trade secret. The purpose of this paper is to introduce and develop the idea of the law of trade secrets as a contractual alternative to patents.     

Rights,goals, and hard cases

Rights have two properties which prima facie appear to be inconsistent. The first is that they are conditional in the sense that one some occasions it is always justifiable for someone to act in a way which appears to be inconsistent with someone else's rights, such as when the defence of necessity applies. The second is that rights are indefeasible in the sense that they are not subject to being defeated our outweighed by utilitarian or policy considerations. If we view rules and the rights which they establish as being subject to a ceteris paribus clause, the form of which generates out the exceptions, the conditionality of rights becomes reconcilable with their nondefeasibility. Such a view of rules and rights would entail that the goals of the law and their orderings be considered as a part of the law. When so viewed, propositions about goals and their orderings become legitimate premises for legal reasoning, furnishing solutions to hard cases in the law of torts, without resort to balancing of interests or judicial discretion.     

论“光大证券事件”中的期货内幕交易

光大证券在期货市场的交易行为是否构成内幕交易值得深究。从解释论的角度看,证监会的处罚没有说明为何光大证券属于内幕知情人,通过对《期货交易管理条例》第82条第12项的解释,应当认为光大证券作为期货投资者,不属于期货内幕知情人,因而不构成期货内幕交易;从英、美两国的规定看,无论是通过对期货内幕人范围的限定还是规定相应的抗辩事由,比较法上的经验都说明了并非利用重大非公开的信息都可构成内幕交易;分析期货市场的特殊性,可以发现期货市场的主要功能是套期保值,而套期保值者相比于投机者具有不可避免的市场信息优势,为了实现套期保值与市场的流动性,利用信息优势进行期货交易属于期货市场的惯常做法;"光大证券乌龙指事件"给资本市场造成了很大的冲击,但在我国期货监管机构以及交易所对该种异常情形缺乏规定的情况下,其利用信息优势进行套期保值,仍然属于该惯常做法的范围内;若监管机构拟对这类行为进行规制,应该事先制定例外规则,对特定类型的做空交易进行限制。     

Law and the Protection of Cultural Communities: the Case of Native American Fishing Rights

This essay explores the Salish peoples' quest for protection of traditional culture through the legal protection of traditional fishing practices. Through a history of political confrontation, the politically symbolic and culturally significant issue of fishing rights came before the courts. In one case, the courts came to recognize the cultural import of traditional fishing and made provisions for enhanced fishing opportunities based on treaty rights. Paradoxically, implementation of the decision exacerbated internal divisions in Salish society and the integrity of the cultural community continues to disintegrate at an accelerated pace.     

National Treasure: Implicit Protections of Cultural Property in the United States

Despite the international prevalence of cultural export controls, the United States has not adopted explicit measures for that purpose. Whereas many culture-rich nations have found it necessary to implement explicit export controls to stem an exodus of prominent works of culture, U.S. common law and national policy, by relying on traditional concepts of property ownership rights and charity, have achieved similar effects without placing undue limits on international trade. In this article, I posit that any change in the current approach and toward explicit export control would be inimical to the U.S. self-interest and the developmental direction of the relevant legal policy.     

Governing Parenting: Is There a Case for a Policy Review and Statement of Parenting Rights and Responsibilities?

This paper addresses the governance of families in the context of a political philosophy that endorses a rights perspective in social policy and the need to promote transparent government. The status of parenting as a function of government has grown substantially under the present Labour administration and now commands cross-party support as a priority issue. However, it would be wrong to claim that there is a national consensus regarding the role of the state in supporting and regulating families in their upbringing of children. This paper assesses current parental rights and responsibilities in relation to financial support, and the physical and emotional care and control of children. Emerging themes and ambiguities are drawn out, and consideration is given to the need for a strategic policy statement embracing the broad ambit of government legislation, discussion documents, and commentaries. In conclusion, the case is made for a regular policy review and for a national debate as to whether there should an official statement of parents' rights and responsibilities.     

论违约责任

随着中国市场经济的发展，世界一体化进程的加快，以及中国成功加入世贸组织，合同与各种市场主体乃至寻常百姓的接触越来越频繁，越来越密切。而违约责任约定则是一份合同的核心所在，一份完备的合同离不开具体、有效的违约责任条款。笔者拟从违约责任的要件、责任承担方式、几种违约方式的适用、损失赔偿范围等几个方面封《合同法》中的违约责任追行分析，最后就如何在合同中合法、有效地约定违约责任提出一些建议，以最大限度保护守约方的合法权益。     

我国期货品种上市机制面临的问题及解决——《期货交易管理条例》实施两周年之际的反思

我国现行期货新品种上市机制已经成为期货市场发展的"瓶颈",导致期货市场效率低下、功能难以充分发挥、国际竞争力明显不足.从国外期货品种上市机制立法看.完善期货品种上市机制已经成为各国增强其期货市场国际竞争力的重要途径,全球期货品种上市机制呈现出核准制和注册制融合的发展趋势.但是,鉴于我国期货市场所处的发展阶段,期货品种上市机制改革应沿着改良审批制、逐步过渡到核准制、最后发展为注册制的路径稳步推进.     

Interaction of the Russian Financial Markets

The different segments of he Russian financial markets are studied in the paper. The market crashed on 17 August 1998. We consider the stable period of the market between May 1996 and October 1997. We study the structure of interactions between the GKO market, stock market, currency market, currency futures market, GKO futures market, interbank credit market. We study the relations between the world financial market and the Russian financial market. It was shown that, in the period under consideration, different segments of the Russian financial market became more integrated and the market as whole became more stable and more integrated in the international capital flows.     

捕捞渔船安全国际海事立法之观察

国际海事组织在过去几十年一直努力推动捕捞渔船安全国际立法工作。通过对主要的涉渔海事公约以及港口国监督措施,特别是《1993年捕捞渔船安全议定书》和《捕捞渔船船员培训、发证和值班标准国际公约》的探讨,建议中国渔业主管部门、渔业界及行业组织重视国际渔业法研究和普及工作,积极行使国际法权利和履行国际法义务,参照相关海事公约及时修改国内海事安全和渔业法规,依法建立全国统一的渔船和渔船船员登记系统,增强对捕捞渔船现代化和渔船船员培训事业的扶持力度,促进中国海洋渔业的稳健发展。     

论营业权入宪--比较宪法视野下的营业权

营业权是主体基于平等市场主体资格自由地、独立地从事以营利为目的的营业活动的权利。纵观各国宪法 ,在营业权的表达方式上 ,有自由权吸收方式、经济与财产自由包含方式、职业选择自由概括方式和营业自由表达方式等不同模式 ,在具体的立法体例上有宪法序言或总则宣示式、经济政策性原则条款式、公民基本权利条款列举式、总则宣示与公民权利列举相结合的模式等不同范式。因此 ,尽快把“营业权”(或“营业自由”)或视为公民的基本权利 ,或视为一项基本国策 ,或作为一项基本的经济原则 ,载入我国宪法 ,是今后宪法修改和人权保障的重要课题。     

期货投资的VaR模型及实证分析——以上海期铜15年历史数据为例

VaR模型作为测量金融风险度的标尺,可用以期货投资的风险测度.根据上海期铜过去15年的历史数据,分别运用静态VaR模型、GARCH(1,1)模型和EⅥ'模型来测量其VaR水平,并在此基础上对这些模型的测量结果进行检验和比较,结果表明:静态VaR模型并不能有效地测度风险,而GARCH(1,1)模型和EvT模型的结合则可以较好地控制风险.     

审视保险人说明义务

阐述了保险人说明义务在防治保险信息不对称、保障投保人合法权益、维护保险合同的实质公平方面发挥了重要作用,但现行保险法的规定仍存在诸多缺陷。提出该义务应以诚实信用原则为基础进行重新构建,将主动说明与询问回答作为区分一般说明义务与特殊说明义务的标准,并扩张特殊说明义务的范围,同时赋予投保人以变更权和撤销权,以更好地发挥该制度的作用。     

论民事诉讼中的摸索证明

摸索证明的基本含义是指证据声请以获取相关信息为目的。根据古典辩论主义，摸索证明应予禁止。但在修正辩论主义下，对其不应一概予以否定，而应综合考虑对辩论主义所做各种修正，即真实、完全义务、具体化义务、诉讼促进义务和诉讼经济、诚信原则和防止滥用诉讼权利等，根据实际情况予以判断。在我国，由于自起诉即要求表明、提交证据，摸索证明有其特殊性。此外，摸索证明与证据声请、证据保全、当事人陈述等制度也有着密切联系。总体而言，由于我国民事诉讼的职权主义色彩仍然较浓以及受制于大环境因素，对摸索证明的处理应当更为宽松。     

Why study the future of criminal justice?

To a large, extent criminal justice agencies arereactive in nature and thus are at the mercy of evants beyond their control. The author suggest that use of futures research and forecasting methods, followed by development of policy alternatives through futures planning techniques, will aid agencies in becomingproactive —being able to anticipate future trends and develop and choose among alternative policies demed most beneficial to achievement of the goals and objectives of the agency. Some techniques of futures research are discussed as is the efficacy of presentation of findings in the form of scenarios.