LAW OF THE EUROPEAN UNION ON INDIRECT SEX DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN IN WORKING LIFE： FROMA PERSPECTIVE OF IMPROVING THE LAW OF CHINA ON NON-SEX DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN IN WORKING LIFE

Equal rights to work between men and women are recognized as fundamental human rights by many international conventions including the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Also, constitutions of many countries recognize equal rights to work as basic constitutional rights. But women all over the world still face numerous kinds of sex discrimination, including direct sex discrimination and indirect sex discrimination, especially in working life. Indirect sex discrimination against women in working life undermines women＇s equal rights to work in a covert way, which is just as harmful as direct sex discrimination and should be prohibited by law.     

Gender and sexual orientation in women： The double discrimination

Nowadays, sexual orientation is a cause of discrimination with its own autonomy in laws of European Union. The Treaty of Amsterdam, which came into force on May 1, 1999, marks a significant milestone for homosexual, bisexual, and transsexual persons. In this process, the rich experience of the European Union in combating discrimination due to gender in the workplace is very important. The great opportunity created by article 13 of the Treaty of Amsterdam was the extension of protection to a much wider range of discrimination, including sexual orientation. On the other hand, if we consider the situation of lesbian, bisexual and transsexual women in the workplace, it may be very difficult to ascertain if the discrimination is due to their gender or their sexual orientation. In fact, cases of double discrimination are very common. For example, The Commission＇s 1991 Code of Practices on Sexual Harassment states that lesbian women are disproportionately at risk of sexual harassment. This is revealing the potential overlaps between gender and sexual orientation, with a great difficulty to adapt anti-discrimination protections to deal with these situations.     

The clash of rights： Sexual violence and ethnic prejudices

The global spread of the recent financial crisis reveals the crisis of the social model at the base of Western societies. This can be seen from the increased social inequality and poverty, linked to increasing rates of unemployment levels within the so-called advanced capitalistic society. These societies, particularly the European ones, are interested at the same time in the migration and acquire the status of multicultural society. The mixture of the two phenomena, the economic and social crisis on the one hand, the increasing of migration flows on the other, led to deep divisions in that societies, whose consequences are felt by the most vulnerable groups： migrants and women. The associations complain of the increased exploitation of migrant labour, which creates resentment in the population, the unions complain the most violent fallout of the crisis of the labour market on women than men. In the Italian context occur that the two forms of discrimination have been dramatically intertwined： the public was captured by a sequence of shocking rapes of women by neo-communitarian citizens. The panic induced by the media has prevented a proper reflection on what was happening, crediting a model of criminalization of foreigners and increasing perception of insecurity in women. The scenario problematic from a legal standpoint, to which this article addresses, is a dangerous polarization between the protection of freedom of women and the respect for the social dignity of migrants. In relation to this scenario highly critical, in which is erroneously included women as a minority in conflict with another minority-migrants, the article aims to identify in a comparative way the best tools to prevent the ethnicization of gender violence.     

Pre-constitutional state of customary law in South Africa

Customary law is often criticized for being in conflict with human rights norms, mainly on the grounds that it tends not to emphasize gender equality and discriminate against women. Although customary law has not in the past emphasized equality between men and women, it cannot be regarded as completely in conflict with human rights1. As already stated, one of the principles of human rights is equality between the sexes. Customary law has the same aim as human rights, which is the protection of human dignity2. The conflict may be largely caused by the fact that, ideologically, African customary law is communal or socialist in approach, whereas human rights are based on the premise that a person has rights by virtue of his or her being an individual human being. Now that we in South Africa have a bill of rights and yet we will still have customary law, the question has been and is still being posed whether customary law is not in conflict with universal human rights. The reason for this is that one of the values that underpin our Constitution is equality.3 Customary law on the other hand does not insist on complete equality in every respect. In particular section 9 of the 1996 Constitution provides for equality before the law and for equal protection and benefit of the law, which entails the full and equal enjoyment of all the rights and freedoms. It further proscribes unfair discrimination based on the listed grounds although it allows steps to promote or advance people or categories of persons who have been disadvantaged by unfair discrimination.     

PROTECTION OF MALE SEXUAL RIGHTS IN THE CRIME OF RAPE

Crimes relevant to sexual offence in the current Criminal Law of the PRC, such as the crime of rape, the crime of forcible molestation and humiliation of women, the crime of indecency with a child, establish a relatively close net for protecting female sexual rights. However, the protection of male sexual rights is surprisingly neglected or disregarded. In current China, sexual offences against males （including sexual offence against a male by male and sexual offence against a male by female） are getting worse. Unfortunately, male victims of sexual offences cannot seek for legal remedy due to the lack of legal provisions. In theory, the Criminal Law needs to bring in the protection of male sexual rights. This thesis will focus on the issue relevant to sexual offences against males on the crime of rape. The authors will present increasing evidence of sexual offences against males and explore the reasons. We will analyze the necessity of amending the provisions of the crime of rape based on theoretical and practical research, and learn from the advantages of legislations of different times and places in China and other countries. We will conclude with suggestions for amending the current Criminal Law about the crime of rape in order to fill up the gap in legal protection of male sexual rights in China.     

On the protection of the inheritance of world in China in law

So far, China is in possession of 33 World Inheritances, being the third one among all the countries in the world. However, as the experiences in protecting the inheritances are concerned, China is not as successful as some other countries. As China is in the construction of modernization and large-scale infrastructure construction and over-exploitation has become a great threat to the inheritances, its present condition in China is not satisfying. This article tries to put forward some countermeasures of law to enhance the protection work in China by using for reference the successful experiences of foreign countries in world inheritance protection.     

TRANSSEXUAL PEOPLE IN THE WORKPLACE： ZERO TOLERANCE FOR DISCRIMINATION

Worldwide, transsexual people are often subjected to discrimination and prejudice generally, and, particularly, in the working environment. This has an effect on their physical and mental health. The paper investigates the nature of transsexualism, the change or alignment of a transsexual person＇s sexual expression with her or his internal identity by surgery and hormone therapy, the criteria for such a diagnosis, the causes of transsexualism and the prevalence of same. Relevant South African laws are discussed as background for an analytical discussion of two reported cases of discrimination against transsexual people in the workplace. The writer of the paper welcomes the approach of the Labour Court of utilising these opportunities to destigmatise transsexualism and zero-tolerance for unfair discrimination against transsexual people. These judgments had probably contributed to a better understanding of transsexualism, particularly since such matters seldomly reach the court. The writer views the judgments as wake-up calls for employers （i） not to repeat traditional prejudice towards transsexual people and （ii） to embrace the diversity of employees. She anticipates that this will lead to better employment relations in workplaces, which, in turn, will enhance the quality of working life for transsexual people. The coverage of the cases in the media will also assist in raising awareness of transsexualism among employers, the medical community and the wider population. Following these cases, she suggests that employers have to root out discriminatory practices against transsexual people completely and to display a more mature attitude towards such employees. Moreover, policy-makers in academia and the health sector will have to review, amongst others, the curricula of universities to provide for sexuality training,     

TOPICAL ISSUES IN CROSS BORDER DISCOVERY： RECONCILING PERSONAL DATA REGULATIONS AND INTERNATIONAL GUIDELINES

This article will consider the following questions： What is the current state of the European data privacy and transfer regime？ What are the challenges the regime is facing and what are the modifications being considered to address them？ What role can the Sedona Conference play in reconciling personal data regulations and cross border discovery？ We will explore the following critical issues： 1. The position taken by the European Commission （EC） in its proposed General Data Protection Regulation （2012） that the current regime, as embodied in the European Union （EU） Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC, has not fully achieved the harmonization of its member state＇s legal systems that was originally envisioned; 2. How the regime can adapt to the challenges and be driven by dynamic legal, technological and economic environments？ The paper will conclude by examining key provisions of the EC＇s proposed regulation within the context of the Sedona Conference＇s International Principles and offer recommendations on implementation.     

RULE OF LAW IN CHINA-- LEGISLATION REASONING AND ENFORCEMENT OF ANTI-MONOPOLY LAW IN CHINA AND THE WEST

It is a long debate over whether rule of law is reliable in China, when some Chinese regulations are considered to be decided for political interests rather than the law itself. Furthermore, Chinese court decisions are often criticized for not according with statutes, even though the latter are properly written. The author examines these issues by comparing the legislation reasoning and enforcement of competition law in China, the European Union and the United States, which will not lead to endorsement of or objection to the view that rule of law is properly enforced in China, but it shall be an inevitable responsibility for the Chinese judiciary to demonstrate efforts it has taken.     

Judicial review of penalty clauses in Spanish law： A reason to not converge towards other European laws

Unlike the majority of European civil law systems （France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Portugal and Switzerland）, the UNIDROIT Principles and the projects for the harmonization of European Private Law （PECL, DCFR and Gandolfi Code）, Spanish law only allows courts to reduce the sum stipulated by the parties in a penalty clause if the breach of contract has less entity than the one anticipated. Hence, the judicial review of penalty clauses on the grounds of equity is excluded. This paper aims to analyze why this is the most desirable solution in terms of efficiency, and why Spanish law should not converge towards other European laws.     

＂RAISING THE BAR＂ THE ROLE OF SELF- GOVERNMENTS AND ASSOCIATIONS OF LAWYERS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF PRO BONO ACTIVITIES

This article constitutes an extension of the speech delivered at the European Pro Bono Forum, organized by PILNET, which was held in Warsaw in October 2013. In the forum, representatives of the Council of Bar Associations from numerous European countries and representatives of NGOs around the world shared their experiences and ideas, designed to promote pro bono activities among lawyers, and discuss the problems faced when conducting said activities in their countries.     

The impact of mining rights on the local communities in Limpopo Province, South Africa： A comparative study

The paper aims to give an account of the substance and support the development of community based organizations in balancing their interests against the interests of the mining industries. It further examines the issue of the protection of social and economic right in the context of the globalization of the activities of multinational mining and petroleum companies, as illustrated by different instances of increasing state withdrawal and with regard to specific African countries. In Africa, economic liberalization has been accompanied by a programmed redefining of the role of the state withdrawal from certain areas： planning, production and social reform, a reorientation of state intervention from certain other areas, redistribution, regulation and mediation etc, with a view of promoting a particular type of growth strategy based on promotion of private economic interests. This process has led to the delegitimation and weakening of states which were already characterized by fiscal crises, notably in countries under structural adjustment. While the process of reconceptualisation of the role of the state is not specific to Africa, its impact has been particularly significant with regard to the possibility of implementing developmental strategies designed to protect social and economic rights.     

The Niqab in Canada： Is it a charter right？

Although religious beliefs and practices came under Constitutional protection in 1982 by section 2（a） of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the struggle to define what constitutes freedom of religion continues. Currently freedom of religion from the court＇s perspective is a right to be protected as long as its expression does not bring harm or discrimination to others. This definition is one that the courts have already applied to several other different rights. It is a position that while ostensibly static is capable of fluid change as society changes over time. To set in stone how far a freedom may extend is to deny the fact that society does and will continue to change. Views on what constitutes religious beliefs are fluid and a requirement on the extension of protection to those beliefs and actions is argued could hamper the development of multiculturalism.     

THE RULE OF LAW IN THE EXTERNAL RELATIONS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION WITH A SPECIAL FOCUS ON CHINA

In line with the ideas of its founding fathers, the European Union is a legal system built on the rule of law, internally and internationally which was highlighted by the Treaty of Lisbon （Art. 21）. The EU therefore has to pursue the implementation of the principle of the rule of law also in its external relations. This paper frames the rule of law not only in the context of the Union but also in the United Nations （III. 1） and provides concrete illustrative examples for the implementation on the international scene by the EU. Section IIl deals with the Cotonou Agreement, the European Neighbourhood Policy, Central Asia, South Korea and Myanmar/Burma. Special attention is paid to the case of China （III.3f） where the preoccupation with the rule of law poses a particular challenge which is not side-stepped by the Union. In pursuing this policy, the EU contributes to the development of rule of law in international law and governance.     

Casualisation and international labour standards： The role of trade unions in Nigeria

Casualisation is a new form of work arrangement occasioned by globalisation and trade liberalisation. This development was facilitated by the technological improvements in communication and information technology. Scholars have attributed the shift from standard work arrangements to nonstandard work arrangements to the fact that employers use it to avoid the mandates and costs associated with labour laws which are designed to protect permanent employees. Casualisation became a feature of Nigerian labour market in the late 1980＇s and is traceable to the adoption of the Structural Adjustment Programme in line with the neoliberal policies prescribed by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. One of the effects of this policy was the retrenchment of workers in the public sector which created large scale unemployment. However, the private sector which was to be strengthened by government policies to absorb these workers could not absorb all the retrenched workers from the public sector. Therefore, many of them were employed as casual and contract workers with low remuneration, limited benefits and lack of right to organise. This development led to a ＇race to the bottom＇ of labour standards. This paper seeks to examine the adequacy of labour laws governing trade unionism in Nigeria in ensuring the right of nonstandard workers to freedom of association, as well as their conformity to international labour standards. It is argued that Nigerian labour laws are inadequate and need to be reformed in order to give protection to casual and contract workers in many sectors of the economy and to guarantee their right to unionise in order to enable them improve their rights at works.     

Pragmatic relevance/strength of lexico-grammar choices in EU legal documents

The present study focuses on the communicative relevance of lexical choices in the documents of the European Union Committee of the Regions （CoR） and of other related bodies within a pragmalinguistic perspective. The function of the Committee of the Regions is to issue opinions on proposals for Community legislation which are closest to the citizen interests - education, youth, culture, health. It is thus a voice at the heart of the EU which aims at increasing the participation of European regions in community life. Our corpus consists in 100 documents （Proposals and Opinions） whose lexico-grammatical aspects and communicative/ rhetorical strategies are here investigated. Our hypothesis is that such texts aim at creating a holistic we to construe a common ground of interests, within the constraints of legal intercourses, shared by both the sender and the receiver of the messages. Frequently occurring lexical items are： welcome, ensure, strengthen, aid. To stress urgency, generate empathy, emphasize needs and endorse value-positions are the recognizable perlocutionary effects of such semantic/pragmatic choices. Tools for analysis were taken from the domain of pragmalinguistics, from Evaluative/Appraisal Frameworks and, also, from social sciences. Particularly relevant appeared the notion of＇advocacy＇ （i.e., when researchers are asked to use their expertise to defend the subjects＇ interests in healthcare, education, political rights, and cultural autonomy）. This study will provide both qualitative and quantitative data to support our hypothesis, and will offer suggestions for further research.     

THE PROGRESSIVE APPEARANCE OF CONSTITUTIONAL ELEMENTS IN INTEGRATION PROCESSES. TOWARD A REFORMULATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY AND A HUMANIST VISION OF COMMUNITY LAW

The success of the European Union is the paradigm that should be kept in mind by other blocs or integration movements （NAFTA, the Andean Community, CARICOM, the African Union, APEC, etc） with the goal not only of building a global commercial space together, through the opening of relations, but also the future reformulation of an international community that, like the European Union, can create its own institutions, which in time may even replace the United Nations, and begin to dream of other kinds of organisations.     

THE LAWS,POLICIES, AND POLITICS OF REGULATING LEAD POLLUTION IN CHINA

This article examines the politics, laws and policies related to regulating lead pollution from lead-acid battery related manufacturing facilities in China. Particularly, this paper examines how China＇s Ministry of Environmental Protection （MEP） was able to force the temporary closure of nearly 90 percent of lead-battery manufacturing facilities within a period of months in 2011, after years of enforcement failures. The authors analyze the extent to which the Government＇s response to address lead pollution was based on laws and policies that can be systematically and consistently deployed by MEP as needed, or whether such measures are reliant on political will from outside MEP. Additionally, the authors are concerned with the extent to which China ＇s governance response to lead pollution primarily addresses environmental and public health issues; or rather it primarily addresses political and economic development issues, and whether this difference is significant. The article makes suggestions for how China can improve its environmental enforcement, and in so doing, contributes to a growing field of scholarship that examines environmental governance issues in the context of developing countries.     

REDEFINITION OF CURRENT LEGAL MEASURES＇ ROLE AS ＂PANACEAS＂ IN DIGITAL RIGHTS MANAGEMENT PLAY

In this article, the author tries to discuss what the appropriate legal protection of digital rights management （DRM） technologies is. The objective of the paper is to highlight the deficiencies of the present legal practices in U.S. and the E.U.. Compared with private remedy, such as making license and using technological protection measures, anti- circumvention rules will bring more widespread influence and probably rebuild the new benefit rules in copyright system. The theory of anti- circumvention legislation has been far away from the principle of traditional copyright since its emergence, which means there is no much experience that merits attention by current copyright system, even anti- circumvention rules in various countries no doubt provides legal support and so-called ＂lawful basis＂ for creators＇ rights expanding. The methodology research.