Authority,Nationality, and Minorities

Prominent normative theories for accommodating minority national groups appeal to the value of national cultures and/or the psychology of group recognition. This article aims to show that an argument from political authority provides a better justification. Building on Joseph Raz's theory of authority, the article argues that members of minority national groups are disadvantaged in relation to their majority counterparts under standard democratic institutions; such institutions do not provide minority national groups with comparable access to the conditions for legitimate political authority. Constitutional arrangements for accommodating minority national groups—such as territorial self‐government or power‐sharing—are justified insofar as they might offset this disadvantage.     

论人格权请求权与侵权损害赔偿请求权的分离

人格权独立成编是我国民法典体例的重大创新,在独立成编的人格权法中是否应当规定人格权请求权,以及如何规定人格权请求权,是我国人格权立法需要解决的重大疑难问题。笔者认为,人格权请求权的独立性是其与侵权损害赔偿请求权分离的基础,人格权请求权的产生与发展是人格权制度重要的发展趋势;人格权请求权与侵权损害赔偿请求权的区别是其二者分离的原因;充分有效保护人格权是人格权请求权与侵权损害赔偿请求权分离的目的。笔者并对民法典草案中有关人格权请求权与侵权损害赔偿请求权分离模式的立法选择作出了探讨。     

Dominions: Law, Literature, and the Right to Death

The 'curious right' attending modernity and revealed in Blanchot's 'Literature And the Right to Death' could be readily reduced to that sovereign right to take life which ultimately subordinates law. Yet, so the argument runs, with that same curious right law surpasses sovereignty. And it does so by way of its similarity to literature. What will uncover that surpassing by law, and by literature, will be a pervasive concern with death as the horizon of the law.     

The Right to Buy,the Leaseholder,and the Impoverishment of Ownership

Right to Buy is one of the most successful schemes devised to extend home ownership to those otherwise excluded. Its introduction by Margaret Thatcher and endorsement by New Labour provide a critical indicator of those governments' neo‐liberal credentials. This article suggests that one of the key achievements of the Right to Buy was to obscure inequalities inherent in a project of democratization via property ownership. It examines New Labour's political reform of local authority landlordism and leaseholder rights and exposes the vulnerability of Right to Buy lessees and their successors in title. It argues that the promise of inclusion via home ownership is a more conditional promise than generally recognized, in some cases impoverishing rather than enriching. It concludes by reflecting on the importance of scrutinizing schemes which purport to democratize ownership, observing that the position of Right to Buy leaseholders is unlikely to improve following the abandonment of social reform projects by the coalition government.     

Ethnic Minorities, Social Integration and Crime

This article first discusses various dimensions of the social integration of minorities into society. The Netherlands is taken as an example, although research from other countries (such as the US and Sweden) is also taken into consideration. Useful concepts in this regard include the level to which these groups have social, informative and cultural capital that can help them to integrate into the dominant society. The second part considers the theoretical links between integration and criminal behaviour. The author assumes that the fundamental causal processes that lead to the development of criminality and other negative behaviour are independent of country of origin, ethnic group or the country of residence. In other words – that these processes, as they emerge in social control theory, have a universal character. In the second place, she assumes that differences in crime between ethnic groups are linked to group differences in socio-economic integration in the host country and in culture-related variables. Furthermore, there are also differences in the criminality of allochtonous youth within ethnic groups. These are similarly assumed to be linked to differences in commitment to social institutions such as family and school and to differences in accepting specific Western norms and values.     

Fat Cats,Production Networks,and the Right to Fair Pay

Should there be a legal right to fair pay so that anyone might challenge the relative fairness of their pay? International human rights law does not clearly support such a right, partly due to the uncertain meaning of fairness in pay. The article challenges this uncertainty, explaining the marginal relevance of theories of distributive justice. Standards of fairness should be discovered instead in principles of interpersonal justice, particularly the bilateral principle of good faith, and in associational principles of desert by reference to contribution and recognition of persons. These contain an egalitarian impulse providing moral reasons for rejecting market rates of pay and, it is argued, should apply beyond single corporate entities, to corporate groups and networks of companies sharing an integrated production scheme. Finally, appropriate regulations enacting a legal right to fair pay are explored with a view to achieving reflexive yet effective regulation using works councils to fix outer limits to wage dispersal ratios.     

Right to die,euthanasia, and community sentiment

Three questions guide this research: Would nullifications occur in active euthanasia cases where the right to die is asserted? What sentiments would the community express, and how would those sentiments relate to nullifications? What variables would best predict verdict? Mock jurors offered reasons for their verdicts for four cases where all elements of first degree murder appeared to be satisfied. The cases varied thecompetency of the patient, theintent of the patient—if the wish to die was expressed, and whether a living will was present, and whether the defendant soughtcourt approval. Sizable nullifications (25% not guilty verdicts) and partial nullifications (39% guilty to lesser offenses) resulted. Some subjects viewed this as not a legal matter, but a private matter; others acknowledged the law's place, but viewed the law's position as wrong; still others nullified by using a common sense rather than a legal definition ofmalice. In this life-and-death matter, black letter law and common sense justice were not only far apart, but, in the eyes of some, irreconcilably so.     

从基本权利到宪法权利

从“是否基本”的角度来认识宪法上的权利不能满足宪法理论与实践的要求,甚至容易造成误解。相较于“基本权利”,“宪法权利”是更为规范的表述。宪法权利是表示个人与国家关系的概念。宪法权利体系基本包含两个方面：每个人都享有的各种构建和控制政府的权利与个人基于人之目的性对国家提出诉求的权利。前者表示在一个共同体中的个人与其他所有人的关系,后者表示个人与包括他在内的整个共同体的关系。     

遗体安葬权的法律分析

遗体作为一种具有强烈社会伦理意义的特殊物,权利的行使应受习惯(公序良俗)的限制。在确定安葬方案时应体现对其生前明示或者可得而知的意思的尊重。遗体作为由死者近亲属享有所有权的物或者财产以及安葬权义的标的,得由所有人或者共有人决定具体安葬方案。     

论作品修改权

我国知识产权法学界通说认为,《著作权法》所规定的修改权与保护作品完整权是一种权利的正反两个方面,如果按此理解,修改权委实没有独立存在的价值。然而,这是对修改权的误读,修改权的内容无法被保护作品完整权所涵盖,二者所保护的作者的精神利益是不同的,它最大的价值在于当作者思想和观点变化时得基于此项权利来维护作品与其思想、观点的一致性。     

宪法解释权和适用权是实现宪法监督的关系——英美法系司法审查权的启示

英美法系国家的宪法监督权,通常由普通法院和专门机关来行使,这些机关均享有宪法解释权和适用权,宪法监督主体享有宪法解释和适用权是行使宪法监督权的关键和保证。     

刑事侦查权与治安管理权分离刍议

我国公安机关的警察权是刑事侦查权和治安管理权相混合的结构。这不利于相关权力之间的相互制衡和独立运行,容易造成权力滥用。为建设法制文明,使警察权更好地发挥维护秩序、保护人权的功能,就要明确划分警察公共管理活动中的权、责范围,把刑事执法权和行政执法权分开,刑事执法权由中央统一行使,行政执法权由地方分别行使。     

水人权:人权法上的水权

离开了水,人类无法生存.因此,水人权是一项基本人权.这已经为国际法充分承认.国家有义务尽可能利用其现有资源实施水人权.尽管水人权属于经济、社会及文化权利的范畴,是国家应当采取措施逐步充分实现的人权,但国家也负有一定的立即履行的义务.然而,在国家层面上,包括我国在内的多数国家存在一个需要解决的共同问题,即缺乏系统、有效的规定和保护.     

配偶权、忠实义务与隐私权保护——承认配偶权前提下的分析

隐私权是一种具体的人格权,是绝对权,配偶权是一种身份权利,是相对权,其权利内涵不包含忠实义务,法律对配偶权的救济只能是禁止一方把意志强加于另一方.因此,不能以侵犯配偶权为由否认侵权人的隐私权,不能以侵权人违背了道德准则而否认其应受隐私权保护.法律可以对婚外性行为予以调整,但配偶权的设置并不能完成这一任务.     

论土地承包权与土地承包经营权的分离

源于土地承包经营权流转实践并得到政策确认的"三权分离",在理论上存在较大争议,其焦点是土地承包权应否从土地承包经营权中分离出来。土地承包权与土地承包经营权在权利主体、权利内容、权利性质以及侵权形态、救济方式和责任方式等方面均存在较大差异,两者应当分离。土地承包经营权包含土地承包权已造成理论上的混乱与纷争,导致土地承包经营权的功能超载,妨碍土地承包经营权的有序流转,影响承包人土地权益保护等不利影响,两者必须分离。寻求土地承包权与土地承包经营权分离的途径,既要对现行理论进行反思,关注改革实践以形成权利分置的理论共识;又要重视在《农村土地承包法》或《物权法》中进行土地承包权的制度设置以及土地承包经营权的立法完善等权利分置的制度构建等问题。     

论“署名权”应改为“保护作者身份权”

我国现行著作权法中规定的"署名权,即表明作者身份,在作品上署名的权利"与我国著作权法第三次修订草案送审稿中曾拟定的"署名权,即决定是否表明作者身份以及如何表明作者身份的权利"的表述,都以偏概全,名不副实。其实署名权是表明作者身份权的下位概念,表明作者身份权又是保护作者身份权的下位概念。建议在我国著作权法第三次修改中,将"署名权"改为"主张作者身份和反对损害作者身份的权利"的保护作者身份权。我国著作权法中的著作人身权应当由保护作者身份权、保护作品完整权与发表权共同构成。