Voices heard and unheard – A Scandinavian perspective

Children's rights to participate in legal processes concerning them have been a key policy issue for the Scandinavian legislators during recent decades. From the 1980s, there have been frequent amendments to the law to secure the position of the child. Despite numerous provisions stating the right of the child to express his or her views and for these to be considered before decisions are taken, there are continuing obstacles to full recognition of children as legal subjects. Too often children's voices are not heard or not heeded. This article explores the reasons for this and argues that the ambition to promote equal parenthood is one reason for the failure to give the child's views real impact on decision-making in matters concerning children.     

改革开放三十年的我国刑法立法

改革开放三十年来,新中国的刑法立法经历了孕育、诞生和发展的演进历程,取得了有目共睹的成就,主要表现在:颁行了新中国成立以来第一部刑法典;逐步确立了保障人权的观念;刑罚制度改革逐渐与国际化趋势相协调;刑法修正案成为主要的修法模式;刑法立法解释作为刑法的渊源开始受到重视。今后,我国刑法的改革,应当以有助于构建和谐社会和强化人权保障、有助于贯彻宽严相济的基本刑事政策为发展方向。刑法改革的重点应该放在死刑制度和有关人权保障的刑法制度上,并及时而合理地增设新型犯罪和国际犯罪的种类,在刑法中切实贯彻联合国刑事法治的基本准则。我国刑法的局部修改、补充和完善主要应限于刑法修正案和刑法立法解释两种方式;国家立法机关要适时地进行刑法典的编纂工作,在适当的时机,国家立法机关还可以考虑将对刑法典集中而系统、全面的修改提上立法工作的日程,以修订出更加科学、完备因而具有更长久的适应性的刑法典。     

RESPONSES OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM TO LEGISLATION PROVIDING MORE SEVERE THREATENED SANCTIONS

In 1971, the Tennessee legislature enacted legislation providing for mandatory jail sentences and driver's license revocations for anyone convicted of driving while intoxicated. This new law had no demonstrable impact on the highway traffic fatalities rate-the intended objective. This paper explores the reasons for this apparent lack of impact. Data suggest that, while there was some increase in the severity of sanctions imposed on drunken drivers, there was still a consistent tendency to suspend the jail sentences and grant drivers restricted driving privileges. Nor is there any reason to believe that the police intensified their efforts to apprehend larger numbers of drunken drivers. Thus, the more severe sanctions threatened in the new law were generally mitigated in practice. Some possible interpretations for this are offered.     

刑法立法模式的刑事政策考察

刑法立法模式是指国家立法机关在进行刑法立法时所采用的标准样式。纵观现代世界各国的立法现状,刑法立法模式主要有单一法典型立法模式、特别刑法立法模式、判例型刑法立法模式和修正型刑法立法模式。每种刑法立法模式都有其各自的刑事政策功能。从中国刑法立法的现状看,主要存在以下问题:(1)没有形成固定、成熟的刑法立法模式;(2)刑法立法模式单一、呆板,缺乏活力;(3)刑法修正案模式不能适应刑法立法的全部需要;(4)附属刑法立法模式没有发挥应有的作用。为了适应国家打击和控制犯罪的需要,我国的刑法立法模式应当做如下调整:(1)建立刑法典、特别刑法和刑法修正案相结合的刑法立法模式;(2)根据刑事政策的需要选择不同的刑法立法模式;(3)调整附属刑法立法模式的结构。     

法律中的语言游戏与权力分配

既然法律是对社会资源进行合理配置的一种手段,那么表达法律的语言就足实现这一目标的工具。立法者通过语言,确立了社会资源的分配原则,而语言所表征的分配方式本身,证明着规范的正当性。但是,立法者通过语言对社会权力所做的分配不可能终局性地完成,这一任务必须向后延伸到司法过程中。司法者通过对个案中具体权利的决断与平衡,将立法者对社会权力所做的初次分配现实化、具体化、个别化。所以说,法之正义是由立法者和司法者共同缔造的,在立法者和司法者那里,语言本身都是一种权力。     

论行政法关系的设定权

行政法关系的设定权与立法机关表达国家意志的权力是同一范畴的东西。行政法关系的设定权是能够由设定主体直接确定相关权利与义务的权力。这种权力与行政主体的一般行政管理权存在较大差别,其在我国行政法治中具有非常重要的地位。行政法关系设定权有相应的制度构设,用法律手段对这一权力加以调整。在设定权的法律调控价值上,应选择限权式价值;在设定权的法律形式上,最好能够通过一部法典将行政法关系的设定权予以规定;在设定权的主体权限上,必须以实体权限的规定为核心,形式要件以实体要件为转移;在设定权的程序规则上,必须有程序上的保障机制。     

Patients' rights to complain in Finnish psychiatric care: An overview

Cuts in resources for Finnish psychiatric care may jeopardize the realization of patients' rights in mental health settings. The right to complain is a basic right of all patients in Finland, and is especially important to patients treated involuntarily and also to those who have experienced coercive treatment methods during their hospitalizations. In Finland, a patient's right to complain is guaranteed by law, both in legislation and in national quality recommendations. The complaint process in Finland is very complex, and there are several ways to make a complaint that are not always familiar to patients with severe illnesses. Psychiatric patients may have cognitive impairments that make the formulation of a complaint difficult. Despite help from the patient ombudsman, unbalanced power structures in psychiatric hospitals, insufficient information and long evaluation of appeals makes the complaint process very demanding for psychiatric patients.     

略论人格权的类型体系

人格权是民事权利的重要组成部分,其体系构建是当前立法面临的问题。人格权是私权、专属权及非财产权。人格权以人格法益为客体,人格法益可分为安全、自由、尊严及人格标识四类。各项人格权可按此标准分门别类,从而形成科学的人格权体系。此外,基于概念和法律体系的通盘考量,"一般人格权"的概念应为我国人格权立法所排除。     

行政担保的民法视角探讨

民法是现代社会赖以正常运转的基础法律。在最基本的法律制度上,行政法借用民法的概念与制度时不应改变私法主体既有的行为规范,以免社会无所适从。担保制度运用于行政法,形成行政担保不仅可行而且合理。行政担保与民事担保共用担保的一系列制度,可以建立起行政法与民法之间的桥梁,使各种不同的权利之间具有相互比较的基础,也可以节约大量的立法资源,避免一些潜在的矛盾。     

Male Violence,Marital Unity,and the History of the Interspousal Tort Immunity

The interspousal tort immunity has been understood as a common law rule that was codified in the English Married Women's Property Act, 1882. It was explained as a necessary consequence of the wife's coverture and was justified by the doctrine of marital unity. This conventional account mischaracterizes the complexities underlying the development of the immunity and the reasons for its reformulation in the nineteenth century. This article traces a different trajectory, showing that the interspousal tort immunity was not articulated until Phillips v Barnet in 1876, and examining the way it came into being as a result of the reforms to divorce law and to the property rules of coverture. Although already implicit in the governing principles of the pre-reform law, the nineteenth-century expression of the rule concerning interspousal tort immunity was a product of the contemporary reforms to coverture at least as much as it was a product of coverture itself.     

论立法后评估常态化启动机制的构建

一项新制度能否持续开展并加以制度化,既取决于立法主体的共同认可和支持,也有赖于规范化程序的保障。立法后评估制度的推行不应当是立法机关临时性有选择地挑选某一部法律法规的"试检",而应当是以法确立的长效性的常态化制度。将基于有效期制度的立法后评估启动机制与基于评估预警期限制度的立法后评估启动机制有机衔接、相互配合,建立起规范化、持续性、常态化的立法后评估启动保障机制,可以有效避免立法后怠于评估和随意启动立法后评估的发生,从而充分发挥立法后评估机制在有效运用立法资源,提高立法质量方面的功效。     

论经济法的社会本位理念及其实现

社会本位是以社会整体为中心和起点,要求在个人与社会之间重新分配权利的一种法律思想。它将社会视为目的而非手段,坚持权利本位,但主要关注社会公共权利而非个人权利。私法因其奉行个人本位理念而难以容纳这一权利。社会公共权利的栖息地主要是经济法和其他社会立法。在社会本位实现过程中,国家的作用至为关键,除立法机关应以社会整体为中心配置权利和义务外,司法机关和行政机关应当成为实现社会本位的重要力量。     

Making the Case for Socio‐legal Research in Land Law: Renner and the Law of Mortgage

The aim of this article is to enhance knowledge of and to encourage further research into two areas not traditionally the subject of socio‐legal research, namely, the work of Karl Renner and the English law of mortgage, for three reasons. First, an account of them supports the proposition that a true understanding of law requires knowledge of its origins, content, and function. Second, Renner's theory can contribute significantly to our understanding of law by offering an alternative to the polarized debate between legal autopoiesis and other sociological conceptions of law. Third, it has much to tell us about the relationship between legal and social change. In particular, Renner's work suggests that those seeking legal reform should look not to the legislature, but to those capable of influencing its ‘social function’. Those frustrated by the lack of doctrinal reform within the law of mortgage can take heart, therefore, from the continual process of change evident in its social function. Ultimately, however, further socio‐legal research is required, for a more developed understanding of the law of mortgage.     

我国证据能力制度的反思与完善

证据能力是证据制度要解决的核心问题之一,其主要关注的是证据在刑事诉讼过程中的准入问题。大陆法系和英美法系国家在证据资格问题上都注重防止不符合法定条件的证据材料进入到诉讼过程中,以避免法官因此形成不恰当的心证。不同的是,大陆法系国家要求法官在严格证明程序的规制下行使自由裁量权,立法上对证据能力问题较少具有普适性的规定;而英美法系国家则设立专门的程序来解决证据的可采性.并根据大量的证据规则来约束法官的自由裁量权。我国现行的证据能力制度存在诸多缺陷。在构建我国能力制度的时候.可以吸取国外的先进经验,一方面建立相应的证据能力规则,另一方面完善相关的程序,使证据能力制度真正发挥其制度功能,保障法官在审判过程免受不当因素的影响。     

法律程序构建的基本逻辑

在刑事诉讼法修改过程中,立法部门需要对多方面的因素加以考量。其中,国家权力与公民权利的适当平衡,是防止国家权力滥用、避免公民权利受到任意侵犯的首要制度安排。对那些违反法律程序、侵犯公民权利的行为,从实体结果和诉讼程序上设定妥善的司法救济措施,是保证刑事程序得以有效实施的程序设计。为避免传统的"立法推进主义"制度的缺陷和风险,立法部门应以科学方法观察和总结那些为司法机关所创制的改革经验,及时将那些行之有效的改革措施吸收到法律之中。     

民事法律立法语言失范问题检讨

民事法律立法语言失范是指民事制定法的语言表述违反语言科学规律和相应规则,造成语法错误、语义分歧、逻辑失恰、分类混乱、风格失调、混合交叉等多种谬误。立法语言失范的根本原因在于对立法表达技术的轻视和立法程序设计的不足。立法语言失范降低了制定法的质量,给立法活动、司法实践、法学教育、普法工作带来现实的困难与危害,损害了制定法的庄严性和权威性,同时对语言科学的发展造成破坏。立法机关应当设立立法语言审查机构,清理失范的立法语言,为新法制定设计立法语言前置审查程序,在每一部法律草案提交审议前先行作出立法语言审查,保证提交审议的法律文本语言正确,能够充分表达立法意图。     

对宪法性质及相关问题的重新思考

本文讨论了宪法的性质、内容和效力阶位等涉及宪法本质特征的一系列问题。认为 ,宪法不是母法 ,而是关于国家政治生活准则的部门法 ,在本质上是一种政治契约 ;有关国家权力的来源与性质、配置与运作、制约与监督等问题是一个国家宪法的核心内容 ,而关于发展经济、教育、科学技术、文化艺术、思想教育、计划生育、环境保护等问题不是宪法应有的内容 ;宪法虽然作为一种政治契约 ,应当是一个国家的根本大法 ,但根据本文提出的“对外承诺对内具有约束力”的原则及其相关规则 ,宪法实际上的效力阶位从制定机关的角度看 ,则取决于其在一个国家整个权力结构体系中的级别 ,因而我国宪法与全国人大制定的基本法律实际上处于同一效力阶位 ,而要使它成为效力最高的法律 ,就有必要进行立宪体制上的创新。     

Mobilizing the Law in China: "Informed Disenchantment" and the Development of Legal Consciousness

This article critically examines the development of legal consciousness among legal aid plaintiffs in Shanghai. It is based on 16 months of research at a large legal aid center and in‐depth interviews with 50 plaintiffs. Chinese legal aid plaintiffs come to the legal process with high expectations about the possibility of protecting their rights; however, they also have only a vague and imprecise knowledge of legal procedure and their actual codified rights. Through this process of legal mobilization, plaintiffs' legal consciousness changes in two separate dimensions: changes in one's feelings of efficacy and competency vis‐à‐vis the law, and changes in one's perception/evaluation of the legal system. Put another way, the first dimension is “How well can I work the law?” and the second is “How well does the law work?” In this study I observe positive changes in feelings of individual efficacy and competency that are combined with more negative evaluations/perceptions of the legal system in terms of its fairness and effectiveness. The positive feelings of efficacy and voice provided by the legal process encourage labor dispute plaintiffs in the post‐dispute period to plan new lawsuits and to help friends and relatives with their legal problems. Disenchantment with the promises of the legal system does not lead to despondency, but to more critical, informed action. This study provides new evidence on the nature of China's developing legal system with a focus on the social response to the state‐led “rule of law” project.     

Globalization as Boundary‐Blurring: International and Local Law Firms in China's Corporate Law Market

The worldwide expansion of international law firms has generated regulatory battles and workplace conflicts in advanced market economies as well as developing countries. This article uses the case of China to explore the changing global–local relationship in the globalization of the legal profession and to understand the role of the government in constituting the corporate law market. The author argues that the globalization of the Chinese corporate law market is a process of boundary‐blurring and hybridization, by which local firms become structurally global‐looking and global firms receive localized expertise. Boundary‐blurring occurs in law firms' workplaces, in lawyers' career trajectories, and in state regulatory policies. It has produced a localized expertise that can be diffused conversely from local firms to global firms and has partially changed their relationship from collaboration to competition. Consequently, it becomes increasingly difficult for the government to make or enforce any substantive policy to clarify the market boundary between these two types of law firms.