Electoral Influences on Legislative Behavior in Mixed‐Member Systems: Evidence from Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada

Abstract: This article addresses how mixed‐member systems that combine proportional representation (PR) and single‐member districts (SMD) into a single election can influence legislators' voting behavior. Scholars have generally extended standard expectations of behavior to mixed‐member systems by assuming that legislators occupying PR seats in mixed‐member parliaments should be more cohesive than those occupying SMD seats. I argue that controlling for seat type alone does not take into account the interaction between PR and SMD in mixed‐member systems. Using voting data from Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada, I show that controlling for dual candidacy and the “safety” of the deputy's district or list position increases our understanding of the factors motivating legislative cohesion.     

关联企业的法律特征及其与企业集团的关系

关联企业和企业集团存在于我国经济生活已经有很长时间,并频繁出现在我国的有关法律条文中.但我国法学界一般并不将关联企业和企业集团作概念上的区分.关联企业和企业集团既存在量的差异,又存在质的区别.其量的差异表现为:关联企业是两个企业组成的一组企业,企业集团是两个以上企业组成的一群企业;其质的区别表现在:关联企业有股权、契约、身份三种纽带,企业集团仅有股权一种纽带.     

Between Conciseness and Transparency: Presuppositions in Legislative Texts

Presupposition is the semantic-pragmatic phenomenon whereby a statement contains an implicit precondition that must be taken for granted (presupposed) for that statement to be felicitous. This article discusses the role of presupposition in legislative texts, using examples from Swiss constitutional and administrative law. It illustrates (a) how presuppositions are triggered in these texts and (b) what functions they come to serve, placing special emphasis on their constitutive power. It also demonstrates (c) how legislative drafters can distinguish between “good” presuppositions and “bad” presuppositions by weighing their main advantage, conciseness, against their main flaw, reduced transparency. The present study argues that, if employed carefully, presuppositions can be a useful stylistic means to keep legislative texts free from unnecessary clutter that merely elaborates on the obvious; however, it also suggests that, if applied wrongly, presuppositions can camouflage the duties and obligations placed on the subjects of a law and thus impede its accessibility and its efficient and effective implementation.     

The Inefficient Secret Revisited: The Legislative Input and Output of Brazilian Deputies

Shugart and Carey (1992) posit that presidential democracies in which legislators have a parochial focus of representation are electorally inefficient because voters are not offered highly identifiable choices over national policies. Such systems are driven by an inefficient secret, which is essentially a nonpartisan representation of the policy process. To check the propositions of the inefficient secret model (ISM), this article investigates the aggregation level, effect, and subject of Brazilian deputies' legislative input and output. Our empirical analysis indicates that, although some ISM‐related factors drive legislative output, there is partisanship in deputies' legislative input. This result means that the ISM underestimates the prospects for programmatic parties (especially in opposition) to emerge within systems where the electoral and constitutional rules encourage particularism.     

Personal Characteristics of MPs and Legislative Behavior in Moral Policymaking

Theoretical and empirical models of legislative decision making in parliamentary democracies typically neglect the policy preferences of individual MPs and instead focus on political parties and possible institutional constraints. We argue that MPs actually make judgments and decisions on the basis of their preferences, which are shaped by their personal characteristics. However, given the strength of parties in most parliamentary systems, the impact of personal characteristics on legislative behavior is rarely visible. Therefore, we examine a moral issue. Looking at cosponsorship, parliamentary speeches, and votes in the German Bundestag, we analyze the legislative procedure on the regulation of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) in Germany in 2011. We show that the legislative behavior of MPs does not only reflect partisan conflict but is also influenced by the preferences of the constituents and MPs’ own personal characteristics such as: religious denomination, gender, and parental status.     

地理标志立法模式之比较分析--兼论我国地理标志的立法模式

一、问题的提出“地理标志”是由“原产地名称”逐步发展而来的,早先的国际公约一般采用“原产地名称”的说法,自WTO之TRIPS协议后,国际社会逐渐转向使用“地理标志”。因为地理标志不仅能囊括原产地名称的所有外延,还包括除名称外的其他表征符号。我国也大致经历了从“原产地名称”到“地理标志”的转变。鉴于此,笔者采用“地理标志”行文,相关论述自然都适用于“原产地名称”。自法国首开专门法保护地理标志之先例后,世界各国逐渐制定或修改法律法规,对地理标志进行保护。但鉴于各国特定的历史条件、社会环境和法律传统,其立…     

The Effect of the Electoral Calendar on Politicians' Selection into Legislative Cohorts and Legislative Behavior in Argentina, 1983–2007

How do electoral opportunities affect politicians' career strategies? Do politicians behave strategically in response to the opportunities provided by the electoral calendar? We argue that in a legislature that combines nonstatic ambition with a staggered electoral calendar, different kinds of politicians will have dissimilar preferences towards running in concurrent or midterm elections. More specifically, politicians with no previous executive experience should strategically run in midterm legislative elections in order to increase their visibility among voters, while more experienced politicians should opt for concurrent elections. We support these claims with data from the Argentine Chamber of Deputies between 1983 and 2007.     

“和谐”与“稳定”之辨——劳动者辞职权制度的反思与重构

《劳动合同法》针对“劳动合同短期化”问题扩大无固定期限劳动合同和经济补偿金的适用范围,以此强化劳动关系的稳定性,但同时却没有对劳动者的辞职权进行合理的限制。这种制度设计没有充分照顾到企业和劳动者的利益平衡,忽视了“和谐”的内涵。为此,应当修正目前劳动者辞职权制度对劳动关系矫枉过正的规定,减弱法律的刚性,实现劳动关系的动态平衡,使“和谐”与“稳定”的价值追求相统一。     

论完善中央与地方权限争议立法解决机制

中央与地方的权限争议已经成为我国中央与地方关系的核心问题,现存解决机制中无论是就抽象权限还是具体权限的争议解决都存在诸多缺陷。按照法治化的思路,对立法解决机制的完善应该依循减轻中央对地方的影响、地方对中央的相对自主以及两者在利益交涉上的平衡的路径加以实现,以突出立法解决机制重在争议预防的策略。     

Legislative Behavior in Romania: The Effect of the 2008 Romanian Electoral Reform

This article analyzes the impact of electoral rules on legislators’ rate of vote defection from their party position in legislatures while accounting for how party‐leadership strength mediates this impact. To this end it looks at the effect of the 2008 Romanian electoral reform. The reform shifted the electoral system from a closed‐list proportional representation to one in which all candidates run in single‐member districts. The analysis finds that because party leaders have maintained their leverage intact, the impact of the reform was minimal, with legislators being more likely to defect in less important votes only, in which party leaders allow defection. Also, after the reform legislators are more likely to use other means to impress their voters, such as legislative initiation and cabinet questioning. These forms of behavior are more accepted by party leaders.     

立法解释的疑问——以刑法立法解释为中心

真正意义上的立法解释,是指在刑法施行过程中,立法机关对发生歧义的规定所作的解释.但是,这种立法解释不符合法治原则的要求,不符合罪刑法定原则,不符合解释的必要性,不符合客观解释目标,也不是发现法律真实含义的有效途径.     

The Subnational Connection in Unitary Regimes: Progressive Ambition and Legislative Behavior in Uruguay

How do legislators develop reputations to further their individual goals in environments with limited space for personalization? In this article, we evaluate congressional behavior by legislators with gubernatorial expectations in a unitary environment where parties control political activities and institutions hinder individualization. By analyzing the process of drafting bills in Uruguay, we demonstrate that deputies with subnational executive ambition tend to bias legislation towards their districts, especially those from small and peripheral units. Findings reinforce the importance of incorporating ambition to legislative studies and open a new direction towards the analysis of multiple career patterns within a specific case.     

Forensic Document Examiners’ Skill in Distinguishing Between Natural and Disguised Handwriting Behaviors

Abstract: Disguised handwriting is problematic for forensic document examiners (FDEs) and attracts higher misleading and inconclusive rates on authorship opinions than does genuine writing (Found B, Rogers D, International Graphonomics Society, 2005). There are currently no published empirical data on FDEs’ expertise in distinguishing between natural and disguised writing behavior. This paper reports on the skill of FDEs for determining the writing process of 140 pairs of natural and disguised writings and compares their results with those of a control group of laypeople. A significant difference was found between the examiner and lay group. FDEs’ expertise is characterized by their conservatism, where FDEs express a higher proportion of inconclusive opinions (23.1% for FDEs compared to 8.4% for the control group). This leads to the FDEs expressing a smaller percentage of misleading responses when calling writings as either naturally written or disguised (4.3% for FDEs compared with 12.2% for the control group).     

股权式资产转让税收规避行为的法律评价与立法选择

税法实践中以股权转让形式进行资产交易的行为很常见.这种行为一般以排除税法适用、规避特定税种纳税义务为目的,利用股权转让税制的漏洞进行非常规的法律安排,造成国家税款大量流失.税务机关对这种税收规避行为的态度不明确、处理不一致,根源是对股权式资产转让法律实质的评价争议很大,造成反避税立法迟迟不能出台.当前税收法定已成为财税体制机制改革的基本遵循,从立法层面对这种经济行为进行约束成为当务之急.一般反避税、股权交易、公司人格否认税收立法能够直接解决这一问题,同时税法与其他部门法的立法协调机制也需重新审视并完善.     

中外票据保证制度之立法比较

票据保证是为补充票据债务人的信用,维护票据安全,促进票据流通而设立的制度,各国和各地区票据法都对票据保证做了规定,但略有不同。希望通过立法比较,从中借鉴国外和境外的相关制度和经验,以期对完善我国的票据保证制度有所裨益。     

儒法之间:道家哲学对先秦法思想史的意义

于传统法律思想史视阈之研究,道家哲学常被阐释为一种法律虚无主义。然而,其发轫之时于先秦法思想之意义主要在于对传统德礼的解构,及对法家法术的启示。道家抱持超越人文、批判现实的姿态,阐发一套揭露人欲、质疑圣智、否弃仁礼的学说,构成儒家祖述圣王、从周复礼抱负的反动,是法家颠覆传统、变法改革立场的助力。进而,道家的本体道论为法家的势论铺垫了哲学基础;道家的无为之治隐含道生法的思想路径,为法家的法论蓄积了话语资源;道家的辩证柔术为法家的术论确立了基本思维。将先秦道家哲学置于儒法之间进行审思与诠释,方能洞明道家哲学在先秦法思想史中的特殊地位。     

宅基地的立法问题--兼析物权法草案第十三章"宅基地使用权"

物权法草案为了解决农村房屋流转与宅基地使用权不得随便流转的矛盾,开出了"房屋只能在集体经济组织内部流转,宅基地使用权一并转让,禁止城镇居民在农村购置宅基地"的药方.这剂药方并不高明,可以设置土地租赁权,以解决农村宅基地大范围流转后,农村土地使用权不稳定问题.     

论地方专属立法权

确定地方的专属立法权具有一定的理论意义,而且能够发挥保护或限制地方立法权、发扬地方立法积极性的重要作用。具体确立上,应采取事务"影响范围"和"重要程度"相结合的标准,并以"地方性事务"为起点,界定"地方性事务"的可能范围。     

图书馆立法问题研究

图书馆立法是我国文化事业和法制建设的一项重要任务.在制定图书馆法中,应坚持促进社会文化事业发展、促进社会成员平等享受图书馆服务、以法律形式明确规定图书馆的地位等原则.另外,我们还要明确图书馆法的调整对象、处理好图书馆法与其他法律的关系、明确图书馆运行的基本制度.     

Electoral Reform and Changes in Legislative Behavior: Adoption of the Secret Ballot in Congressional Elections

There is widespread agreement that the Australian ballot fundamentally altered the American electoral system. One common approach to test the effects of ballot reform is to examine legislators elected under the party and secret ballot. An alternative research design, which we adopt here, compares changes in the behavior of legislators who were elected under both ballot types. We use this approach to investigate whether ballot reform directly influenced legislators' decisions to seek renomination and their behavior within the institution. Our results raise a number of important implications for understanding the effects of electoral reform on political behavior.