Hastings-Bass: the true and the spurious

In his article in Trusts and Trustees, 2007, volume 13, No 7,Dakis Hagen discussed the increasingly widespread application,and the uncertain limits, of the ‘Unruly rule in Hastings-Bass’.In this article, co-editor Tony Molloy QC questions whetherwhat has come to be called the Rule in Hastings-Bass is anythingmore than a baseless snare.     

宪政:中国的困境与出路——梁漱溟宪政思想研究

本文述介梁漱溟先生关于宪法与宪政的基本看法 ,特别是他从不同人文类型的观照中对于中国模仿、移植西方宪政的困境的分析 ,有关中国走向宪政之路的思虑 ,同时并述及各种政治力量对此所作的反应 ,指出在中国近代百年宪政思潮中 ,梁漱溟宪政思想的特立卓越处。     

Event Studies and the Law: Part I: Technique and Corporate Litigation

Event studies are among the most successful uses of econometricsin policy analysis. By providing an anchor for measuring theimpact of events on investor wealth, the methodology offersa fruitful means for evaluating the welfare implications ofprivate and government actions. This article is the first ina set of two that review the use and impact of the event studymethodology in the legal domain. This article begins by brieflyreviewing the event study methodology and its strengths andlimitations for policy analysis. It then reviews in detail howevent studies have been used to evaluate the wealth effectsof corporate litigation: defendants experience economicallymeaningful and statistically significant wealth losses uponthe filing of the suit, whereas plaintiff firms experience nosignificant wealth effects upon filing a lawsuit. Also, thereis a significant wealth increase for defendant firms when theysettle a suit with another firm, in contrast to other typesof plaintiffs, and in contrast to the settling plaintiff firms.These findings suggest that, at a minimum, lawsuits are nota value-enhancing way for corporations to settle their disagreementswith other corporations. In addition, the market appears toimpose a higher sanction on firms than actual criminal sanctions,and reputational losses are of equal magnitude for civil finesas for criminal ones. The article concludes with some recommendationsfor researchers: the standards for conducting an event studyare well established; researchers can increase the power ofan event study by increasing the sample size, and by narrowingthe public announcement period to as short a time frame as possible.The companion article reviews the use of event studies in corporatelaw and regulation.     

Competition Law and the WTO: Rethinking the Relationship

This essay identifies obstacles to the inclusion of a competitionlaw regime in the WTO and suggests changes that are likely tobe necessary if competition law is to become an effective partof the WTO. Two obstacles have impeded inclusion of competitionlaw in the WTO's legal regime and are likely to continue todo so. They are (i) a lack of confidence that the norms, practicesand procedures of the WTO rest on a robust conception of communityand (ii) uncertainty and concern about what form of competitionlaw might be included and what its role in the WTO would be.In order to reduce the first of these obstacles, the institutionsand members of the WTO will need to develop a conception ofcommunity that engenders widespread confidence in the WTO'sbasic modes of operation. Eliminating the second obstacle wouldrequire clarification of the kind of competition law that wouldbe acceptable within the WTO, and this, in turn, is likely torequire development of a form of competition law that is specificallydesigned for the WTO and that can elicit the long-term supportof all categories of members. The essay suggests that the competitionlaw issue is intricately interwoven with the future of the WTO.The changes that would be necessary to introduce and successfullyimplement competition law in the WTO are to a large extent thesame as those that the institution will need to make if it isto enrich its role as an institution.     

Finding the Balance: Intoxication and Consent

Sexual offences in England and Wales have had a dramatic reimagining in the last 15 years, with the Sexual Offences Act 2003 establishing not only the boundaries of the most heinous of offences such as rape, but also defining one of the most important elements; consent. This article seeks to explore the problems that surround establishing if legally valid consent has been given, with particular regard for cases where voluntary intoxication takes centre stage. The problem that often arises is the question on whether or not an intoxicated victim had the capacity to consent, or establishing if she did consent when memory of the event is hazy, possibly from both parties. Using comparative analysis with other jurisdictions and their take on the offence of rape, the author seeks to discover if the current rules are sufficient to fit within twenty-first century western culture. The victim will be referred to as ‘she’, although the law here and all situations discussed are equally applicable to male rape.