Embryonic stem cell research: one small step for science or one giant leap back for mankind?

At the forefront of modern debate over the ethical use of biotechnology is embryonic stem cell research. In this poignant analysis of its legitimacy, the author examines the history of this research in light of the United States' policy favoring the protection of human beings over scientific progress. Stem cells, which can divide in culture to create specialized cells in the human body, possess significant potential for curing disease, particularly when taken from human embryos. However, as evidenced by the research atrocities committed under the Nazi regime, the benefits of human research do not come without a cost to humanity. Recognizing this, the later trial of these scientists produced the Nuremberg Code, a set of natural law principles guiding future research on humans that continues to influence health policy decisions. Drawing on this background, the author first considers the appropriate legal status for a human embryo. Biologically, the characteristics of a human embryo place it between human tissue and a constitutional person. Judicially, the answer is even less clear. The author analyzes case law in the context of abortion and in vitro fertilization, as well as classifications by the common law, state legislation, and the National Bioethics Advisory Commission, to conclude that a human embryo should be subject to the same legal and ethical restrictions as any other "human subject." Accordingly, the author argues that embryonic stem cell research violates the ethical standards and purposes of the Nuremberg Code and should be banned by federal legislation. Such a prohibition will fulfill the societal policy choice of protecting potential life and vulnerable human subjects.     

Legal Security from the Point of View of the Philosophy of Law

Abstract. The author analyses the concept of legal security from its historical evolution to its main structural aspects. In the first part he argues that legal security is a historical and cultural concept of the modern world. He considers a series of factors which lead from the general concept of security generated by an ideological monism and the social rigidity characterizing the Middle Ages to the concept of legal security protected by the legal monism of the modern state, where legal security, understood as formal or procedural justice, has become a principle inspiring the entire legal system. Then he considers legal security in the social state as the expression of the relationship between man and his social needs. In the second part the author makes a structural analysis of the concept of legal security in a modern legal order, identifying the different spheres in which it can be found: state,—focusing on procedural guarantees as limits to power—, law—considering the internal functioning of the legal system—, society—stressing the effects of the action of the social state on the idea of legal security.     

The legal concept of personhood in Colombia: are there biological reasons to change it?]

Nowadays, as a consequence of scientific advances in embryology, genetics and assisted reproduction techniques, the scientific community ask for new laws to establish new parameters to use with these recent discoveries. Discoveries that have changed the legal concept of "person". In many countries this concept is absolutely useless when facing new techniques such as cloning, stem cell research and embryo storage. That is why it is necessary to change its definition to guarantee the right to life and give a better protection to human embryos.     

胎儿的准人格地位及其人格利益保护

胎儿是一种人类生命,但又不是人;其不具有现行法规定的民事权利能力,但又必须享受一些权益的法律保护。对于胎儿的人格地位,民法理论素有争议。胎儿属于准法律人格者。准法律人格即非完全法律人格者亦非完全无法律人格者。它是法律立足于胎儿的生命特质、胎儿保护的价值理念以及民法人格制度的立法逻辑所作出的人格定位。准法律人格者享有不同于自然人的特殊的人格利益及其权益保护规则。     

Religious Tolerance and Freedom in Continental Europe

The author analyses the problems faced by Continental Europe's legal systems as a result of the appearance of the so-called new religious movements. He is of the opinion that the expected change towards the achievement of full legal neutrality regarding the religious phenomena cannot be based on the sole assumption that each and every religion deserves protection. In fact, he considers that any system of equality should be aimed at protecting the legitimate expression of the individual's free will; that is to say, neither a particular religion nor all of them, but the person considered as a citizen, regardless of whether he believes or not.     

历史性、阶段性、静态性、动态性和系统性原则——关于给法制下定义应遵循原则的思考

本文通过对法制概念的诠释,提出了给法制下定义应遵循的五个原则:即历史性原则、阶级性原则、静态性原则、动态性原则和系统性原则。通过对法制和法治两个基本法律概念的剖析,比较了二者的异同,以期为法律教学和普法教育提供参考。     

论禁治产人与无行为能力人的当代私法命运

古老的禁治产人制度因背离当代人权保障的理念，陆续退出大陆法系主要国家民法典。作为继受了禁治产人制度的我国成年无行为能力人制度，除了在理念上存在着与禁治产人制度相同的问题外，在立法和适用中还面临着诸多问题。未来民法典对成年人应取消无行为能力人一级的司法拟制，保留限制行为能力人。对限制行为能力人，实行个案审查以确定行为人的行为能力的欠缺范围。新设监护登记替代行为能力宣告的公示方式。     

Law as Co-ordination

Abstract. The concept of co-ordination problems helps solve the problem of authority and obligation in legal theory, but only if the concept is carefully distinguished from the game-theoretical concept of co-ordination problems and their solutions. After explaining the game-theoretical concept, the author defends its application to legal theory by reviewing the exchange he has had with Joseph Raz about the authority of law. Extending that debate, he argues that criticisms from Raz and others miss the point of the co-ordination thesis; its primary benefit is that it illuminates the source of law's moral authority in the way law enables individuals to co-ordinate their actions for the common good without imposing a national common enterprise upon them.     

论人体器官移植的现代民法理论基础

器官移植是为医疗目的由器官供给人的捐赠行为、专门医疗机构器官摘取的协助行为和植入器官的治疗行为等构成的相互独立、相互联络的关联结合行为。作者从现代民法的角度 ,深入剖析了人体器官移植的理论基础 ,认为活人是具有法律人格的权利主体 ,故具有处置其人格利益的自己决定权 ;遗体和人体器官是物权法的客体 ,归属于生前的本人和继承法理下的其他人 ,在法律限制流通的范围内可由权利人进行处分 ;医方摘取器官行为只是医疗援助行为 ,器官植入行为可适用医疗服务合同法理 ;因存在利益衡量和公序良俗原则下的受害人知情同意 ,所以移植器官行为是阻却违法的行为     

关于中西法律观念上几个问题的比较

法有两种形态,一种是法律制度或法律规范;一种是法律意识或法律现念。现实生活中,约束和调整人们行为的是前者,但在幕后起作用的却是后者。中西法律规范、法律制度上的差异,实际上是法律观念、法律文化上的差异。从对法之本义的理解、权利观念、对法与情的处理、司法独立意识、对法律职业和法律人的认识等几个方面,比较了中国和欧洲双方不同的价值理念,并对我国的法治建设做了一些思考。     

论环境时代宪法对其他生命物种权利的尊重

从物种多样性保护这一生态学上新的理论和方法出发,通过分析“生命平等”这一体现生态主义的法理基础和承认其他生命物种种群价值的法律价值取向,有必要在各国宪法中增设“应当尊重其他生命物种的生存权利”的原则规定,以弥补传统宪法在保护其他生命物种问题上没有将其与人类共同视为生命共同体的缺憾,以反映环境时代宪法权利生态化的特征。     

自然人基因的法律属性

生命科技的飞速发展挑战着法律,基因的法律问题显现在人们面前,明确基因的法律地位是研究基因相关法律问题的基本前提。在法律地位上,自然人的基因是自然人的一种物质表现形式所体现的人格利益,同生命权、健康权、身体权的客体——生命、健康和身体一样,应当作为人格权的客体之一,受人格权保护,称之为"基因人格权"。当基因一旦与人体分离后,是一种真实的物质存在,具有了财产权的特性,将与身体分离的基因界定为财产权的客体,此时对基因的人格利益转化为财产利益,以财产利益进行保护。自然人的基因兼具人格权与财产权的双重属性。     

围绕“人格”问题的法理论辩

"人格"问题在法学与法律上都是个众说纷纭的概念,由此也引起学界对其意义、范围以及与其它概念相区别的争论。诸如"人格的概念在法律上是否必需?","人格概念是否仅存在于私法制度之中?","人格"的概念是否与"法律主体"、"权利能力"的内涵相同?……等等,都常常引起人们的关注。作为法学、法律上的一个基础概念,人格有其存在的特殊意义,它既在私法上成为法律主体建构的基石,也在公法上为人的平等提供了依据。同时,人格既不等同于法律主体,也不类似于权利能力,而是法学、法律上具有独特内涵的专门范畴。     

权利冲突的几个理论问题

在中国的法治进程中，权利冲突已经成为一个非常普遍的法律现象并广泛地存在于法制的各个环节之中，尤其是存在于司法审判中和日常生活中。本文作者通过对司法审判中和日常生活中权利冲突典型案例的分析和观察，提出了一些值得我们重视的法律理论问题，如权利冲突的界限，权利冲突的实质，权利冲突的原因，权利冲突的解决原则，权利冲突的功能等等。作者认为，要解决好权利冲突问题，有几个关键点应该强调：其一，是要确立一个权利平等保护的观念，而这一看似已经解决了的简单的问题，其实还存在着很大的认识误区；其二，权利冲突的解决是一个法制机制的综合性的作用过程，而不只是靠一个单一的法制机制的解决手段；其三，在综合性的法制机制中，作者更加看重和强调立法对于解决权利冲突的作用和意义。     

法人侵权责任能力的理论预设与制度设计——以法人本质理论为线索

我国民法学界以法人实在说承认法人的独立意志为理由,论证了法人承担侵权责任能力的合理基础,继而对拟制说进行批判,而事实上法人承担侵权责任完全是基于特定利益衡量的立法构造,与其意志的有无没有必然的关联。法人的侵权责任是法人机关的侵权责任,从形式逻辑的角度而言,它与法人的工作人员的侵权责任是有本质区别的,但就立法构造而言二者区分并无实际价值,在法人侵权责任具体承担方式上应该采取让法人机关与法人承担连带责任的方式。     

反垄断法的挑战——对反垄断法的整体主义解释

反垄断法是新时代、新观念的产物。它对当前处于主流地位的部门法提出了一系列的挑战,主要体现为四方面的转向:第一,从传统法注重对法律关系两头的人的保护转向对主体间关系的保护;第二,从保护个体利益转向保护社会整体利益;第三,从传统法对行为违法性判定的条件取向转向结果取向;第四,从传统法的责任导向转向规制导向,即从重在禁于已然之后转向重在禁于未然之前。     

论行政规范性文件与依法行政

行政规范性文件,即平常讲的政府“红头”文件。行政规范性文件大量存在,发挥了不可替代的作用,但由于种种原因,致使有的行政规范性文件违法,侵犯了行政相对人的合法权益,损害了政府的形象,阻碍了行政法治化的进程,影响了和谐社会的构建。依法行政要求政府必须依法制定行政规范性文件。要从提高行政机关公务员依法制定行政规范性文件的观念及水平,出台规范行政规范性文件制定的法律,加强对行政规范性文件制定的法律监督,建立对违法制定行政规范性文件的责任追究制度等四大方面,来保障依法制定行政规范性文件,推进行政法治化进程。     

十九世纪末地方法律实践状况考——一块碑文透出的历史信息

通过对一爿在四川省茂县羌区发现的不为人知的清末石碑进行考证 ,运用法律社会学、法人类学的研究方法详加分析 ,揭示了在十九世纪末地方法律实践状况中存在的法律多元与文化互动的历史现象 ,同时指出 ,国家制定法与民族习惯法的二元并存格局以及二者间相互交融、相互冲突、相互补充的关系模式 ,既构建了民间的社会秩序 ,又构成了我国法律传统的一个切面 ,由此对日本学者关于中国法律传统中不存在习惯法的观点提出质疑     

Positive Law and Systemic Legitimacy: A Comment on Hart and Habermas*

Abstract
The author revisits H. L. A. Hart's theory of positive law and argues for a major qualification to the thesis of the separation of law and morality based on a concept of systemic legitimacy derived from the social theory of Jurgen Habermas. He argues that standards for assessing the degree of systemic legitimacy in modern legal systems can develop through reflective exercise of "critical legality," a concept coined to parallel Hart's "critical morality," and an expanded understanding of the "external" and "internal" perspectives on legal systems. Following Habermas, he argues that modern positive law must retain systemic legitimacy. After suggesting criteria for measuring systemic legitimacy, the author concludes that the concept provides a useful approach to contemporary problems of "lawless" regimes and "law's imperialism."