国际环境损害责任的私法化

在国际环境损害问题上追究国家责任的不可行性 ,使国际环境损害责任制度呈现出越来越明显的私法化趋势已多年。但是 ,由于国际法学界在相当长的时期内囿于传统的法律模式和思维方法 ,对这一问题的法律阐释和编纂始终没有取得突破性进展。直到最近 ,联合国国际法委员会的报告才突破了这一问题。从理论上对国际环境损害责任私法化的内容和法学方法论问题进行系统的分析、探讨 ,对发展国际环境法具有重要意义。     

Tacit collusion and liability rules

This paper demonstrates that the likelihood of tacit collusion in a given oligopolistic industry may depend on the kind of liability rule applied to the industry. We study typical settings for the analysis of product liability and environmental liability. For the latter, it is established that tacit collusion is more likely under strict liability than under negligence. However, the two liability rules are equivalent with regard to their effects on tacit collusion in the model pertaining to product liability. This context-dependent impact on tacit collusion can be traced back to a difference in the shape of firms’ cost functions.     

The law and economics of AI liability

The employment of AI systems presents challenges for liability rules. This paper identifies these challenges and evaluates how liability rules should be adapted in response. The paper discusses the gaps in liability that arise when AI systems are unpredictable or act (semi)-autonomously. It considers the problems in proving fault and causality when errors in AI systems are difficult to foresee for producers, and monitoring duties of users are difficult to define. From an economic perspective, the paper considers what liability rules would minimise costs of harm related to AI. Based on the analysis of risks and optimal liability rules, the paper evaluates the recently published EU proposals for a Product Liability Directive and for an AI Liability Directive.     

Sequential torts and bilateral harm

This paper analyzes care incentives of individuals in a bilateral-harm setting if care choices are sequential. We find that the efficient outcome is not guaranteed under any liability rule considered, irrespective of whether information is perfect or imperfect. Furthermore, it is no longer possible to generally rank liability rules according to their induced social costs. These findings are in strong contrast to the sequential-torts setting in which harm is unilateral.     

Regional Innovation Systems in Central and Eastern Europe: Determinants, Organizers and Alignments

While proximity was an asset in socialism, during the post-socialist period the development of the region as a locus of innovation is essential for restructuring and sustainable growth of economies of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). The paper analyzes the factors that determine the emergence of regional innovation systems in CEE. Based on a conceptual model of regional innovation system we explore four determinants: national, sectoral, micro and regional. These determinants operate as conditional advantages or disadvantages that require network organizers and network alignment in order to be turned into real advantages. The paper points to the important role of network organizers for enhancing regional innovation in the post-socialist economies. Policy implications of the model suggest that the emphasis should be on functions and programs rather than on new organizations.     

生态文明背景下侵权法一般规则的“绿色化”改造

作为落实《民法总则》绿色原则的重要领域,侵权责任法回应环境问题不能仅局限于环境侵权责任专章。侵权法一般规则未对绿色原则做出适当回应,已与环境侵权责任专章内容的不断发展形成巨大反差,致使环境侵权规则在整体上游离于侵权法体系之外。此状况不仅理论上难以自洽,而且招致了实践争议,不利于对环境权益的保护。在侵权法一般规则中贯彻绿色原则,并与环境侵权的专门规定相互呼应,既是生态文明的时代需求,也是侵权法、民法体系化的必然要求。完善民法典侵权责任编(草案)应以全面救济环境损害为目标,具化、优化侵权责任方式和责任承担,同时注重发挥法律解释的作用,通过多途径推动侵权法一般规则的绿色化,增强侵权法体系乃至民法体系的融贯性。建议修改侵权责任编(草案)的救济范围、责任方式和责任分担等规定,并在《民法总则》纳入民法典时调整相关规范,形成从民法总则、侵权法一般规则到环境侵权专门规则相互协调的环境损害民法救济体系。     

Environment, Damages, and Compensation

This article, the first part of a larger study devoted to the compensation of damages caused by pollution, reviews the existing sources of compensation in the United States: the common law of torts, federal and state statutes, and various forms of commercial insurance coverages. It shows how the rules of nuisance law have remained flexible in response to changing customs and public policies, how for a long time prevailing attitudes favored industrial development and economic growth over physical comfort, and how increasing concerns about the long-term health effects of environmental pollution have created a trend in the opposite direction. The author also points out that the existing system of liability and compensation, which relies on individual actions and case-by-case adjudication, is not ideally suited for dealing with the effects of large-scale pollution or for the —primarily political—task of evaluating and balancing all of the interests and values, present and future, economic and noneconomic, that need to be considered before decisions can be made that are bound to affect the health and economic well-being of a large part of the population beyond the immediate parties to a lawsuit. This indicates a need for a comprehensive approach that would not only coordinate the rules concerning liability and those concerning insurance and other sources of compensation but would also make the compensation of pollution damages an integral part of a thoroughly rational and consistent environmental policy. The various possibilities of constructing such a comprehensive compensation system will be discussed in the second part of the study, to be published in a forth-coming issue of the American Bar Foundation Research Journal.     

Efficiency of 'Simple' Liability Rules When Courts Make Erroneous Estimation of the Damage

The literature on liability rules shows that the damage awards under a liability rule affect the efficiency of the rule. One crucial factor that could affect the damage awards and therefore the efficiency characteristics of liability rules is the error made by a court while estimating the harm suffered by the victims. In this paper efficiency property of what we label as 'simple' liability rules when courts make errors in estimation of the damage is studied in a unified framework. The paper provides a characterization of efficient simple liability rules and shows that the biased court errors act to change the efficiency characterization of simple liability rules. A necessary and sufficient condition for a simple liability rule to be efficient in the presence of upper-biased court errors is provided. The analysis is carried out in a quite general framework.     

论环境责任保险制度——兼论环境损害赔偿的社会化机制

环境责任保险制度是一种最早适用西方国家的特殊保险制度。它可以分散风险,使企业避免因污染损害事故而遭受重大损失;有助于环境污染受害人获得及时和充分的赔偿;同时也可以通过保险公司对企业的排污行为进行监督管理。文章总结了西方国家实行的环境责任保险模式,分析了该制度面临的主要问题,并指出环境责任保险制度和环境损害赔偿法以及环境损害救济基金共同构成了环境损害赔偿社会化机制的完整体系。     

Civil Litigation, Access to Government-Held Information, and Coordination of Public and Private Enforcement in the Czech Republic

To correct the historical suppression of environmental information under communist rule, the Czech Republic has instituted several new laws granting citizen access to government-held information. This access should facilitate civil litigation by providing evidence in court for establishing causality in a country where practically everyone feels the effects of broad and severe environmental degradation. However, poor de facto citizen access and citizens'; traditional distrust of information severely limits litigation activity. Similarly, this paper examines the joint use of a privately-initiated ex post liability policy (i.e., tort litigation) and a state-initiated ex post liability policy (i.e., penalties). In particular, it explores a potential exchange of information between a government enforcer and plaintiffs, where the government enforcer provides information on the causality of harm to plaintiffs and plaintiffs provide information on the level of harm to the government enforcer. With more accurate information on both causality and damages, the joint use of state and private enforcement should lead to more efficient outcomes. This paper finds great potential for such improvement given the limited use of privately-provided information on harm and poor de facto access to government-provided information on environmental matters.     

错鉴损害的民事责任

司法鉴定结论不可能拥有绝对的准确率,一旦出现错鉴,必须要对因此带来的损害后果承担相应的法律责任。错鉴民事责任在形式上与违约责任、侵权责任和专家责任竞合。不论选择哪一种处理路径都存在着利弊的权衡,都需要对现有法律作适当的调整。需要确定错鉴责任承担主体,并对利害关系人和归责原则作出相应规定,对责任主体的过错程度作出评判。     

侵权责任构成理论研究——一种新的分析框架和路径的提出

在对侵权责任构成理论的现有分析框架与研究路径进行评价的基础上,本文提出了一种新的分析框架与研究路径。与现在学者们采用的分析框架与研究路径相比,它提升了"侵权责任构成要件"的逻辑位阶,使这一概念不再限于在过错责任构成条件范围内使用,成了能够总揽过错责任、危险责任、衡平责任构成条件的概念。同时,扬弃了"归责原则"、"过错责任原则"、"无过错责任原则"之类的概念,提出了"归责依据"概念。在此基础上,将"侵权责任构成要件"区分为"客观构成条件"、"主观归责依据"、"免责事由"三类条件,并采用了从客观构成条件到主观归责依据再到免责事由的逻辑分析路径。     

论政府环境责任的缺陷与健全

政府环境责任的缺陷和不足,是环境保护领域政府失灵、环境法律失灵的一个重要原因。我国政府环境责任的缺陷主要体现在"重政府经济责任,轻政府环境责任"、"重企业环境义务和追究企业环境责任,轻政府环境义务和追究政府环境责任"、"重政府环境权力,轻政府环境义务"等八个方面。通过阐明健全政府环境责任的法理基础、指导思想和原则,提出建立健全政府环境责任的体系和制度的建议。     

医疗事故损害赔偿问题研究(1)(山西大学2004届法律硕士研究生毕业论文)

本文以《医疗事故条例》与民事法律、法规及司法解释的冲突为切入点,首先从医疗事故的构成要件着手分析,将医疗事故界定为“医疗机构及其工作人员在医疗活动中,违反医疗卫生法律、行政法规、部门规章和诊疗护理规范、常规,过错造成患者人身损害的事故”,拓宽了医疗事故的范围,并在此基础上着重强调医疗机构的谨慎注意义务,缩小了医疗事故的免责事由。其次,经过分析认为医疗事故损害赔偿责任的性质是侵权责任与违约责任的竞合,在实践中应根据当事人意思自治原则区别对待,适用不同的归责原则,同时指出了赔偿范围与标准以及医疗事故鉴定的不足,批驳了“不属于医疗事故的,不承担赔偿责任”的错误观点,论证了惩罚性赔偿原则在医疗事故损害赔偿纠纷中适用的可行性,提出了医疗事故网上鉴定的设想。最后为了强化对患者的司法救济,分散医疗机构的风险,消化医疗机构的损失,平衡医患双方的利益冲突,构筑完整的医疗事故损害赔偿体系,对医疗责任保险的保险范围、除外责任提出了自己的看法,同时提出医事法律应借鉴其他法律的相关规定,对医疗责任保险做出强制投保规定的设想。     

环境侵权归责原则之反思与重构——基于学说和实践的视角

归责原则是环境侵权制度的核心和关键,考察现行归责原则理论和实践不难发现,学说上存在过错责任与无过错责任之争,立法上面临《物权法》和《侵权责任法》的抵牾,实践中不同类型案件适用不同的归责原则。这三重悖论的根源,在于环境侵权未能依据环境学规律区分为拟制型污染侵权和实质型污染侵权,进而适用相应的归责原则:实质型污染侵权适用无过错责任;拟制型污染侵权适用过错推定责任,超标视为过错,在双方均无过错时,则以公平责任作为损失分担的原则。     

第三人过错不应作为环境污染民事责任的抗辩事由

本文分析了第三人过错是过错责任侵权案件的抗辩事由,全面梳理了第三人过错在我国环境立法中的地位演变,并就第三人过错是否为环境污染民事责任抗辩事由的理论争议进行了深入的述评。提出在以后修改《海洋环境保护法》及《水污染防治法》,甚至制定专门的环境侵权责任法时,除了明确规定在所有环境污染领域第三人过错都不是抗辩事由外,还需合理地设置第三人过错污染环境民事责任的追究机制和社会化救济机制。     

论跨境环境损害民事责任的法律适用——以冲突规范为研究对象

作为统一实体法规范的国际环境民事责任公约在高度危险活动领域如核能利用、石油污染等发挥着巨大作用,但对于一般环境损害未做任何规定,因此,需要由国内冲突法规范加以调整。由于传统的调整方法——侵权行为地法很难解决当今环境损害中的所有问题,在继续追求冲突法正义的同时也应顾及到索赔主体实体利益的保护,于是,有必要考虑新的系属公式如当事人合意选择的法律、对受害人有利的法律等。但仍应赋予侵权行为地法最重要的地位,同时采用选择性冲突规则。     

Identifying Successor Corporations Liable under CERCLA and Pursuing Insurance Coverage for That Liability

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) imposes liability well beyond general corporate successor rules. A company can allocate liability to other Potentially Responsible Parties as more culpable, taking advantage of CERCLA's joint and several liability. Often a source of recovery must be teased from a complex corporate history somehow connected to the site. This article examines the basis for attributing environmental liability to entities within a corporate history, before addressing how even a bankrupt or dissolved target may still have insurance that can be tapped. Similarly, CERCLA's strict liability enables recovery from insurance with some connection to either the target's or the company's corporate history, notwithstanding insurers' non-assignment arguments.     

The cost of delegated control: vicarious liability, secondary liability and mandatory insurance

Vicarious liability, secondary liability and mandatory insurance are three systems for attaining judgment-proof or disappearing injurers’ precaution through the direct control of a second party (the vicariously liable principal, the secondary liable party, or the insurer). In this way, the legal system delegates control over some injurers to private entities. Such mechanisms generate monitoring costs. In this paper, we consider who bears the cost of such monitoring, and the effect thereof on the equilibrium level of precautions under different liability rules. We use these findings to explain some of the patterns in the coupling of substantive standards of liability and legal regimes of delegated control.