Covenanting for Nature: A Comparative Study of the Utility and Potential of Conservation Covenants

Conservation covenants over private land are extensively used in some jurisdictions to secure a wide range of public benefits: in some cases primarily to promote nature conservation, while elsewhere to foster conservation alongside greater public access to ‘green’ space. This article considers the use of conservation covenants in New Zealand, Scotland, and England and Wales. It argues that they can play a unique role in balancing nature conservation, property rights and increased public access to private land. It reviews proposals for new legislation in England and Wales and argues that, if it is to be successful, the potential of conservation covenants to secure greater public access to private land should be more strongly emphasised. Their successful use in New Zealand shows that, while recognising the important balancing function that they can perform, this emphasis is critically important if covenants are to fulfil their potential to ‘reconnect’ people and nature.     

俄罗斯现代土地权利构成与发展走向

20世纪90年代以来的俄罗斯土地权利立法变迁,分别以土地再分配和土地权利有效实现为阶段性目标,形成了公私并存的土地所有权体系,以土地租赁为主、限制物权为辅的土地利用制度格局和以公法为主、私法为辅的土地权利规范调整模式。当前在俄罗斯联邦民法典现代化驱动下,对土地以及其他自然资源权利的法律调整彻底回归到私法框架中来,遵循物权逻辑改造土地权利体系,强化土地权利稳定性,扩充土地限制物权类型,增加公民、法人利用土地的机会成为俄罗斯土地权利立法再发展的主旨方向。     

Customary Rights in Scots Law: Test Cases on Access to Land in the Nineteenth Century

Rights of access to land in Scotland for community and public use became increasingly politicised in the nineteenth century. In test cases brought by both landowners and access campaigners, they were subject to determination by the Court of Session. This article examines the doctrinal developments in the area of customary rights in nineteenth-century Scotland, and the legal and political context in which those doctrines emerged. The decisions were made against a background of reaction against the abuse of privileges by burgh governors and superiors, on the one hand, and the movement for greater public access to land on the other. It is argued that the judges of the Court of Session based their decisions, in part, on judicial values regarding the value of test case litigation and the constitutional function of the court, as well as the sanctity of private property.     

土地征收的私权保护——兼论我国土地立法的完善

我国由于现行土地征收立法本身存在内在冲突和漏洞 ,又加观念、制度、操作等方面的问题 ,造成土地征收中公权侵害私权 ,产生了严重的社会后果。解决问题的根本出路在于 :更新立法理念 ,贯彻私权保护原则 ;明确界定公共利益范围 ,严格限制征收权的滥用 ;开放农村建设用地市场 ,促进土地资源高效配置 ;健全土地征收程序 ,增强公开性、公正性 ;完善土地征收补偿制度等     

论国际人权立法的中国化——以民主权为中心

如何建立足以对接、通融国际人权理念的国内人权立法的整合机制,是国际人权立法中国化必须首先解决的问题。民主权是一种新兴的人权。民主权立法"中国化"面临着理念整合、合法性、有效性等困境,其具体克服路径即在于:通过直接进行普适性与特殊性的价值调适以实现理念整合,建构具备与公众参与及自治相关的正当程序内涵的立法制度,藉此导出各公共领域内民主权的具体内容并确立其实现与救济的相关法律制度。     

宅基地管理与物权法的适用限度

对土地管理制度的既有讨论,通常是从宪法第10条出发,没有考虑宪法第6条对"生产资料的社会主义公有制"的规定,将"国家所有"与"集体所有"片面理解为民法所有权而忽视其所有制内涵。物权制度是所有制关系的法律反映,"生产资料的社会主义公有制"是超越新中国历部宪法和其它具体法律的基本宪法原则,运用物权规则完善宅基地管理制度,需以公有制为大前提。忽视公有制前提的物权化改革建议,陷入"私法‘宪法中立",的认识误区,加上对宅基地经济社会属性的误会,所提出的改革方案缺乏法理与现实依据。现有制度在实现社会财富公平分配、公共资源有效管理和农民权利保护等方面基本有效,下一步改革只需做局部调整而无需全盘重建。     

论同性婚姻合法化

随着医学、伦理学和社会学对同性恋现象的深入研究,对同性恋者婚姻家庭权利予以法律保障的全球化立法运动此起彼伏。同性恋者追求永久结合的诉求具有正当性,应当予以立法保护。鉴于同性婚姻和异性婚姻毕竟存在着很多不同,应当区别对待。借鉴世界上其他国家的立法模式,结合我国的具体国情,我国同性恋者的结合宜采"同性伴侣"的立法模式,其成立要件、效力、同性伴侣财产制度也有别于婚姻制度。     

探矿与采矿权权利流转立法刍议

探矿权采矿权具有物权性质。立法把探矿权采矿权认定为物权性质有利于探矿采矿权的自由流转,有利于促进国家矿产资源的充分开发,也有利于保障探矿采矿权人的合法权益。探矿权采矿权的自由流转对于促进探矿采矿事业健康发展具有积极意义,但我国原有立法对探矿权采矿权流转的限制性规定较多。建议立法开宗明义地规定探矿采矿权可以流转,并明确权利流转的具体形式;探矿采矿权流转过程要公开化;应取消和减少探矿采矿权流转的有关限制性规定。     

网络诽谤行为的法律规制及其完善

利用互联网全新媒体实施诽谤与传统诽谤相比较具有新的特点,寻求网络言论自由与保护名誉权、隐私权的平衡成为了网络时代更为突出的问题．网络诽谤责任主体具有多元性。网络诽谤法律规制应从适度区分公众人物与非公众人物,赋予新闻媒体的合理报道权,适度规定网络服务提供者的相应责任,实际损害赔偿、精神损害赔偿与惩罚性赔偿相结合等角度加以完善．     

无线电频谱资源使用权的开放性设计

我国传统上僵化的频谱监管没有确认无线电频谱使用人的民事权利,不利于电信市场的竞争和技术创新。而《物权法》对于无线电频谱国家所有权的规定混淆了"民法之物"和"公物",背离了频谱使用权开放性的改革方向。应当将频谱资源所有权界定为公法所有权,进而将经行政许可获得的频谱使用权确认为准物权,准用民法规范,允许其自由交易,合理设计其取得、期限、内容以及效力,从而增强频谱资源利用的开放性和灵活性,鼓励投资和竞争,激励创新。     

Disability,right to culture and copyright: which regulatory option?

Access to knowledge and participation in cultural life for persons with disabilities has always constituted a tough challenge. Recent studies show that only 5% of published works are available in accessible format, and the number plummets to 1% in developing countries. Coupled with the high costs of production and distribution, and the full reliance on public funds and intervention of public or non-profit organizations, copyright has traditionally represented an additional obstacle on the path for a broader availability of accessible works. Recently, the situation has worsened with the tilting in the balance between rights and exceptions caused by the legislative response to digital threats, when the unprecedented opportunities offered by new technologies to foster accessibility have been largely trumped by copyright law. Still, the last decades have witnessed the beginning of a paradigm shift, originating from the human rights arena, and moving towards a new definition of the interplay between authors’ rights and the right to take part in cultural life, both at a general level and with particular regards to persons with disabilities. This article offers a diachronic overview of the path that, from the rediscovery of Article 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights through its General Comments to Article 30 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, has led to the adoption of the Marrakesh Treaty. It then analyses, with a focus on the European Union and its Member States, the national and regional responses to the new human rights obligations, looking at the relations between legislative exceptions and model or collective license agreements. The assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the two main regulatory options lays the groundwork for proposals of further areas of intervention, necessary to fully comply with the international human rights obligations and to achieve the fullest access to and participation in culture possible for persons with disabilities, by using the tools offered by international and national copyright law.     

我国妇女农地权利法律制度运作的实证研究与完善路径

在我国,保护农村妇女土地权益具有重要意义,但调查研究表明,农村妇女土地权益频受侵害,土地承包经营权并未得到充分的保障。造成这种状况的主要原因:一是我国立法上对"男娶女嫁"婚嫁方式可能损害妇女土地权利的认识不足;二是法律、政策的相关规定互相矛盾;三是立法上对妇女权益法律保护的效果适得其反;四是法律规定过于原则,操作性不强;五是当村规民约侵害妇女土地承包权益时,缺乏有效的法律救济途径;为此,应当有效化解政策、法律之间的冲突,完善细化法律规则,在立法和执法过程中引入社会性别视角,加强对村规民约的法律审查,消除制度歧视。     

Consumer managed care appeals: are the available procedural protections fundamentally fair?

Managed care incentives to reduce costs have also resulted in incentives to deny care. Anecdotes concerning managed care denials of care have led to a consumer outcry for protection either through the use of procedural due process or by the establishment of patient rights that would include appeal and grievance protections. This Article reviews the procedural protections of constitutional due process, the Consumer Due Process Protocol, and the Patient Bill of Rights. The Article then extensively discusses the availability of these procedural protections in various public and private forums. The discussion of public forums includes proposals contained in recent national legislative initiatives. The author then reviews relevant federal and state law, as well as Uniform Law proposals. Next, the Article analyzes the protections provided by accreditation agencies, dispute resolution organizations, professional organizations, and health insurers. Finally, the author recommends criteria to be used to determine whether a procedure is fundamentally fair.     

Coercion and justification: a global public reason perspective on Security Council reform

The Security Council is the only international body capable of authorizing the use of force in cases other than self-defence. Its main mission is to protect international peace and security, and this has been reinterpreted in recent decades to include the protection of human rights in situations of grave humanitarian emergencies as well as to allow it to exercise legislative powers. Given this extraordinary range of functions, it is worth asking whether the Security Council is justified in their exercise. Should the international community entrust such power to an institution with the authority, structure, and decision-making process of the Security Council? This article explores the implications of a distinctive tradition in political philosophy – namely, the public reason tradition – for judging the adequacy of some of the proposals for reform of the Security Council. I show that the scope of authority of the Security Council, as well as some of the proposals for reform, can be challenged on the basis of an emerging global public culture.     

Access to justice

Conclusion The central aim of providing access to justice should be to ensure that every citizen receives implementation of his legal rights at the lowest overall cost, not just the cost to litigants, or the courts' budget, or insurers, but to society as a whole. How far the proposals in the Report will achieve that will have to be seen when they are implemented, whether in whole or in part. Although the proposals are radical in many ways, it is certainly possible to argue that on one construction they merely preserve the present distinction between small claims, County Court, and High Court cases, with a variety of significant modifications. If that be so, it is equally arguable that very much the same result could be achieved by modifications to both the County Court and High Court rules without the need for universal sweeping changes. Certainly all practitioners and judiciary are going to find that the next few years are full of challenge and interest. It will be fascinating to observe the changes and the outcome. Q.C., M.A., LL.M. (Cantab), J.D. (Chicago), one of Her Majesty's Circuit Judges since 1987. The opinions expressed in this article are purely personal to the author and should not be attributed to any other member of the judiciary.     

刍论中国脑死亡立法

＂脑死亡＂立法属于科技含量高,人权及伦理学混杂的法律进程。全文对脑死亡立法作了理论基础分析,对脑死亡立法的必要性,目前面临的主要问题作了探讨,提出对脑死亡立法的建议。     

遗传资源获取管制和惠益分享制度的立法模式选择

建立遗传资源的获取管制和惠益分享法律制度是我国目前环境立法中的一个重要课题,如何确定立法模式、规范遗传资源的获取途径及惠益分享条件和内容是难点.制定以专门立法为主、修改既有法律为辅的双层立法模式体系,并对其中的主管机构、遗传资源的获取步骤、惠益分享等制度提出具体安排,是解决这个问题的有益尝试.     

The Commandments from Mount Laurel: New Route to the Unpromised Land

Among those who would reform land use controls to achieve greater equity in urban development there has existed some disagreement between advocates of litigative and legislative approaches. The latter have looked to the Massachusetts Zoning Appeals Law, the A.L.I. Model Land Development Code, statutorily mandated housing planning, revisions of zoning enabling legislation or some variant of these, as the best way to the unpromised land. They have also noted that after almost a decade of litigation in which many victories were won for specific clients, litigators have little to show in the way of housing actually provided; although the educational impact of the case law on federal legislation and other legislative proposals has been significant.     

农村集体土地征收的法理反思与制度重构

我国农村集体土地征收的立法现状遇到一系列经济、社会问题的质问。改革并完善集体土地征收制度,应当在"抑公扬私"立法理念的指导下,在坚持协调发展原则和集体成员参与原则的基础上,系统考量公共利益、补偿标准、征收程序等立法内容。尤其是,在强化集体经济组织法律地位和个体成员权、全面落实集体土地确权发证的前提下,应注重从所有权和用益物权两个层面,完善耕地、宅基地、集体建设用地乃至自留地、自留山的分类征收及其补偿机制。应强调从立法和司法实践两个视角,重新审视农民集体的土地补偿款分配自治权,重构土地补偿款分配纠纷的司法救济机制,切实维护集体土地所有权人和用益物权人的征收利益。     

关于无罪推定的文本表述

我国《刑事诉讼法》第12条的表述是故意歪曲《关于〈中华人民共和国刑事诉讼法修正案（草案）〉的说明》之意图而形成的，草案明明限定了“进一步保障诉讼参与人的权利”的目的，但是学术界却要强迫人们接受它为“法院统一定罪权”原则，从而把“人权”条款变成“公权”设置条款。这种法律现象可以从1789年以来无罪推定文本表述的变化规律（某种蜕变模式）得到解释。令人忧虑的是，纷纷推出的无罪推定文本建议又因为ICCPR中法文本与英俄西文本的冲突，而在“确定有罪”与“证实有罪”之间选择了较差的表述。为此，发现IC—CPR文本的冲突解决方法与借鉴俄罗斯国内法文本的先进经验，对于改善未来刑事诉讼法的无罪推定立法表述都有积极的比较法意义。。