Control of Unfair Terms Under Cypriot Contract Law

Liverpool Law Review - The introduction of the EU Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Directive in the legal system of Cyprus was the first instrument specifically dealing with the problems that...     

对宪法修正案的若干私法解读

按照宪法作为最高效力的法规范 ,私法所规定的财产关系和人身关系都要遵守宪法的内容 ,尤其是充分体现基于主体自由和主体平等的宪法原理。私法主体平等和给与平等主体的财产权以对等的尊重是私法对宪法提出的基本要求。     

德国当代私法体系变迁中的消费者法——以欧盟法为背景

2002年,作为《德国民法典》核心的债法编,在施行了100多年之后,经历了一次极具深度的现代化改革。其中,消费者法扮演了十分重要的角色。一方面,近数十年来出台的大部分消费者单行法,被融入了民法典;另一方面,私法上最重要的消费者保护手段,即消费者撤回权制度,在民法典中得到了     

反不正当竞争中知识产权私法与公法保护的协调

反不正当竞争中的知识产权保护,涉及到权利人的利益、竞争对手的利益及社会公众的利益等诸多利益形式,其法律手段无外乎两种:公法上的手段--国家制裁和私法上的手段--请求权制度.虽然这两种法律保护手段均统一在维护正当之竞争秩序的价值目标之下,但二者毕竟是以不同的利益关系作为保护的首要目标,因此知识产权的私法保护与国家制裁不可偏废,它们共同构成了市场竞争中知识产权的完整保护.     

行政私法理论在合同制度中的展开——论行政私法合同的内涵、性质与界分

面对行政实践中行政机关和法律、法规授权的组织广泛采用新型合同的情况,原有的行政合同和民事合同理论出现了解释上的困境,有必要借鉴行政私法(行为)的理论创造行政私法合同这一概念。这类合同有其独特的内涵和法律特征。行政私法合同综合了公法与私法的双重因素,是具有行政法、私法双重性质的合同。行政私法合同与行政合同、私法合同之间均存在着界限,亟需探讨此类合同的特殊法律问题。     

宪法学研究范式与宪法学中国化

自托马斯·库恩 196 2年在《科学革命的结构》中提出“范式”概念以后 ,在社会科学的研究中学者们普遍采用了“范式”的概念 ,以寻找研究问题的系统的思考方式与思维框架。库恩认为 ,范式是常规科学所赖以运作和成立的理论基础和实践规范。由于社会现象的复杂性与意识形态性 ,学者们研究某一问题时必然涉及普遍接受和运用的概念、模式、基本的理论框架与研究方法等。宪法学作为社会科学的组成部分 ,在理论研究与实践发展过程中也需要确立共同的“研究范式” ,以保持宪法学理论基础和实践规范的统一。从一般意义上宪法学研究范式涉及本体论、…     

Jurisdiction for Consumer Contracts: European Union: Modified Rules of Jurisdiction for Electronic Consumer Contracts

The Brussels Convention on Jurisdiction and the Recognition of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters (the Brussels Convention) is to be replaced in 2002 by a Community Instrument: The Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (the Regulation).¹ The Regulation is an important measure approved by the European Union to simplify rules of jurisdiction and recognition of judgments for the benefit of the Internal Market. Amongst other matters, the Regulation updates existing jurisdiction rules for a consumer contracts. The rules for consumer contracts apply where a consumer and a business are domiciled in a Member State or the business has a:“branch, agency or other establishment” in a Member State. Importantly, the Regulation clarifies jurisdiction rules for consumer contracts conducted over the World Wide Web (WWW). These rules are to be welcomed, as they provide guidance on what rules of jurisdiction apply to consumer contracts over the Web, albeit that they are limited to where the parties are domiciled in Europe. This article outlines the rules of jurisdiction for consumer contracts provided by the Regulation, and where appropriate, highlights some aspects of the new rules that will possibly require further discussion and clarification by the European Court of Justice once the new rules are in force.     

On the Role of Normative Hierarchies in Constitutional Reasoning: A Survey of Some Paradigmatic Cases

This article examines the role of normative hierarchies in constitutional argumentation. A threefold distinction between formal, material, and axiological hierarchy is employed. The correlative concepts of formal validity, material validity, and applicability are also briefly described. Within this framework, four cases are analysed: Decisions 1146/1988 and 10/2010 of the Italian Constitutional Court, and Kadi I and Opinion 2/2013 of the Court of Justice of the European Union. As a result, it is argued that axiological hierarchies are frequently used to reshape certain fundamental legal arrangements, namely, the hierarchy of sources (Decision 1146/1988 and Kadi), competence clauses (Decision 10/2010), and interpretive methodologies (Opinion 2/13).     

Adjudicating Fear of Witchcraft Claims in Refugee Law

In refugee applications involving witchcraft‐related violence (WRV), those accused of witchcraft are largely women, and those fearing witchcraft are more often men. This is one of two interrelated articles reporting on cases where claimants feared harm from witchcraft or occult practices. It argues that WRV is a manifestation of gender‐related harm, one which exposes major failings in the application of refugee jurisprudence. Systemic inattention to the meaning and application of the Convention ground of religion, combined with gender insensitivity in analysis, meant that claims were frequently reconfigured by decision makers as personal grudges. The fear of witchcraft cases pose an acute ontological challenge to refugee status determination, as the claimed harm falls outside what is understood to be objective, verifiable, or Convention‐related. Male applicants struggled to make their claims comprehensible as a result of the feminized and ‘irrational’ characterization of witchcraft fears and beliefs.     

Why Judicial Control of Price Terms in Consumer Contracts Might Not Always Be the Right Answer – Insights from Behavioural Law and Economics

Regulators everywhere are confronted with the question of how to react to contractual pricing structures that serve to hide rather than reveal the real cost of goods and services and thereby abuse limitations in the cognitive competences of consumers. Given that sellers/service providers systematically make use of insights from behavioural sciences to refine their manipulative pricing techniques, regulators should also integrate scientific findings on human decision making to correct behavioural market failures through more tailored policy choices. A holistic approach regarding similar problems is still missing in the EU and the issue is often disguised behind a discussion on unfair terms control, which does not serve the purpose of finding a lasting solution. The aim of this article is twofold: first, to show the weaknesses of an ex post judicial control of pricing techniques, and second, to discuss policy tools which could counterbalance consumer biases on which the techniques rely.     

论宪法对社会经济的调控作用

历史概述 社会和经济问题成为大多数国家宪法的有机组成部分,还是并不久远的事情.近代早期宪法中一般不含社会经济内容,即使提及,也仅限于"财产不受侵犯"范畴.[1]因为在当时社会发展条件下,宪法通常是决定国家与社会在政权形成和职能方面相互关系的文件.     

论避免通过证明责任作出判决的对策

我国民事诉讼朝向当事人主义的改革中,大力强调当事人的举证责任,一定程度上导致法院对争议案件,偏好通过证明责任进行法律推理来作出判决.但是,法律推理以及作为推理之特殊大前提的证明责任,是承载人们解决法律争议的经验和技术的思维形式,证明责任仅在法院解决纠纷不得已时才适用.证明责任并不必然由持有证明手段的当事人来承担,在事实真伪不明场合,法院借助证明责任作出判决则有可能与事实真相不符,产生不符合具体正义的情形.鉴此,文章结合国内外理论和司法实践,有针对地就避免通过证明责任作出判决之法律技术上的对策,进行讨论,并提出观点.     

Promoting Human Rights within the Union: The Role of European Private International Law

Abstract:  This article aims to contribute both to the 'Refgov' project, which is focused on the ambition to find ways of promoting human rights within the EU, but also, more in general and apart from the project, to an improved understanding of the crucial place conflict of law rules occupy in the building of a common Europe—a highly political question behind apparently technical issues. In the study the author deals with the parameters, points of interest, etc in relation to private international law which should be heeded if European Member States 'look at' each other's laws, and—in the context of the 'Refgov' project—if the idea is to exchange 'best practices' or harmonise substantive law, or to harmonise private international law, etc further through a type of open method of coordination. The contribution also shows that private international law issues are decisive in respect of every evaluation of the impact of European integration on human rights, both if this integration process takes place through 'negative' harmonisation (for example by falling back on the principle of mutual recognition) and through 'positive' harmonisation.