欧盟侵权冲突法一般规则的新发展及对我国的启示

《欧盟非合同之债法律适用条例》是欧共体内部的立法,旨在让成员国达成统一的债务法律私用体制。本文分析了其一般规则的新发展及其对我国的启示。     

墨西哥湾溢油事件之法律透视

墨西哥湾溢油事件的处置主要适用以1990年美国《油污法》为核心的油污责任法律体系。相较美国过去的相关立法和现行国际油污损害民事责任制度,以《油污法》为核心的美国现行油污责任法律体系不仅极大地扩展了油污损害的赔偿范围,而且还规定了高得多的责任限额。根据美国油污责任法律体系,英国石油公司可能不仅要支付油污清理费用和范围广泛的各种损害赔偿金,而且还将面临各种刑事处罚与民事处罚。鉴于《油污法》为责任限制条款的启动规定了苛刻的条件,英国石油公司享受责任限制将极其困难。     

努力推动地方立法工作迈上新台阶

自2015年12月获准行使地方立法权以来,湘潭市人大常委会高度重视立法工作,立足全市实际,着力提高立法质量,已制定出台5部地方性法规:《湘潭市城市市容和环境卫生饩理条例》《湘潭市历史建筑和历史文化街区保护条例》《湘潭市人民代表大会及其常务委员会制定地方性法规条例》《湘潭市城市绿化条例》《湘潭市爱国P.生条例》,较好发挥立法的引领和推动作用,努力为全市经济社会发展提供有力的法制保障。     

欧洲公司法一体化的困境与前景分析：以欧盟有限责任公司法的立法过程为例

在欧盟层面统一公司法是欧盟多年来的目标。欧盟中小企业在选择内控工具与构建企业法律形式上遇到了法律缺失、费用巨大等障碍。欧盟有限责任公司为满足中小企业在欧盟内的运作设计,它将建构统一的法律框架,但欧洲公司法一体化的实现仍然面临着许多障碍,这也尤其体现在欧盟有限责任公司法的立法过程中,不仅在创设新的公司结构时,协调与统一的过程特别艰难,而且各国在许多问题上难以达成统一的意见,但欧洲公司法一体化的过程始终得到了欧盟立法者与欧洲法院的支持。欧盟有限责任公司法的产生将开启欧盟层面公司法一体化的新一轮进程。     

《欧盟个人数据保护通用条例》及其在德国的调适评析

大数据时代,各国都在寻求更加有效的个人数据保护方式。欧盟出台的《个人数据保护通用条例》,效果却差强人意。尽管立法者扩大了适用范围、加强了同意原则、增设了被遗忘权和个人数据可携带权,但对新信息技术应用方式的忽略依然导致了立法上的因循守旧,内容的具体程度也未达标。德国制定的《欧盟个人数据保护通用条例适应法及刑事司法领域个人数据保护指令转化法》虽然对条例进行了具体化,但在应对信息技术方面同样乏善可陈。是否以及如何对新的信息技术做出回应,是个人数据保护法律成功与否的关键。此外,对《欧盟个人数据保护通用条例》的评析也能为我国酝酿中的个人数据保护法带来一些新的思考。     

欧盟国际私法的新发展:权能扩张与欧洲化

自《阿姆斯特丹条约》欧共体获得在民事司法合作领域的权能以来,欧盟国际私法发生了巨大变化,到《里斯本条约》生效时欧盟已在民事司法合作领域通过了约30项立法措施。欧盟民事司法合作的发展,或可称为欧盟国际私法的欧洲化,它一方面表现为欧盟在民事司法合作领域的立法措施不仅包括管辖权、法律适用和判决的承认与执行,而且逐步走向成员国涉外民事程序规则的趋同;另一方面,在国际私法规则越来越注重实体价值之时,欧盟法原则对国际私法的渗透加剧了这种倾向。     

欧盟反跨境补贴措施法律问题审思

跨境补贴具有资本流动的跨国性,包含跨境贸易补贴与跨境投资补贴两个方面。在跨境贸易补贴方面,欧盟反补贴实践引发相关法律问题,一是欧盟委员会引用《国家责任条款草案》第11条将中国政府的财政资助行为归于埃及政府所为的适当性,二是《补贴与反补贴措施协定》的可适用性。与此同时,在跨境投资补贴方面,欧盟立法动向引发的法律问题在于,《外国补贴条例》的适用是否会导致欧盟违反其缔结投资协定中的最惠国待遇和国民待遇义务。对于欧盟反跨境贸易补贴措施,在中国企业寻求自身救济的同时,中国政府可推动制定规制跨境贸易补贴与反补贴措施的多边和/或区域规则。对于欧盟反跨境投资补贴措施,中国应与欧盟充分交换意见,同时加强补贴合规自查,并基于竞争中立原则完善补贴的国内审查制度。     

《美菲共同防御条约》的适用范围问题再分析

美菲两国在《美菲共同防御条约》的适用范围问题上长期存在分歧。在特朗普政府之前，美国为实现其总体的对外政策目标，在该条约是否适用于南海的问题上刻意保持模糊性，没有明确宣布该条约适用于南海，同时美国拒绝将菲律宾提出主权要求的南海争议岛礁纳入该条约的适用范围。特朗普上任之后，随着美国的对华战略和南海政策发生重大改变，特朗普政府不仅明确宣布《美菲共同防御条约》适用于南海地区，而且试图把中国的两个岛礁美济礁和仁爱礁也变相纳入《美菲共同防御条约》的适用范围。特朗普政府的这种政策调整被拜登政府继承。美国在《美菲共同防御条约》适用范围问题上的政策调整严重损害了中国的利益，威胁了南海地区的和平与稳定。中国须对此保持高度警惕。     

欧洲的权利经济转型——基于对欧洲公司可持续性尽责法的考察

通过将人权和环境等可持续发展目标嵌入公司治理和供应链管理,欧洲公司可持续性尽责法势必推动欧洲的权利经济转型——从公司社会责任到强制性公司尽责义务。人权和环境不仅是欧洲社会市场经济的保护对象,还将成为市场经济运行的基本要素。权利经济的转型根植于欧洲价值观,将推动形成人权和环境等可持续发展目标的全新落实方式和执行机制。作为欧洲权利经济转型的法律框架,欧洲公司尽责法面临欧盟法的合法性关切,以及与欧盟法基本原则的不兼容风险,这将影响法律的实施效果。同时,欧洲公司尽责法将对第三国行为体施加域外效应,并在民事问责实践中进一步加剧司法管辖权积极冲突。对此,中国应以开放性态度继续参与国际工商业与人权立法,适时完善中国式的公司尽责法律体系,并补足应对外国法域外效应的法律工具箱。这将有助于中国积极应对欧洲公司尽责法潜在影响,并助力中国式现代化和经济社会的全面高质量发展。     

个人数据跨境传输的欧盟标准——规则建构、司法推动与范式扩张

个人数据保护标准是欧盟基本权利保护的制度体现。欧盟数据跨境传输规则和欧洲法院司法监管均以实现欧盟个人数据保护标准为要旨。数据传输的一般原则是针对出境数据的永久最低保护标准,充分性决定和标准数据保护条款是欧盟贯彻个人数据保护标准的法律工具。前者整体适用于特定国家,后者个别适用于特定商事主体,欧洲法院司法审查旨在实现对数据流动的全球监管。中国数据立法须全面研判欧盟数据保护立法模式的潜在风险,谨慎对待充分性决定、标准数据保护条款等具有欧盟特色的复杂法律工具,摆脱法律移植欧陆成文法的历史惯性,避免盲目借鉴《一般数据保护条例》而落入欧洲法院司法审查的长臂管辖。数据流动立法应全盘统筹个人数据与非个人数据流动立法方案,探寻价值中立规则以提供法律趋同新思路,引领数据立法的全球竞争。     

欧洲环境法的法典化运动及其启示

20世纪80年代末欧洲国家针对发展迅速的环境立法中出现的冲突和重叠开始进行重组,重组的一个基本特征就是环境法的法典化。环境法法典化的最主要目的是对环境法进行简约化和系统化。由于立法传统和理念的不同,环境法法典化采用了不同体例,但总的来说,法典化提高了环境立法的质量和内在协调一致性,全面重视各类环境问题,从整体上促进了对环境的保护。     

欧洲的国家豁免立法与实践——兼及对中国相关立场与实践的反思

近代国际法的发展以欧洲大陆为中心展开,最早有关国家豁免的实践来自欧洲,国家豁免的两大理论发展———绝对豁免论和限制豁免论也先后起源于欧洲。二战后至今,尽管英国、法国、德国为代表的欧洲国家有关国家豁免的立法和实践尚未统一,但《欧洲国家豁免公约》、《联合国国家及其财产管辖公约》以及欧洲人权法院的实践为各成员国规则和实践的统一提供了规则基础和方法论。欧洲大陆正在形成一种区域性的国家豁免政策。中国作为参与世界经济交往的重要国家,不能脱离于上述理论与实践发展之外。绝对坚持绝对豁免论不利于中国国家利益和国家财产的保护,可在理论上适当采纳限制豁免论,实践中发展国家豁免例外的规则。     

The legal notion of nationality in the Turkish Republic: from Ottoman legacy to modern aberrations

Shortly after its emergence, the Turkish Republic adopted legislation inspired by European legal systems and traditions, including a law on nationality. The implementation of this law was affected by the staunchly nationalistic early republican policies which were not immune from the influence of the concept of ‘race’, as well as by the Ottoman legal conceptions on nationality based on religion, both of which guided the application of the new laws by the judiciary and the administration. This article proposes a critical legal approach to the issue of Turkish nationality, based on historical reflections. After a survey on the laws on nationality since the foundation of the Republic, it addresses the major confusions in connection with the concept of nationality in the light of textbooks from the relevant period, in order to observe, in conclusion, inherent and insolvable inconsistencies within the law, and a tenacious survival of Ottoman conceptions within the current law on nationality, especially with regard to religious minorities, which are assimilated to dhimmis in the legal subconscious and often equated to foreigners in practice.     

Strengthening the Legitimacy of Representative Democracy: Public Participation,Bipartisan Floor Bills and Plenary Deliberations in the Japanese Diet

It is argued that parliamentary legislation in Japan has become the almost exclusive playing field of the bureaucracy, who acts on behalf of the executive, and party councils. Moreover bureaucrats bypass the legislative Diet process by making rules themselves. This is problematic because it is the lawmakers who are directly held accountable by voters for the enacted legislation risking to be eventually voted out of office. It is suggested that under the given circumstances of strict party discipline, drafting of bills by the bureaucracy and endorsement by party councils, the formal majority rule alone is not sufficient to justify legislative outcomes. The legitimacy factor is introduced to verify in how far individual lawmakers are enabled to initiate and draft floor bills by themselves, discuss bill contents in plenary deliberations and get the public opinion involved. The article attempts to demonstrate that bipartisan floor bills reflect the quest for parliamentary legitimacy and equality among lawmakers across party boundaries. It is suggested that the more legislators participate in drafting and discussing a bill the more legitimate the outcome becomes. The paper screens to this effect several bipartisan bills submitted to the Diet of Japan. Bills such as the NPO law, the law to ratify the Rome Statute for the accession to the ICC, the law to prevent suicide and the law to implement internet filters to protect children are the result of cooperation among lawmakers trying to constrain the interference of the executive or of the powerful bureaucracy. The participation of non-parliamentary agents taking an active part in the legislative process has enhanced the dynamics of representative democracy as well. In the decades of radical ideological confrontation in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s the majority rule risked to become an instrument of coercion. The opposition was compelled to resort to anti-parliamentary obstructionist tactics to derail majority legislation that was rammed through parliament without sufficient plenary deliberation and without taking into account the concerns or viewpoints of the minority. Obstructionism decreased with the LDP co-optation of opposition parties to government responsibility in the 1990s. Opposition for the sake of opposition (communists, DPJ until 2006) and governing for the sake of governing (SDPJ, Komei) have not been honored by the voters. After 2007 the DPJ started to refocus its policies more on ideological differentiation and managed to beat the LDP in the 2009 elections. Recently the work of the Diet has been increasingly put under the scrutiny of international NGOs and legislatures abroad. The unresolved controversial comfort women issue suggests that omission to pass appropriate and timely reconciliatory legislation can cause a serious loss of parliamentary institutional esteem and respect.     

Estonian views of collective action and democracy

After a debate lasting several years, Estonia enacted a law of non-territorial cultural autonomy for national minorities in 1993, echoing experiences from the country’s previous period of independence. In international discussion, the law was initially cited as a promising way of dealing with minority issues in Central and Eastern Europe. With time, however, its applicability in contemporary Estonia has been questioned; in practice, the law has failed to be implemented. This paper inspects possible reasons for its disuse, and argues that the law could still play a role in Estonia’s minority policies, especially with regard to education. The paper is based on an analysis of legislation, parliamentary records and media.     

Is a Federal European Constitution for an Enlarged European Union Necessary? Some Preliminary Suggestions using Public Choice Analysis

In order to guarantee a further successful functioning of the enlarged European Union a Federal European Constitution is proposed. Six basic elements of a future European federal constitution are developed: the European commission should be turned into a European government and the European legislation should consist of a two chamber system with full responsibility over all federal items. Three further key elements are the subsidiarity principle, federalism and the secession right, which are best suited to limiting the domain of the central European authority to which certain tasks are given, such as defense, foreign and environmental policy. Another important feature is direct democracy, which provides the possibility for European voters to participate actively in political decision making, to break political and interest group cartels, and to prevent an unwanted shifting of responsibilities from EU member states to the European federal level.     

日本反垄断法私人实施制度及其对中国的启示

反垄断法私人实施是法律实施的具体延伸和专业发展。日本反垄断法私人实施的立法与实践历经了逐步完善的发展过程,其具体内容表征了鲜明的日本国法律特征。日本私人主体实施反垄断法的权责义务进一步明确、竞争政策目标确实得以维护、实施效率逐步得以提升,其对中国反垄断法私人实施制度的完善提供了重要启示。     

论欧盟法的性质及其对现代国际法的贡献

包括建立欧盟的国际条约、欧盟自己制定的各项立法以及欧盟各国的相关国内法在内的欧盟法是现代国际法发展的突出表现,这种发展不仅表现在欧盟法扩大了现代国际法的调整范围,还表现在欧盟法在国际法和国内法的转化机制上创设了一种"自动"模式。通过这种自动的转化机制,将欧盟由一个国际组织渐次演变成一个统一的"国家"。欧盟法对现代国际法的贡献必将对国际法发展的历程产生重要影响。     

Hostile Receptions: Dilemmas of Democracy, Legitimacy and Supranational Law

The increasing resonance of international humanitarian law in the domestic sphere, primarily through the implementation of treaty obligations in domestic legislation, gives international law a relevance to local communities never before seen. Whilst the effects of this phenomenon defy generalisation in Australia today, it is possible to discern a range of responses from indignation at the overarching reach of international law to the domestic space, to vindication of historical claims of mistreatment at the hands of colonial oppressors. Recent shifts in Commonwealth legislation and policy have sparked debate on whether the federal government has breached its international obligations. Notwithstanding the importance and currency of this question, and irrespective of one's views on it, there is a broader issue raised by the question, which is more amenable to academic investigation. It may be framed in the following terms. How can, and should, the ideal of democratic control of legislation and the legal system generally be reconciled with the development of an autonomous international legal system? The article will approach this question from a comparative perspective, drawing on legal and political developments in the EU and Australia. It seeks to justify a comparative analysis on the basis that Australia (an established federation) and the EU (an emerging federation) are both dealing with issues of reception of supranational law within domestic systems. It concludes that there is a need to reaffirm the legitimacy of supranational law both as an expression of national sovereignty and as an outcome of rational discourse — i.e. it has come into being with right process and is considered binding.     

The Emergence of the Idea of ‘International Law’ in the Ottoman Empire before the Treaty of Paris (1856)

The literature on the Ottoman Empire's position in the European states system generally considers the Treaty of Paris as a landmark event for the European states’ recognition of the Ottoman participation in the European concert and the advantages of European international law. This article argues that this consideration overestimates the impact of the Treaty of Paris and reveals that before 1856, the Ottoman Empire was a part of the European states system and was subject to European international law both in terms of treaty-making practices and in the utilization of European customary law. Moreover, the article argues that the Ottomans were interested in the concept of international law before the Treaty of Paris. The existence of archival documents on Ottoman dealings with the European states and the publication of two translations from the European international law treatises before the Treaty of Paris indicate that the Ottomans interest in international law was to ensure the survival of the empire.