On Collective Actions. Some Remarks on the Theory of Legal Actions

In this paper the author deals with collegial judicial decisions as a form of human action. The scope is, however, limited to three questions: (1) What is the structure and the status of the general theory of action; (2) Is this theory applicable to such performative acts as judicial decisions; and finally, (3) Is it possible to speak about action in connection with collective agents such as collegial courts? The author defends the thesis that general theory of action as such is applicable to collective action, too, because the difficulty is not in the structure of that theory, or in its “individual character,” but specifically in the notion of “collective will.” This kind of “will” is epistemologically always a result of a political procedure, and speaking about the “collective will” presupposes the analysis of these procedures, because in practice they and only they formulate “collective motives,”“collective beliefs” and the like.     

Legitimacy of Authority and Protest Actions in Response to Collective Disadvantages

Social Justice Research - A wealth of evidence has demonstrated that individuals’ participation in collective actions largely derives from perceived group disadvantages. In the present...     

Hobbes and the Legitimacy of Law

Legal positivism dominates in the debate between it and naturallaw, but close attention to the work of Thomas Hobbes – the``founder' of the positivist tradition – reveals a version ofanti-positivism with the potential to change the contours of thatdebate. Hobbes's account of law ties law to legitimacy throughthe legal constraints of the rule of law. Legal order isessential to maintaining the order of civil society; and theinstitutions of legal order are structured in such a way thatgovernment in accordance with the rule of law is intrinsicallylegitimate.I focus on Hobbes's neglected catalogue of the laws of nature.Only the first group gets much attention. Its function is tofacilitate exit from the state of nature, an exit which Hobbesseems to make impossible. The second group sets out the moralpsychology of both legislators and subjects necessary to sustaina properly functioning legal order. The third sets out the formalinstitutional requirements of such an order. The second and thirdgroups show Hobbes not concerned with solving an insolubleproblem of exit from the state of nature but with theconstruction of legitimate order. Because a sovereign is bydefinition one who governs through law, Hobbes's absolutism isconstrained. Government in accordance with the rule of law isgovernment subject to the moral constraints of the institutionsof legal order.     

Hobbes on Political Authority,Practical Reason and Truth

The role of sovereign authority in Hobbes' political philosophy is to establish peace and stability by serving as a definitive and unambiguous source of law. Although these broad outlines of Hobbes' account of political authority are uncontentious, matters quickly become more complicated once one seeks its normative basis. This much is evident from recent debates on the normative status of the laws of nature and the related issue as to whether Hobbes is better categorised as an incipient legal positivist or as a heterodox natural law thinker. In this paper I argue that although the positivist and natural law commitments in Hobbes' theory of political authority can be partially reconciled, such a reconciliation points to the need for more substantive theories of practical reason and truth than are to be found in Hobbes' official statements on these topics. Section II examines the positivist and natural law dimensions in Hobbes' thought and suggests that the role of sovereign authority in providing the definitive interpretation of the laws of nature allows a partial reconciliation to be effected. In section III, I consider the tension between this reconciliation and Hobbes' instrumentalism about practical reason and equivocal separation of authority and truth.     

Thomas Hobbes and the philosophy of punishment

In this article I argue for a full appraisal of Hobbes's theory of punishment which takes account of its divergent and contradictory aspects. Examining his theory within the general context of his position in Leviathan, it is possible to see its centrality for the subsequent development of the modern philosophy of punishment. From this point of view, it is also possible to pinpoint the source of a central weakness in the retributive theory of punishment.     

Hegel, Human Rights, and Particularism

Hegel's political philosophy gives prominence to the theme that human beings have a need for recognition of those qualities, characteristics, and attributes that make them distinctive. Hegel thus speaks to the question whether human rights law should recognize and accommodate the nuances of individual make-up. Likewise, he speaks to the question whether human rights law should be applied in ways that are sensitive to the cultural contexts in which it operates. But Hegel's political philosophy evaluates norms and practices within particular cultures by reference to the higher-order and universal criterion of abstract right. In light of this point and the inadequacies of political philosophy that privileges local norms and practices, a third approach to the protection of human rights is canvassed. This approach prioritizes neither universal nor local norms. Its aim is to ensure that both human rights and the cultures in which they are applied are taken seriously.     

Staging Power: Marx, Hobbes and the Personification of Capital

This article raises questions about the nature and status of the persona behind which contemporary capital operates. It does so by developing Marx's comments on personification in a very different direction to that intended by him, taking them, via Hobbes, into the deeper recesses of company law. The argument that develops is that modern law has facilitated the mechanism by which capital dominates civil society, an argument illustrated through the veil of the corporate persona worn by capital. The rhetorical trope around which the argument is organized is the stage of power; the barely-mentioned backdrop is the possibility of real resistance to corporate power; the broader intention is to help develop the Marxist theory of law. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Mr Hobbes Goes to Australia: Law,Politics and Difference

Using current conservative discourses about the nation state in Australia as an example,the paper notices how the image of the (male-sexed) body is used to enhance theauthority of the same (white ``neutral' agents of largely foreign capital)against the claims of difference (non-white refugees, women, Aboriginal people).The paper notices that far from protecting minority and difference, as liberalismleads one to expect, the law uses the same body image of itself to repeat theoppression. Legal education inscribes the masculinity of the phallus in thebodies and minds of its students. Other masculinity, the female, the``native' are identified by the law rather than self-identifiedin the law after negotiation with the law.     

Developmental Trajectories and Intentional Actions

The article turns a critical eye on problems arising from use of largesamples and complicated statistics to handle multilevel designs. I arguethat although these have a legitimate role to play in discovering causalrelations, valuable information can be lost or distorted in the processof their use. Exploratory classification and tree diagrams show howtransitional analyses can unpack effects of community, family, priormisbehavior, juvenile delinquency, and incarceration on adult criminalbehavior. The analyses showed that in the worst neighborhoods, disruptivebehavior had little discriminating power with regard to juveniledelinquency or adult crime. They showed also that good family interactionsserve as protection against crime in all types of neighborhoods. ConstructTheory, I suggest, is a way to understand the influences that seem toproduce criminal behavior.     

跨国公司垄断(限制竞争)行为及反垄断法规制分析

跨国公司来华投资一方面促进了我国经济的发展,另一方面也形成了垄断(限制竞争)行为,损害了消费者、企业与国家利益。本文分析了跨国公司在中国垄断的具体表现、危害、原因与我国现行相关立法状况,在此基础上提出了反垄断法应从知识产权滥用的禁止,外资并购的申报、审批、登记和审查制度,重要行业集中度的定期评估制度,独立调查机构的设置以及反垄断法的域外效力问题等方面对其加以规制的立法构想。     

论劳动规章制度集体协商——以杭州市工资集体协商为视角

集体协商制度是协调劳动者与雇主之间利益,维护劳动者合法权益的重要机制,其在我国的产生和发展已成为趋势。经过多年的探索和实践,尽管我国的工资集体协商制度已初见成效但也存在诸多问题。因此,规范企业的劳动规章制度并实现劳动者意思参与,可以尝试在企业内部实行劳动规章集体谈判制度。     

取消农业税合乎平等原则吗——兼论对优惠措施的合宪性审查

2005年12月29日,第十届全国人民代表大会常务委员会第十九次会议决定废止《中华人民共和国农业税条例》。此后,农业生产者的纳税义务即被免除。其实这种取消农业税的措施,在宪法理论上可以被称为"优惠措施"。如果从宪法学的角度看,作为一项抽象性的立法决定,取消农业税的惠农措施并不一定具有合宪性;因为作为一项针对特定主体的优惠,对于其他主体可能会产生不平等,从而有违宪法上的平等原则。但是否违反平等原则,却是需要通过宪法上特定的审查标准;只有通过这种检验,优惠措施才能获得那种可通过违宪审查的宪法正当性。     

透视专利权不侵权确认之诉

专利权不侵权确认之诉作为一种新型的专利诉讼,其形成原因与专利权的特征和专利诉讼的特性有关.专利权不侵权确认之诉是知识产权异化的治理方案之一,是权利保护与限制的互动,是法益均衡的专利法精神的彰显.主要从形成原因及制度价值、诉权要件、举证责任分配及原告的防御手段等方面透视专利权不侵权确认之诉.     

集体土地所有权的检讨及物权法上的制度重构——对《物权法(草案)》相关条款的评析

我国法律对集体土地所有权的权属规定不明确,集体土地所有权权能不完全,现实生活中存在很多弊端,因而要改革、完善农村集体土地所有权制度,赋予集体土地以一个明确的所有权主体。我国未来的物权法应当在承认农村土地集体所有的基础上,取消土地承包经营权的制度设计,构建农地使用权制度。     

证明商标与集体商标之比较

根据2001年10月27日第九届全国人民代表大会常务委员会第二十四次会议《关于修改(中华人民共和国商标法)的决定》,证明商标,是指由对某种商品或者服务具有监督能力的组织所控制,而由该组织以外的单位或者个人使用于其商品或者服务,用以证明该商品或者服务的原产地、原料、制造方法、质量或者其他特定品质的     

"集体行动"与"人的联合"——以集会、游行为核心的分析

集体行动是在一定的法律框架之下,由聚合的人们进行的一种群体行为.集体行动有利于弥补代议制度的不足,畅通民意的表达渠道,并提供产生社会影响的公共论坛.在人权的意义上,集体行动表达了"不平则鸣"的人性诉求,有利于成熟人的心智,并避免个人怯于公开表达的心理障碍,为人们的政治历炼提供了契机."共同目标"与"一致行动"体现了集体行动的内在、外在价值,正是通过这些价值的展现,人的联合在集体行动中得以有序的进行.