The Neighbor who Shares your Apartment: A Discussion

Note by editors of Sotsialisticheskaia zakonnost': Professor A. Ushakov's article poses sharply the inadequacy of the present legislation on exchange of dwelling space. Often an exchange of dwelling space worsens the housing conditions of the neighbors sharing a communal apartment and produces overcrowding. And this is sometimes justified by citing the law and the instructions issued by ministries of municipal services of the union republics. To engage in such a practice means to infringe on citizens' rights to housing.     

“特别权力关系”理论与中国的行政立法——以《行政诉讼法》、《国家公务员法》为例

起源于19世纪德国的“特别权力关系”理论在我国的行政法学界还非常陌生。从行政法学史的视野,研究这一理论无疑仍有意义,但如果将这种理论视作与我国当今的行政立法,特别是《行政诉讼法》和《公务员法》有联系,甚至是这些行政立法的基础,那绝对是部分学者的误会。当今中国的行政立法与这一理论没有关系,这才是它与中国行政立法之间真正的“关系”。奉行“依法治国”的中国已与形成这一理论时的德国背景大不相同,中国已无必要引进这一“过时”的理论。《行政诉讼法》和《公务员法》的修改方向也与“特别权力关系”理论没有联系,有关修改中的棘手问题完全可以在我国现行的行政法制中绕开“特别权力关系”理论而得到解决。文章最后对《行政诉讼法》和《公务员法》的修改方向提出了自己的想法。     

Islam,Politics, and the Security of Central Asia

The editors of Novyi mir [New World] received many hundreds of letters following publication of the article "Advances and Debts" [Avansy i dolgi].* Roughly nine-tenths of them supported the author's positions; one-tenth were partially or entirely opposed. Many of the letters raised very acute issues and serious problems concerning perestroika [restructuring] which require the most painstaking reflection and discussion. The editors have accordingly called upon N. Shmelev to share with the readers his thoughts upon reading the mail received in response to his article.     

On Improving the Legislation on Territorial and Regional Soviets of Working People's Deputies

The Report of the Central Committee of the CPSU to the Twenty-fifth Party Congress advanced the proposal of adopting laws to define the jurisdiction of territorial [krai], regional [oblast'], and area [okrug] soviets of working people's deputies. This proposal was adopted unanimously by the delegates to the congress. In the course of the work begun to draft these laws, which will define the content and form of activity at the present stage of the building of communism of such an important link in the system of soviets as the regional and territorial soviets, many questions have arisen demanding profound and comprehensive scientific study. In this connection the editors invite legal scholars and practical workers to share in the pages of the journal the results of their research and generalizations from the experience of the work of the soviets and from application of the prevailing legislation, and to express judgments, proposals, and recommendations on the paths to be followed in improving the legislation on territorial, regional, and area soviets.     

Once more with ‘sympathy’ but no resolution for intended mothers: the EU,Ireland and the surrogacy dilemma

This article examines the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Z v A Government Department and the Board of Management of a Community School and the court’s interpretation of existing EU legislation on whether commissioning or intended mothers are entitled to paid leave equivalent to maternity benefit. It highlights the failure of the CJEU in this case to call for specific EU legislation on the issue of surrogacy. The Irish Courts have been more proactive in this regard. The Supreme Court has acknowledged that ‘pending the introduction … of legislation dealing with this field, it is … not for the courts to attempt to resolve the complex questions that need to be addressed’. This article compares recent decisions of the Irish Courts to that of the CJEU as they struggle to keep abreast with modern society in the absence of legislation at national and EU level.     

The Future of the West

From the editors of Kommunist: The editors publish Academician T. Zaslavskaia's article with the request that the readers participate in the discussion of little-investigated, debatable problems examined by the author and that they send in their articles, letters, and ideas, which we will publish in a new section of the journal: "Debates and Discussions."     

Pressing Problems in Improving the Legislation on Administrative Responsibility

In publishing this and other articles on improving the legislation on administrative responsibility, the editors seek to familiarize their readers with the problems arising in generalizing the experience in applying the decree of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet, "On Further Limitation of the Imposition of Fines by Administrative Procedure," of June 21, 1961, and the decrees of the presidiums of the supreme soviets of the union republics adopted in accordance therewith, and also to be of aid in improving the legal acts prevailing in this field.     

论我国驰名商标司法认定中"驰名"的界限

鉴于我国驰名商标司法认定制度对驰名商标"驰名"界限的立法缺陷,在分析我国现行驰名商标行政认定制度中有关驰名商标"驰名"界限的基础上,综合考察了国际上有关驰名商标司法认定制度的发展趋势,对我国驰名商标司法认定中"驰名"界限所涉及的四个参数即"驰名"的基准点、"公众"范围、"知晓"广度和"声誉"程度作了讨论,以为今后我国驰名商标司法认定的制度构建和司法实践提供参考。     

The Problem of Extraterrestrial Civilizations and "Metalaw"

Note from the editors of Sovetskoe gosudarstvo i pravo: We continue here publication of writers' comments on the problem of protecting authors' rights and legal interests begun in no. 11 of 1982.     

The future of public health law

Developments in medicine and constitutional law dictate modification of public health legislation in the United States. Traditionally overlooked by legislators, present public health laws provide inadequate decision-making criteria and inappropriate procedures for dealing with issues. Revised legislation should provide health care officials and agencies with the tools to balance individual rights against public health necessities. This Article makes four recommendations for legislative reform: (1) remove artificial legislative distinction between venereal and other communicable diseases; (2) provide criteria defining "public health necessity" to limit discretionary exercise of police power by health officials; (3) provide strong confidentiality protections in the collection and storage of public health information; (4) empower public health officials to select from a graded series of less restrictive alternatives in dealing with public health problems.     

公司相互持股的法律问题探讨

两个或两个以上的公司,基于某种特定目的,互相持有对方公司发行的股份,称之为公司法人之间的相互持股。公司相互持股虽然在某种程度上可以促进规模经济的发展,但是它也会给现行法律带来许多制度构架和适用上的问题,涉及到公司法、证券法、反垄断法、税法、会计等诸多方面。世界各国或地区的法律大都对公司相互持股有所规制,以期尽可能减少公司相互持股对经济发展和法律制度的不利影响,而发挥其有利的一面。本文通过对我国现行立法的检讨,提出了对我国公司相互持股的立法完善之构思。     

Technology transfer legislation: An overview

This article provides an overview of the Federal legislation on technology transfer beginning with the Bayh-Dole and Stevenson-Wydler acts of 1980 and ending with the 1987 Executive Order, “Facilitating Access to Science and Technology.” The legislation and Executive Order provide the context for Federal laboratory technology transfer activities. The article covers the historic development of transfer legislation, the authorities given to laboratories, incentives for technology transfer provided by legislation, and the mandated duties and responsibilities of ORTAs, organizations, and agencies.     

Vladimir Shapoval: "The CEC Is Destined to Be the Scapegoat"

"The law is harsh, but it is the law"—the well-known ancient Roman saying is entirely suitable as a brief synopsis of the Lb.ua interview with the chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC), Vladimir Shapoval.

"Any electoral legislation, I emphasize, any, will always be 95 percent the product of political expediency. Always. This way gives them an advantage—so be it." This is how he calmly parried my emotional "How can the advantage of the strong be codified in the law (!), and the weak essentially have no chance? What can you do, how can it be?" "All this ‘whining and crying,’ say, the law is this and that in substance, I do not accept it. The laws were adopted—so we will follow them. You cannot get away from it," he added.

It might seem to someone who does not know Vladimir Nikolaevich that the chief vote-counting official is being clever, "covering up" the "distortions" of the authorities "at the local level." He is in fact speaking frankly. The chairman of the Central Election Commission formed on the eve of the 2007 preterm parliamentary elections by a "coalition"—a retired Constitutional Court of Ukraine (CCU) justice, and a doctor of legal sciences who is an active member of the High Council of Justice (HCJ), he can permit himself that. Shapoval contrives to call things by their names: "How the law is written is another matter. And its parts are written abominably," he states bluntly.

In view of this, my discussion with Shapoval—formally tied to the start of a local elections campaign—went far beyond the bounds of a discussion of the legislation on this topic, and even the specifics of the campaign. The more so as I had already discussed this in detail with CEC Deputy Chairman Andrei Magera. Vladimir Nikolaevich, without concealing his indignation, related just what the HCJ is really afraid of (and it turned out it was not at all, or more precisely not only, what they are portraying it to be). Relying on nine years of experience as a CCU justice, he elucidated the risks of the invalidation of the 2004 constitutional reform by the current Constitutional Court—"only those who have face can lose it." Sketching out the situation in the body politic, he summed up, "If the Party of Regions (PoR) does not win the local elections, many questions will arise."     

“正当防卫”四十年:“于欢案”映射刑法第20条的修改

自1979年刑法颁布以来至今已整整四十年,"正当防卫"几经博弈甚至1997年刑法中的重大修改,但运行中仍然暴露出许多问题。尤其是山东"于欢案"的出现与发酵,透射着刑法第20条的亟待修改。通过对该案多层面的分析提出我国刑法中"正当防卫"立法上的一些缺陷与不足,包括对"不法侵害"的解读及修改,"明显超过必要限度"与"造成重大损害"的"绑定"关系,刑法第20条第1、2款"正当防卫"概念的歧义等。指出,"明显超过必要限度"应具有行为上的独立性与条件上的主导性,"造成重大损害的"应修改为"造成不应有重大损害的",建议在"正当防卫"与"防卫过当"之上增设"防卫行为"的上位概念,以厘定相关的刑法规制关系。     

地方餐厨垃圾管理立法之探析

餐厨垃圾管理是我国各大城市共同面临的环境保护问题。地方餐厨垃圾管理立法已经起步,并以较快的速度在发展。但地方餐厨垃圾管理立法在立法目的、立法内容等方面存在缺陷,我国应对此加以完善,并建立餐厨垃圾有偿收集制度、餐厨垃圾管理信息公开制度等各项制度。     

Donor conception legislation in Victoria, Australia: the "Time to Tell" campaign, donor-linking and implications for clinical practice

The State of Victoria in Australia was one of the first jurisdictions in the world to introduce legislation regulating donor conception. Under the Infertility (Medical Procedures) Act 1984 (Vic), donor-conceived people, aged 18 years and over, parents of children under 18 years, and donors gained the right to apply for the release of identifying information about each other recorded in a Central Register. As a result, of this and subsequent legislation, services providing donor treatment were obliged to change clinical practice relating to recruitment of donors, counselling of donors and recipients and recordkeeping. Since this legislation was introduced in 1988, over 5,000 donor-conceived children have been born and in 2006 the first 100 of these children reached the age of 18. The Victorian Infertility Treatment Authority (ITA) conducted a public education campaign to provide information and support to people affected by the legislation. This article describes clinical practice changes prompted by legislation, the 'Time to Tell" campaign and the service model developed for linking parties on the donor registers. The Victorian experience demonstrates that laws allowing the parties involved in donor conception access to information about each other must be accompanied by changes to clinical practice, public education about the implications of the laws, and services to meet the needs of those seeking information relating to donor conception and those contacted as a result.     

Sterilisation of the intellectually disabled: the need for legislative reform

This article examines the recent decision of the Full Court of the Family Court in Re Marion dealing with the question of sterilisation of intellectually disabled minors and in particular, the question of whether a parent or guardian can lawfully consent to a sterilisation operation upon an intellectually disabled minor or whether court approval is required before such an operation can lawfully be performed. The article goes on to critically examine legislation in force in various Australian jurisdictions concerning involuntary sterilisations and substituted consent as well as legislative reforms that have been proposed in this area.     

行政立法与无为而治

“无为而治”的思想如果经过适当地吸收和转换,完全可以作为现代行政管理和行政立法的精神营养。而现代治理中与“无为”精神相通的就是“有限政府”的理念。行政立法的“无为”精神要求行政立法不能越权立法,不能限制基本人权,对非基本人权的限制也必须有法律的授权并且程度适当,不能立自利之法、不公之法、无效益之法和违背自然生态规律之法。在行政立法中实现“无为”精神要求正确处理“无为”与“有为”的关系,要求健全的监督机制和民主化的立法程序。     

“新闻(媒体)侵权”否认说

侵权责任法不应规定"新闻侵权"或"媒体侵权"。依文义分析看,支持"新闻(媒体)侵权"者,既未能明确协调好"新闻(媒体)侵权"与侵害名誉权、侵害隐私权等侵权行为之间的关系,又未能解决好"新闻(媒体)侵权"的特殊性问题;从比较法上看,无论是大陆法系的老法典、新法典,还是比较注重实用和实践经验的美国法,都没有承认"新闻(媒体)侵权";我国的立法与司法解释也从未规定过"新闻(媒体)侵权"。"新闻(媒体)侵权"之所以不被世界各国所采纳,根本原因在于,它与近现代民法的基本技术方法背道而驰。     

Keeping mum about dad: "contracts" to protect gamete donor anonymity

This article considers the legal status of so-called contracts for anonymity between fertility clinics and donors of gametes that were made in the period before legislation authorising disclosure. It notes that while clinics frequently cite the existence of these "contracts" to argue against retrospective legislation authorising disclosure of the donor's identity, they may be nothing more than one-sided statements of informed consent. However, the article notes that even if an agreement between a donor and a clinic is not contractual, it does not follow that a person conceived through assisted reproductive technology has any right of access to the identity of the donor. The writer has not been able to locate examples of written promises by the clinics promising anonymity. There are written promises by the donors not to seek the identity of the recipients. These promises do not bind the resulting offspring nor do they appear to be supported by consideration. The article suggests that the basis for any individual donor to restrain a clinic from revealing their identity may be found in promissory estoppel. Nevertheless, there is no real issue in Australia concerning clinics revealing these details absent legislative authority. The issue is whether parliaments will legislate to authorise the disclosure. The article notes that it would be rare for parliaments to legislate to overturn existing legal contracts but suggests that the contract argument may not be as strong as has been thought.