A democratic responsiveness approach to real reform: an exploration of health care systems' resilience

Real reforms attempt to change how health care is financed and how it is rationed. Three main explanations have been offered to explain why such reforms are so difficult: institutional gridlock, path dependency, and societal preferences. The latter posits that choices made regarding the health care system in a given country reflect the broader societal set of values in that country and that as a result public resistance to real reform may more accurately reflect citizens' personal convictions, self-interest, or even active social choices. "Conscientious objectors" may do more to derail reform than previously recognized.     

International Hague Network of Judges: Significance in Implementation of the 1980 and 1996 Hague Conventions on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction

The 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (“the Convention”) provides for the prompt return to the country of habitual residence of children taken by a parent from one country to another. It was created to address the threshold problem in such cases, that is, which court should determine the rights of the parties involved. In a case under the Convention, the court's concern is which country is the country of habitual residence and practical aspects of the return to ensure the safety of the child and the taking parent. This article will discuss the formation of the International Hague Network of Judges (IHNJ), why it is crucial in the advancement of the Convention's goals, and, specifically, what it does to educate judges and facilitate communication between judges, and how the IHNJ can facilitate the return, including providing information on services, procedures, and protections offered in the countries of return.     

A comparison of wrongful convictions in death penalty cases between China and the United States

In recent years, both China and the United States (US) have discovered numerous wrongful convictions, including several cases in which innocent people have been sentenced to death. These discoveries have led both countries to reform the death penalty but the extent and nature of the reforms in each country have been greatly different. This article explores the similarities and differences between the nature of wrongful convictions in death penalty cases in China and the US. It will also compare the reforms undertaken in each country. On the whole, the US has made greater progress in the prevention and correction of wrongful convictions involving the death penalty, especially in the areas of evidentiary rules and post-conviction review. In order for China to match America's success, it is necessary that China adopt more substantive reforms. China should learn from America's experience and should continue to adopt international standards of criminal justice, such as due process rights, the presumption of innocence and the exclusion of illegally obtained evidence. In the interim, China should immediately suspend all executions until adequate reforms can be carried out. Ultimately, China should surpass the US in criminal-justice reform and in the field of human rights protection by completely abolishing the death penalty and creating a more effective mechanism for criminal punishment.     

侵占罪疑难实务问题

本文对侵占罪的若干疑难实务问题进行了研析。文章认为 ,侵占罪之“拒不退还”或者“拒不交出”的要件 ,应当于侵占人第一次以某种方式明确向财物所有人、占有人或者他们所委托的人以及有关机关表示其拒不退还或者拒不交出侵占物的意思时即已成立 ;在任何情况下 ,对侵占罪都不能以公诉形式提起诉讼 ;侵占罪是即成犯而不是继续犯 ,其追诉时效期限应当从侵占人表明其拒不退还或者拒不交出侵占物的立场时起算 ;侵占案件中的被害人在法定的民事权利保护期限内未主张要求侵占人返还侵占物的 ,并不影响他提起刑事诉讼的权利 ,只是他不能再同时提起附带民事诉讼 ;检察机关不能对一审尚未生效的有关侵占案件的判决提起抗诉。     

刑事诉讼制度的地方性试点改革

地方司法机关围绕刑事诉讼制度进行的试点改革,其兴起并趋于活跃不是偶然的,而是中国特有的刑事司法环境所形塑出来的多种因素与多重机制综合作用的结果。由于这些试点改革由地方司法机关主导,所以,它们在具体的实施中表现出了一些体现中国司法管理与司法制度的运行特点。实践中各种类型的试点改革共享类似的制度逻辑,具有共通的内在特质。它们最大的价值在于可以充当全国层面刑事诉讼制度改革的"实验室",为刑事诉讼立法提供实证依据与经验素材。作为一种高度技术化的法律改革活动,地方司法机关的试点改革存在诸多必须为我们所正视的技术缺陷。未来应该突破价值论的意识形态藩篱,采取有针对性的弥补措施,促进地方司法机关试点改革的发展。     

我国植物新品种行政执法制度的缺陷与完善

我国植物新品种行政执法制度中,存在行政裁决和行政处罚糅杂不清、假种子行政处罚代替品种权行政处罚的现象,影响品种权行政执法功能的发挥。从制度发展的总体走向来看,品种权行政裁决的功能在逐步弱化,而行政处罚日益成为执法重心。理清行政裁决和行政处罚的关系,强化品种权行政处罚制度,明确行政权介入的公共利益门槛,着重打击假冒、套牌等严重损害种业创新和市场秩序的行为,能使行政执法在种业知识产权保护上发挥更大的作用。     

以程序性制裁弥补实体性制裁之不足

为了抑制刑讯逼供的发生,我国确立了包括追究刑事责任、处以行政处分、判令承担民事赔偿责任等在内的多种直接对刑讯者本人进行实体性处罚的制裁措施。现阶段,众多因素限制了这些实体制裁措施效用的有效发挥。其中部分因素虽然在理论上可以通过诉讼制度变革予以消除,但是这些变革都较为重大,何时实现乃至能否实现都还是个问题,而部分因素则不可能通过制度变革予以消除。我国有必要建立和完善程序性裁判机制,使最高人民法院司法解释所确立的程序性制裁能发挥效用,并与实体性制裁互相配合,以抑制刑讯的发生。     

民事检察的面相——一个研究性述评

作为一种国家干预,民事检察与法律监督有何关联,国家干预的正当性何在,干预到底限定在多大范围,这些问题无疑是民事检察的基础问题。回答这些问题既要面向我国现行法制,也要作返回原点式的考察,更需要结合民事检察改革进行必要的展望。     

浅析市场经济条件下我国政府治理的转型

市场经济的深入发展要求我国政府克服治理困境、转变治理模式,实现治理的规范化转型。因此,只有界定政府在市场经济条件下的治理模式,使政府治理适应市场经济发展的要求,才能进一步实现我国政府治理的目标。     

从司法实践的视角看经济全球化与我国法制建设--论法与社会的互动

在全球化背景下 ,我国将面临法律移植、法制现代化等一系列复杂的社会变革 ,这必然要求我们以多元的法律意识来取代单一形态的法律意识 ,以多元的理念与规则推进政治和司法体制改革 ,协调好传统文化与外来文化、作为规则的“法”和民间规范等的关系 ,从而使作为发展中国家的我国在全球化时代也能取得更大的发展。     

规范行政行为 深化依法行政理念

依法行政是依法治国的重要组成部分和核心内容。在准确把握依法行政基本内涵的基础上,深化依法行政所应遵循的基本理念,规范行政行为,对于推进和加强当前我国的依法行政工作具有重大意义,也是对实现全面建成小康社会和全面深化改革开放目标提出的新要求。     

地方法治试验的动力机制与制度前景

"内在制度"理论证明,鼓励和引导地方法治试验有利于推动制度的生成并提升其生命力,与经验"试错"的实践逻辑相吻合。地方政府和政府中的"代理人"为人们提供优质的"非市场提供的产品与服务"和"政府供给产品与服务"可以吸引特色资源,推动地方发展,发挥竞争动力学优势。这又反过来强化了地方竞争,产生了地方发展动力。当前,地方已从基础设施、政策优惠等技术竞争走向法治创新的制度竞争阶段,主动返回"有限政府",推动民主选举,开放权力资源,促成地方法治有效治理秩序的形成将成为下一步全面深化改革的基本方向。在财政驱动型地方发展背景下,当前地方改革须在实践问题导向下,对地方法治可能偏离甚至背离国家法治框架的风险必须及时预设有效的制度红线,促其朝向培育公民、激活社会、重塑政府之路加速迈进。     

试论我国地方政府创新的动力、特征及趋势

二十世纪九十年代末以来,我国一些地方政府在政治、行政和公共服务领域进行了许多改革与创新。本文对我国地方政府创新的动力进行了分析,概括了地方政府创新的特征,在此基础上,对我国地方政府的创新趋势进行了论述。     

我国政府采购立法模式初探

政府采购是当前我国财政制度改革的一项重大举措,而政府采购制度的建立必须有规范政府采购行为的政府采购法.目前我国政府采购立法的状况怎样?如何加强、完善我国的政府采购立法?我国政府采购立法应选择什么样的目标模式、法体模式以及建立哪些基本制度?本文就这些问题阐述了有关看法和主张.     

论诉讼时效期间的起算——以未定期限债权为客体的分析路径

现行民法以“权利被侵害时”为诉讼时效期间的起算点 ,在适用于未定期限债权时 ,其效果与诉讼时效制度限制权利的功能不甚契合 ,在法技术上亦欠完善和周延。比较而言 ,以“请求权可以行使时”代替“权利被侵害时”可以较好地解决现行法的问题 ,是更好的立法选择 ,但必须同时对未定期限之债的清偿期规则进行修改 ,将债权可以行使的基础定位于客观标准而非债权人意志之上 ,才能从根本上贯彻“行使论” ,避免重蹈现行法的覆辙。在上述分析的基础上 ,本文就未来民法典提出两点建议 :第一 ,诉讼时效期间起算点规则应规定为 :“诉讼时效期间从请求权可以行使时起开始计算” ;第二 ,未定期限之债的清偿期规则应规定为 :“履行期限不明确的 ,债权人可以随时请求债务人履行 ,债务人也可以随时履行。但是 ,根据债的性质或诚实信用原则不宜立即要求债务人履行的 ,债权人应于必要期间经过后请求”。     

中国区际法律冲突解决路径探析（下）

“一国两制”所实现的是一种特殊形式的国家统一，这为我国区际法律冲突的产生奠定了坚实的政治和宪法基础。“特殊形式的国家统一”从根本上决定了我国区际法律冲突不是一般意义上的区际法律冲突，也决定了我国区际法律冲突的科学解决必然具有自己的鲜明特色。     

Law, Finance, and Politics: The Case of India

The liberalization of India's economy since 1991 has brought with it considerable development of its financial markets and supporting legal institutions. An influential body of economic scholarship asserts that a country's "legal origin"—as a civilian or common law jurisdiction—plays an important part in determining the development of its investor protection regulations, and consequently its financial development. An alternative theory claims that the determinants of investor protection are political, rather than legal. We use the case of India to test these theories. We find little support for the idea that India's legal heritage as a common law country has been influential in speeding the path of regulatory reforms and financial development. Rather, we suggest there are complementarities between (1) India's relative success in services and software; (2) the relative strength of its financial markets for outside equity, as opposed to outside debt; and (3) the relative success of stock market regulation, as opposed to reforms of creditor rights. We conclude that political economy explanations have more traction in explaining the case of India than do theories based on "legal origins."     

伤害外国人的国家责任有关问题研究

一国的国民在他国受到损害,需要向东道国寻求损害赔偿,首先要解决东道国的国家责任问题。国家行为对外国人造成损害与私人行为对外国人造成损害,其行为的可归责性是不同的。要判断东道国对外国人的行为是否违反其国际法上的义务,不能单纯依据东道国国内法的规定,还应该从国际法的层面来考察。在私人行为造成损害的情况下,只要东道国没有"运用相当注意",它就要承担损害赔偿责任,但这种责任是有限的。一国的国民在外国遭到损害时,个人(包括法人)利益与国家利益之间的密切关系是国家代为提出外交求偿的基础。     

完善我国林地使用权流转制度的相关建议

林地使用权流转是社会主义市场经济发展的必然产物,其有利于实现林地资源的有效配置和林业的可持续发展。本文分析了目前我国集体林地使用权流转过程中存在的问题,提出健全集体林地使用权流转制度的关键是：完善相关法律制度,积极培育林地使用权流转过程的中介服务体系,加强政府对林地使用权流转的管理,积极推进集体林地使用权流转制度的配套改革。     

Issues raised by respiratory therapy arrangements

In large part due to the foregoing issues, Medicare program officials have focused on respiratory therapy as an area with great potential for abuse, and may well introduce significant reforms in the near future. Accordingly, any contractual arrangements for respiratory therapy programs of the type discussed above should be carefully reviewed for compliance with Medicare requirements and for a realistic assessment of the parties' potential exposure to liability under the anti-kickback statute. At a minimum, these agreements should provide for short "without cause" termination provisions, or include a so-called "jeopardy" provision that permits the parties to renegotiate or terminate their contract if significant changes occur in, or if the current arrangement is found or threatened to be found to violate, applicable law.