Better law‐making and the interinstitutional (dis)agreements: Some comments

This work argues that there is no univocal interpretation of what regulatory policy is and pursues. Taking the strategy of the European Commission as a starting point only, it addresses more specifically the Union legislature's perspective, which, in a democratic decision‐making process, cannot compromise its autonomy. In the unique constitutional universe of the European Union, the “Better Law‐Making” agenda pursues an important additional objective: facilitating the very process of adopting legislation by means of interinstitutional conflict prevention mechanisms and through a common approach to interpretation and implementation of primary law. That is the main purpose of the Interinstitutional Agreements on the quality of legislation, which place them in the position of a sort of soft constitutional law.     

Optimal law enforcement and the economics of the drug market: Some comments on the Schengen Agreements

In this paper, we extend the optimal law enforcement model to the illegal trade and consumption of narcotics. Three sources of risk in the narcotic business are considered: (1) The consumer can be detected while consuming narcotics; (2) the consumer and the retailer can be detected at the time of sale to the consumer; and (3) the retailer and the producer can be detected at the time of sale to the retailer. We derive the two levels of market equilibrium and a set of comparative static results. The welfare analysis is used to comment on the Schengen Agreements and the implications for the market of narcotics.     

British Perceptions of Ottoman Judicial Reform in the Late Nineteenth Century: Some Preliminary Insights

In the second half of the nineteenth century, the Ottomans founded a new court system, the Nizamiye courts, as part of an empire‐wide ambitious project of judicial and administrative reform, which involved legal transplantation from the French model. The institutional evolution of these courts was completed with elaborate legislation introduced in 1879. This article explores British consular and diplomatic accounts dispatched in the immediate aftermath of the 1879 reforms in an attempt to assess the value of these reports for understanding the passage of Ottoman law to modernity. Comparison of British accounts with relevant Ottoman sources and recent research reveals that British consuls and diplomats produced distorted representations of Ottoman judicial reform, exhibiting lack of faith in the effectiveness of these reforms. Misrepresentation resulted from ignorance about the nature of reformed Ottoman law, prejudice, and concerns about the effect of these reforms on the ability of British consuls to interfere with Ottoman court proceedings.     

罗马法对英国法影响的几个问题

罗马法自罗马帝国在不列颠实施统治以来,就开始对英国法发挥着自己的影响.这种影响虽然因为政治环境的影响和社会的沧桑而显得时重时轻,但一直不曾停息.在教士、法学家、律师和法官的共同努力下,罗马法使英国法也从原始的混杂、分散和非理性走向了统一和理性.而在汲取罗马法精华的基础上,英国法也完成了自身的蜕变,成为了日后具有世界影响的英美法系的母法.     

Request for comments: technical assistance to rural hospitals--HRSA. Notice: request for comments

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP), is interested in obtaining public comments and suggestions to assist the Office in planning a program of technical assistance to rural hospitals. The ORHP is anticipating that funds may become available in Fiscal Year 1991 for technical assistance to rural hospitals. The ORHP invites comments on the needs of rural hospitals for technical assistance and support.     

企业税收筹划法律风险的若干基础理论问题探析

目前,企业税收筹划理论和实践中存在着一定程度的概念混淆,使得许多避税策划甚至是偷逃税的手段被冠之以税收筹划。为避免税收筹划法律风险,有必要对税收筹划等基本概念进行澄清。宜将税收筹划界定为区别于偷税与避税而具有特定内涵的概念,从而构建一个与税收筹划相关且逻辑自洽的概念体系,并在此基础上探明税收筹划法律风险的内涵。     

Offshore financial centres: the political economy of regulation

This paper claims that the regulation profile of the Offshore Financial Centres (OFCs) with respect to the international standards defined to prevent potentially harmful phenomena—such as aggressive taxation, financial instability, money laundering and terrorism finance—depends on their specific structural features. In the designing of the regulatory framework the OFCs policymakers define the optimal degree of compliance maximizing a political cost benefit function. A simple model shows that the policymaker convenience to establish an OFC jurisdiction can depend on peculiar country endowments, consistently with a path-dependency approach. The model is empirically tested using a 222 countries’ sample, using different classifications of OFCs. On the one hand we find that the probability to be an OFC is greater with higher political stability, lower crime level, lower voice in international organizations, and if the country is characterized by a Common Law juridical system. Furthermore a low resource endowment seems to have a slightly influence on the choices to be an OFC. On the other hand it seems not to be crucial to use English as official language, to be a former colony, and also the geographical position it is not fundamental. The results are used for an overall assessment of the adequacy of the international policy aimed to fill the regulation gap, raising doubts on the persistency of the name and shame approach.