Bioethics from a social perspective: European Biopolitics Conference]

The European Congress on biopolitics entitled "Connecting civil society implementing basic values" was held in March 2006 in Berlin. It was organised by the Heinrich B?ll foundation and the Institut Mensch, Ethik und Wissenschaft. The aim of the Congress was to provide a forum for discussion on the ethical and social aspects derived from biotechnology and genetics on human beings. This work summarises some of the aspects that reveal the international interest and relevance of this meeting.     

法律工程视野中的法律解释方法体系建构

建构完善的法律解释方法体系是中国法治实践走向深化的迫切需要,也是法学研究者长期以来追求的重要目标,但却一直未能如愿.法律工程思维的引入则为这一理想的实现提供了方法指引和手段依赖,为法律解释方法体系的建构在具体解释方法的整合、操作手段的规则化和多元价值的协合提供了支持,这是法律工程思维自身具有的综合集成性、建构性、设计性特质和求用导向能够引致的重要转变.     

The European Brotherhood of Lawyers: The Reinvention of Legal Science in the Making of European Private Law

Against the historical backdrop of the codification debate in nineteenth century Germany, this article traces the reassertion of "legal science" as an autonomous source of European legal integration in current legal and political discourse about the harmonization of European private law. The article argues that a grasp of widely shared ideas about the role and function of legal science and legal scientists is vital both toward an understanding of the extraordinary impact of the academic project of a European civil code on legal and political discourse in the Union in particular, and toward furthering the theory of legal fields in general.     

The Legal Situation on Stalking among the European Member States

Stalking became a subject of academic and social concern in Europe in the mid-1990s. Shortly afterwards the issue of legislation became the subject of debate in some countries and in 1997 the United Kingdom was the first European Member State that passed anti-stalking legislation. Denmark constitutes an exception because its Criminal Code of 1933 contains a provision which also deals with stalking. Other States that up to now have passed legislation against stalking in Europe are Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Malta, Ireland, Austria and, last in order of time, Italy. Where an anti-stalking law exists, legislators have introduced a new article into the existing Penal Code or have amended an article still in force for similar conduct, or have introduced a specific Act against Harassment or Domestic Violence which is intended to cover not only such conduct but also stalking. In the remaining European countries where an anti- stalking law does not exist, it is possible to prosecute stalking only when the behaviour amounts to crimes prosecutable under other existing norms. This article analyses legal regulations on stalking across European Member States in civil and criminal justice considering specific laws addressing the phenomenon or, alternatively, other laws under which stalking can be prosecuted. In the conclusions some advantages and disadvantages of European anti-stalking laws are discussed and some suggestions are given for future work in order to improve the protection of the victims of stalking.     

罗马法复兴与西欧法制现代化

从全球范围来看,法制现代化有着不同的模式类型.     

The role of competition in health care: a Western European perspective

The Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice 2004 report Improving Health Care: A Dose of Competition expresses a clear allegiance to competition as the organizing principle for health care. In Europe, by contrast, the key organizing principle of health care systems is solidarity. Solidarity means that all have access to health care based on medical needs, regardless of ability to pay. This is not to say that competition is not important in Europe, but competition must take place within the context of solidarity. This article critiques the report from a European perspective, describes the role of competition in Europe (focusing in particular on European Union law), and suggests that the United States could learn from the European perspective.     

行政自由裁量权的法律控制——以美国行政法为视角

在实际世界中,绝大多数的行政行为并没有受到司法审查,而且其中相当一部分行为的性质决定了它们不可能受到有效的司法控制.传统的行政法学过分注重"法"的这一面,全部的注意力都放在立法与法院,以至于忽视了问题的另一面,即行政机构在许多情形下都具有很难受到控制的自由裁量权.行政自由裁量权及其法律控制的可能性问题是行政法治的根本问题,因为有关司法审查的标准与力度的问题在本质上就是如何对待行政自由裁量权.     

欧洲Ⅱ号提前实施的法律思考

本文由北京、上海等地提前实施我国机动车污染物排放第二阶段标准———欧洲II号为切入点 ,揭示了现行标准制定法律中存在的矛盾 ,探讨了可能产生影响的标准制度中政府权力的法律制约、市场主体合法利益保障以及标准实施的实效等问题。     

The Missing View of the Cathedral: The Private Law Paradigm of European Legal Integration

The traditional partition between public and private law continues to reinforce the belief that public law is the only proper realm of political debate, where decisions having redistributional consequences are and should be taken. This allows for a seemingly minor role of private law in the debate on European integration. This article challenges such a traditional image by noticing the central role of private law in the several legal systems of the European Union, and by analysing a few instances of resistance to private law integration. The analysis suggests that, while fully engaged in debating the public law implications of integration, Member States strive to keep civil adjudication within their control and to protect the self–contained, autonomous structure of their codes (or sets of private law doctrines) from the disruptive impact of European legislation. Integrationist pressures compel national legal actors to make explicit the social and economic choices underlying private law rules. Against such pressures, States' resistance may take the shape of formalist entrenchment.     

Citizenship of the European Union—A Legal Analysis

Abstract:  The aim of this article is to present a legal analysis of the concept of citizenship of the EU. This concept was considered by some to be embryonic in the original Community Treaties, but was first expressly incorporated into the Treaties by the Treaty on European Union, signed at Maastricht on 7 February 1992. In the case-law of the European Court of Justice, which has given citizenship a content going beyond the express Treaty provisions, the concept is closely related to other basic concepts, including free movement of persons, the prohibition of discrimination on grounds of nationality and the protection of fundamental rights. This article seeks to review the case-law, to disentangle citizenship from other related concepts, and to determine what added value citizenship has brought to the Treaties and what the potential and the proper limits of the concept might be.     

An analysis of DRM from a consumer protection perspective

The use of digital rights management (DRM) software by mediacompanies is controversial. In recent months, Steve Job at AppleComputers has challenged music companies to stop using the technologybecause, he says, it is stifling the development of online musicsales. Others are more cynical, claiming that his comments aremerely part of a negotiating ploy with EMI, whose music fileshe is hoping to