The Commons as a Legal Concept

Scientific debates about the political, economic and even legal aspects of commons have circulated wherever commons are perceived to pose a challenge to the increasing commodification of people’s lives. Indeed, a wide range of commons has emerged worldwide. Emerging commons pose a challenge to the law which is now requested to provide legal tools to resist the dispossession of the common wealth. Nevertheless, commons do not embody a reality which is external or unfamiliar to the law. This paper is an attempt to reframe the commons as a legal concept. In this article I argue that commons are not just a marginal element of contemporary legal systems. Rather, they embody the premises for important transformative practices and discourses and represent a subversive site in the legal order. I maintain, first, that the law of the commons is consistent with the law in force and the current legal regimes of private property and, second, that the current stage of globalization is most favourable to the establishment of a law of the commons both in the peripheries and at the core of the capitalist system. However, given the persistent dominance of the individual-based property paradigm, the legitimacy of the commons on legal grounds remains problematic. Certainly the recognition and protection of the commons challenge the legal regime of property in force and query about the possible limits that the law may impose upon property rights. It is evident that the true core of the commons discourse as a legal discourse rests upon its relation with property and depends on the notion of property that we assume as normative. The Hohfeldian idea of property as a bundle of rights offers a good starting point for articulating a legal theory of the commons under positive law.     

双重国籍及其法律实践--兼论我国《国籍法》的立法改进

近年来海外华人强烈呼吁我国政府恢复承认双重国籍,这在国内外广大有识之士中也引起了极大的反响.双重国籍法律问题的产生有其历史的渊源,其冲突解决也是世界各国极为重视的法律实践问题.从当今国际法发展趋势来看,有条件地承认双重国籍乃是吸引高层次人才和广大海外华人积极参加我国的经济建设、从法律上保护全世界华人华侨根本利益的有效手段,应当引起我国政府的高度重视,并根据国际法的基本原则灵活处理双重国籍问题,在恰当的时机修订《国籍法》,以适应我国经济建设和社会发展的实际需要.     

作为概念的“经济法”——聚焦于“经济法”语词的多视角研究

“经济法”是经济法学中最重要的基本概念。“经济法”的概念研究是经济法学总论研究的重要课题之一。对作为概念的“经济法” ,从学术史、语言学和逻辑学等视角进行了语词缘起、范畴定位和文字训诂等三个方面探讨 ,并为经济法本体论和经济法学科论的基本范畴研究提供了相应的思路、方法和理论基础。     

论作为概念群落的环境权

环境权是环境法学研究的重课题。对环境权的界定涉及对环境法律关系的主体、人与自然之间关系的法学意蕴、传统权利概念等重理论问题的重新理解。环境权不是一个单一的法律概念,而是由三种权利类型构成的统一整体,这三种权利分别为：环境的权利、环境物权、环境人权。三种权利的统一基础则在于通过法律权利衡平人与自然之间和谐的共生关系。     

Pushing the Dead into the Next Reproductive Frontier: Post Mortem Gamete Retrieval under the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act

In re Matter of Daniel Thomas Christy authorized post mortem gamete retrieval under the most recent revision of the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act. This article recommends that the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws explicitly address the issue of post mortem gamete retrieval for reproductive purposes; that legislators specify whether their states will follow the Christy ruling; and that ethics committees and consultants prepare for the questions about human identity and self determination that post mortem gamete retrieval raises.     

生态整体观与环境法学方法论

生态整体观是在对机械世界观的质疑与批判的过程中与后现代有机论和后现代整体论结合并受现代生态学启发而逐步建立起来的，它具有强调事物内在联系性、强调人与自然的同一、强调生态系统的整体利益为最高价值等特点。这为解决生态危机提出了一些很有价值的观点，同时也是我们变革环境法学研究方法论所应确立的世界观。但过分强调生态整体观，会导致在环境法学研究中出现两大误区：其一是重整体轻个体——公民环境权研究的缺失；其二是过于强调自然价值——自然可以成为环境法律关系的主体。     

Editorial: Social Justice Research—The Next Generation

Social Justice Research -     

Review Essay: Legitimizing Legitimacy: Shaping a New Frontier of Research

Social Justice Research -     

“双服务”理念:行政观念与制度

在兼顾公私益的“双服务”理念下 ,既有行政观念及其制度暴露出诸多欠缺。为适应既要服务于公益又要服务于私益的现实需要 ,现代行政观念应当是服务观念、公私益兼顾观念和行政能动性观念的整合 ;在制度建构上 ,行政目标立体化、行政手段科技化、权力行使分散化、行政活动民主化和行政方式多样化应当成为制度的转型趋向     

Collaborative Leadership in the Arts as a Unique Form of Dual Leadership

This article examines dual leadership in Australian performing arts companies, reflected in the respective roles of artistic directors and general managers. Our findings challenge assumptions underpinning much of the literature on dual leadership; in particular, the assumption that conflict is inevitable between the two leaders. In our research, we identified dual leadership relationships that might more accurately be described as instances of collaborative leadership. We suggest that one explanation for this presence of collaborative leadership may be that the study found similarities in both leaders’ passion for the arts, often reflected in a shared background in an arts practice.     

The Meaning of Home: A Chimerical Concept or a Legal Challenge?

'Home' is not an easy concept to pin down. Although the term is instantly familiar, and the physical reality of home is an important and omnipresent feature of our everyday lives, the legal conception of home has received surprisingly little attention. The relative neglect of home is particularly striking, however, in light of the substantial body of research which has been carried out on the subject of home in other disciplines. This article discusses the meanings of home which have evolved from interdisciplinary research. It is argued that this research could provide a starting point for the development of a more clearly articulated socio–legal understanding of the meaning and value of home to occupiers. It is suggested that a legal concept of the meaning of home would be useful, for instance, when considering the conflict of interests between the occupiers of a property 'as a home', and other parties with 'non–home' interests in the property, for example, creditors. This article seeks to identify some of the values of home which might inform a legal concept of home, and so be 'weighed in the balance' on the occupier's side when decisions involving conflicts between home interests and commercial interests are considered.