Russia,NATO, and the "Color Revolutions"

On 12 July, while addressing people he trusted who had helped him in the elections, President Yeltsin finally said something that many people had long wanted to hear from him: Russia needed a new national idea. It may "already be needed in the next presidential elections in the year 2000," the head of state predicted, and hence its development should begin promptly, with the first results visible within a year.     

Litigating Scientific Creationism, or "Scopes" II, III,…

This paper is concerned with the institutional role of courts in dealing with long term political conflict. Such conflict is likely to involve group mobilization on both sides; the analysis therefore utilizes a judicial interest group approach, presenting evidence from the on-going policy debate surrounding presentation of the Darwinian theory of evolution in public schools. The findings demonstrate the importance of courts in developing public policies, not only by articulating policy, but also by affecting subsequent moves by interest groups to promote their agendas elsewhere in the system. Many extended conflicts may not be resolved in institutional settings, but they may be repetitively reformulated and translated to engage the decisionmaking process of specific forums in on-going activities. In successive moves, each adversary attempts to shift the balance of power to its respective advantage, where, paradoxically, the parties may change sides as the debate travels full circle. The analysis also illustrates the advancement of the creation science advocates' game plan, beginning with a publicity-oriented strategy, which is a hallmark of the relatively "amateurish" litigant, and eventually moving to a result-oriented position, a more "professional" approach to the courts.     

Morality, Identity and "Constitutional Patriotism"

In a modern, plural society, there can be no settled agreement on the concrete legal content of a country's constitution. The idea of the constitution is nonetheless pivotal in contemporary, liberal-minded theories of political justification, such as the ones advanced by Jürgen Habermas and John Rawls. Justification in these theories depends finally on "constitutional patriotism," a consciously shared sentiment arising from an ethical assessment of their country by the country's people, according to which the country credibly pursues a certain regulative political ideal for which the constitution stands.     

"It's the little things": women, trauma, and strategies for healing

Women recover and heal from traumatic violent experiences in many different ways. This study, which is part of the Franklin County Women and Violence Project, explores the healing experiences of 18 women who have histories of violence, substance abuse, and involvement in the mental health and/or substance abuse treatment system. Ethnographic interviews suggest that while professional intervention can be beneficial, it may not be adequate. In fact, it can be retruamatizing. The means of service delivery and treatment by individuals, service providers and others, may be more important than the actual service. Often women find that caring individuals and a safe environment yield the greatest benefit. It is not so much what people do to help, but how they do it.     

Pierre Bayle, the Rights of the Conscience, the "Remedy" of Toleration

Pierre Bayle (1647–1706) is often considered one of the staunchest defenders of toleration, especially in the domain of religion. His Commentaire philosophique , published in 1686, one year after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, argued for a broad idea of toleration, to be extended with no exceptions to all sects and religions. However, his thought can hardly be reduced to an exaltation of the "rights of the conscience," for he realized very soon that such an exaltation risks bringing forth religious fanatism, which in turn is the cause of religious wars and acts of violence. Toleration, in these conditions, is only a political remedy for the sickness of the human mind.     

Law, Religion, and "Public Health" in the Republic of Brazil

The essay evaluates the general problem that, while most modern republican constitutions follow the U.S. and French models in declaring religious freedom, absolute religious freedom is impossible and undesirable. How are religious freedoms constrained, and how much should they be? The essay evaluates the strategies by which limitations on freedoms of religion are constructed and imposed, especially the powerful isomorphism of law and science described by Boaventura de Sousa Santos. Taking the example of Afro‐Brazilian religions in relation to the Brazilian state since 1890, post‐emancipation, the essay argues that pseudo‐scientific discourses of “public health” constrained the religious practice of former slaves, thus allowing the trompel'oeil of religious freedom to continue in the new republic, even as freedoms were in fact constrained by the state.     

审判职能、说服责任与“案结事了”

本文从司法审判的特点、说服责任的性质与和谐价值的实现等方面。探讨了它们与“案结事了”的关系。在法治社会。法院的角色是根据证据裁判原则解决社会争端。诉讼各方必须履行说服责任,才能使法院判决具有可接受性,使争端得到终局性解决。法院作为国家审判机关．不应以调解优先,而应以增强证据意识、完善证据制度来实现案结事了。在刑事诉讼中．只有强化公诉人的说服责任,达到使事实认定者确信无疑的证明标准．才能减少冤假错案,实现案结事了。在民事诉讼中,应当遵循体现和谐价值的“不能采纳用以证明过错或责任的”证据规则．才能避免“善有恶报”、“案结事坏”的恶果。     

同案同判的宪政意义及其实证研究

同案同判应当是法律适用平等原则的体现。但本文对 1 1 0 7个案件的实证分析结果表明 ,应然的平等原则以及法律规范本身并不能成为同等法律适用对象之间的唯一等价物 ,仅仅根据某种情况适用了某个法律规范 ,并不能确切地预见同等情况也一定会适用同一法律规范。为此 ,本文提出了解决同案异判问题的两个对策     

Queers and Provocateurs: Hegemony, Ideology, and the "Homosexual Advance" Defense

This exploratory article relies upon a historical-interpretive approach to understanding the relationship between legal narrative and popular consciousness in particular historical moments, focusing especially on "troubled times," in which the legitimacy of a hegemonic worldview embodied in law comes under challenge from a newly ascendant ideology in the popular domain. To discern the nature of that relationship and its implications, I offer a three-pronged analysis, drawing on two original data sets. Initially, each data set is analyzed individually to elaborate the nature of, and changes in, (1) representations of homosexuals circulating in popular culture, and (2) constructions of homosexuals in defendants' narratives in "homosexual advance" homicide cases between 1946 and 2003. Findings from these two analyses are thereafter combined to explore the relationship between the two constructions of homosexuals across that time period. In combination, these three analyses provide empirical evidence that, rather than mirroring changes in popular discourse about homosexuality, the changes revealed in the defense narratives actually opposed them. I use these findings to argue that, in what Swidler (1986) has called "unsettled times," ideological pluralism is pronounced and may be discerned in the complex and sometimes counterintuitive relationships that exist within and between legal narrative and popular discourse.     

立法“根据宪法”无可非议——评“全国人大立法不宜根据宪法说”

梁慧星先生的《不宜》一文认定全国人大根据宪法立法抵触和违背人大制度的论点没有根据。《不宜》立论的逻辑前提不能成立,对西方国家依据宪法立法的原因的理解有误,对中国制宪过程的阐释有违史实、不合宪理。人大制度不是依任何法律产生的论断违背历史真实。全国人大行使的立法权源于宪法,最高国家权力机关有权修宪但不可违宪。《不宜》理论上陷入了严重自相矛盾的状态。主张“最高国家权力机关的权力不受宪法限制”反映的是国家主义、绝对权力的落伍观念。如果此说付诸实践,不仅将毁灭宪法、毁坏法制的基础,也将剥夺市民社会存在的空间,造成否定私法自治和严重侵犯公民私权利的法律后果。目前情况下在基本的法律中规定“根据宪法”的内容是必要而正确的举措。     

"非佞折狱"与"自由心证"——评《吕刑》、《商君法》

《吕刑》是我国最早的一部成文法,提出"非佞折狱、惟良折狱,罔非在中"的司法原则,强调防止五过的同时,制定了两造具备,办案人员要到民众中检查核实等严格的审判程序和审判规范,成为儒家德主刑辅的立法设刑基础。《商君法》也是我国古代经过社会实践并获得巨大成就的一部实用法典,成为中国第一个中央集权制秦王朝的法律基础。为秦国扫平六国提供了坚强的法律支持,正是这两种不同的法律思想,在彼此消长的过程中,影响了几千年封建王朝的法律体系。当今,我们的法律工作者,肩负着公正、道义、良心等责任和美德的重任,维系着亿万群众的切身利益,维护着社会的安定和发展。以古鉴今,建构司法公正与社会和谐,体现法律的正义与公平。近几年关于自由心证的讨论日渐增多,从中国法律文化的历史角度进行分析,对中国司法体制进行完善,提高法官素质,以寻求我国司法公正的最大效益。     

Morphology of "asphyxia-induced epiglottis form" in newborn infants, infants and young children

A systematic histological study of cross-sections of the larynx from 52 fatalities (neonates, infants and young children) revealed a broad spectrum of anatomical variants in the epiglottis form, which were caused by variations in the epiglottic cartilage. There was no correlation between the epiglottis form and the age of the child. Furthermore, no differences in shape could be established between cases of SIDS and control cases. The term "asphyxial-related epiglottis form" appears to be inappropriate. The commonly found supraglottic laryngitis on the laryngeal aspect of the epiglottis was seen in combination with histologically proven infections in the upper and lower respiratory tract. Histological investigation of the larynx provides valuable information for the morphological diagnosis in fatal cases in early life.     

"Interdependence": The Reality,the Concept,and the Policy

During the entire postwar period, the term "interdependence" has figured repeatedly in statements by American governmental figures and in the writings of bourgeois political scientists. In the past two or three years, it has acquired a new ring. Whereas previously American expressions regarding "interdependence" applied to relationships within the framework of NATO, today they have to do with a considerably broader sphere of foreign policy relationships of the United States, including those involving the entire capitalist world and the developing countries. In a number of cases, American writers working on the "interdependence" problem have also included certain aspects of the relation between capitalist and socialist states. They undertake to analyze, from the standpoint of bourgeois political science, various aspects of "interdependence" — economic, physical-geographical (deriving from mankind's ever more intensive joint utilization of the atmosphere, the waters and floor of the world ocean, near outer space, solar and subsurface energy, etc.), military-political (having to do with the threat of destruction of world civilization should a nuclear war occur), cultural, and so on.     

Medical devices; labeling for menstrual tampons; ranges of absorbency, change from "junior" to "light." Final rule

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is issuing a final rule that amends its menstrual tampon labeling regulation to change the current term for tampons that absorb 6 grams (g) and under of fluid. A tampon with absorbency of 6 g or less is currently required to be labeled as "junior". FDA is changing the term "junior" to "light". The term "junior" implies that the tampon is only for younger or teenage women when, in fact, it may be appropriate for women of any age with light menstrual flow. FDA encourages women to use the lowest absorbency tampon appropriate for their flow to help minimize the risk of Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS). At present, FDA requires standardized terms to be used for the labeling of a menstrual tampon to indicate its particular absorbency. This rule enables women to compare the absorbency of one brand and style of tampons with the absorbency of other brands and styles. FDA is issuing this final rule under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the act) to ensure that labeling of menstrual tampons is not misleading.     

我国民营经济制度变迁、制度"锁定"及"解锁"研究

我国民营经济制度变迁历程是我国经济体制改革过程的一个缩影.运用新制度经济学分析范式对我国民营经济制度变迁、制度"锁定"及制度"解锁"进行研究探讨,有助于我们总结民营经济发展的经验,把握民营经济未来的发展方向,为我国民营经济更好更快发展提供有益的参考.     

Disclosing health information breaches of confidence,privacy and the notion of the "treating team"

The authors utilise cases collected during a randomised population survey to illustrate some of the legal and policy issues concerning routine transfers of information between treating practitioners. Their analysis suggests that implied consent for many routine uses of health information should not be assumed. An important part of consent to health information disclosure is the patients' ability to tailor its scope and content. This requires that they should be provided with additional information. Introducing the measures advised into the clinical setting would bring health information-gathering practices closer to compliance with the collection principles contained in Australian information privacy legislation.