Grant programs for schools and hospitals and for buildings owned by units of local government and public care institutions, amendment of regulations: Department of Energy. Final rule

The Department of Energy (DOE) today issues a final rulemaking amending existing regulations for the administration of the grant programs providing schools, hospitals, units of local government, and public care institutions with financial assistance for the purpose of reducing energy consumption. The revisions are made as a result of experience obtained during the operation of two grant cycles, and are made for the purpose of reducing the administrative burdens on institutions and States participating in these programs and providing greater flexibility to States and institutions in their implementation of the program.     

Methodological aspects of the Dutch National Threat Assessment

This paper discusses issues related to measuring organized crime as they have become manifest in the Dutch contribution to the EU Organised Crime Threat Assessment (OCTA). It intends to convey to a wider academic community certain issues of definition, methodology and accountability, understanding the NTA process in terms of the communication of risks in a context of competitive defining institutions.

The iceperson cometh: cryonics, law and medicine

The "New Biology" has already made profound impact on the law. Cryonics and genetic engineering represent technological triumphs. The natural, organic process of dying is being replaced by a humanly engineered technological process for living. The dying phase of life is prolonged until biological knowledge is available to reverse the dying phase and restore the living phase. Both cryonics and genetic engineering in their attempts to replace the organic process with the technological process disturb the delicate balance of the triad of life which each individual experiences--faith, health, and justice. Since law is a basic tool to achieve justice among human beings, how should it respond to the health argument of the cryonics' physician who views death as a disease which is curable? How should the law respond to the faith questions surrounding the cryonics patient? What am I? A block of ice. Who am I? A living, comatose patient or a dormant, static body with the possibility of a reverter. Why am I? A new human being now endowed with immortality through the triumph of life over death founded on man's current faith in the God called Technology. Cryonics through its unbalancing of the traditional triad of life poses formidable challenges to the major institutions of faith, health and justice. The practitioners in these institutions: clergy, physicians and lawyers must now reassess the rules of the game of life be they religious, medical or legal. This article offers insights to begin this reassessment.     

公共企事业单位应如何信息公开

《政府信息公开条例》第37条设置了不同于"行政机关"的"公共企事业单位"信息公开义务,由此,依据怎样的规范以怎样的方式公开信息等等问题成为当前亟需解决的课题。本文首先将第37条置于该条例整体中进行定位分析,确定了该条作为连接规范的地位,从而使前36条整体构成了第37条的解释基础,并通过确立"最少存留适用"等规则以及"主体类同"和"职能类同"的解释方法赋予"参照"具体的内涵,由此整理规范对象行为与不予公开的信息种类之间的一般属性和特殊性,以及审查程序与救济相关事项之间的关系,为公共企事业单位的信息公开建立了基本的适用规范。     

Technology Transfer to the Public Sector in Developing States: Three Phases

Public sector technology transfer is as old as economic and social interaction among institutions. Only in the past half century, however, has this been pursued with intentionality. In 1995 state-to-state financial assistance equaled $58 billion (excluding military assistance, highly technical, and exclusively in the public sector), much of which represented technology transfer, and a substantial portion of that to public institutions. This paper examines the three phases of transfer and the nature of the current phase of transfer with regard to its impact upon the recipient nations.     

Audit requirements for institutions of higher education and other nonprofit organizations--Department of Commerce. Interim final rule with request for comments

The Department of Commerce is implementing Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance provided in Circular A-133, "Audits of Institutions of Higher Education and Other Nonprofit Organizations." As a result of this interim final rule, institutions of higher education and other nonprofit organizations that receive Federal assistance are required to periodically perform audits and submit the audit reports to the Federal government. This interim final rule establishes uniform audit requirements applicable to these organizations and defines the Department's responsibilities for implementing and monitoring these requirements.     

China and UN environmental policy: institutional growth,learning and implementation

The focus of this article is on whether, and to what extent, the major UN bodies for environmental issues—the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), the Commission for Sustainable Development (CSD), and the Global Environmental Facility (GEF)—have had any impact upon how China addresses and approaches its environmental issues. The UN bodies seem to have had some degree of day-to-day influence in a range of fields. UNEP has provided assistance in terms of policy formulation, technical assistance, training of personnel, public awareness and networking. The CSD seems to have made fewer practical and concrete contributions to China’s environmental policies; it serves as an arena for learning and discussion of environmental issues, rather than as a body for policy implementation. The GEF, on the other hand, has been an important source for the implementation of environmental policies in China. As to China’s contribution to environmental issues on the global arena, China does not seem to give priority to the international level of environmental policies. It is an active participant and stakeholder in international bodies such as UNEP and the CSD, but it is currently not providing any leadership. This is in clear contrast to domestic policy, where environmental issues are becoming increasingly important, attracting the attention of the media, policy-makers and the public. The article concludes that should this trend consolidate, establishing the management of the environment and natural resources as major issues in Chinese politics, it is reasonable to expect that China will in the future aim to play a leading role in environmental politics at the international level.     

Police Accountability and the Media

This article explores First Amendment theory and the role of the media in generating police accountability through public understanding of police organizations. We argue that free speech theory can and should look beyond "abridgment" issues and raise questions about the civic responsibility of the press to inform the public about key governmental institutions. The media's concern with crime news, we found, vastly overshadows its coverage of the police us a complex, in-teresting, and expensive governmental agency. Reporting about police institutional patterns and policies contributes more toward fulfilling First Amendment values-not only that of "checking" police excesses, but of facilitating the goal of enlightened citizen participation in local government.
Those who won our independence believed…that public discussion is a political duty; and that this should be a fundamental principle of American government. They recognized the risks to which all human institutions are subject.     

Data collection related to the participation of faith-based and community organizations. Final rule

This final rule is part of the Department's effort to fulfill its responsibilities under the Faith-Based and Community Initiative pursuant to Executive Orders 13279 and 13280. Under this rule, State agencies will collect and report information related to institutions and organizations that participate in specified Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) nutrition assistance programs. This information will be a new collection for the affected programs. It will enable FNS to identify the faith-based and community organizations participating in Federal nutrition assistance programs and determine the level of participation of faith-based and community organizations in the programs. It will not adversely impact the application or participation of any organization or institution currently participating in, or seeking to participate in, FNS nutrition assistance programs.     

制度差异与制度创新:多元制度互动下的大湾区改革

在一国两制的背景下,香港、澳门与内地之间的制度差异如何影响粤港澳大湾区的发展?学界对此仍关注不足。论文基于制度主义理论,构建了"制度差异-张力-制度创新"的理论框架,以深圳前海自贸区的工程建设管理制度改革为案例,分析了制度差异推动改革创新的机制。研究发现,不同的制度逻辑形塑行动主体的认知与行为,因此多元制度在互动中能够产生张力,进而激发行为主体的能动性,促使其反思、设计新的制度、采取改革行动,最终促成制度创新。中国内地与港澳的制度在"一国两制"方针下得以多元共存,制度差异在粤港澳密切互动中产生的张力是大湾区改革的创新源泉,使大湾区在国家改革与发展大局中发挥重要作用。     

后危机时代“太大而不能倒”金融机构监管法律问题研究

"太大而不能倒"不仅扰乱了正常的市场竞争秩序,而且其收益私人化与损失社会化的反差也助长和放大了道德风险,并为系统性金融风险的不定期性爆发埋下了伏笔。后危机时代,将"太大而不能倒"类机构纳入严格监管的范畴,确保金融体系的安全可期已成为宏观审慎监管中一个不可或缺的节点。虽然规模、关联性、可替代性已成为"太大而不能倒"机构识别的共识性标准,但是如何有效评估并配备相适的监管规则却仍是任重而道远。创新素来具有两面性,在制度取得突破的同时,如何防止公权膨胀对私权的进一步侵蚀与挤压也是当下不能不深察的大问题。     

论电子证据的搜查、扣押

电子证据是指以其储存的文字、数据、图像、声音、程序等电子化信息资料来证明案件真实情况的电子物品或电子纪录。随着网络犯罪的增多,电子证据的搜查、扣押问题日益突出。而我国现行法律对此又缺乏相应的法律规定,理论界的相关探讨也比较少。本文从讨论电子证据的法律性质入手,着重对电子证据搜查、扣押的对象和范围、第三人权益的保护及协助义务、电子邮件的搜查、扣押等问题进行深入分析,以期推动相关立法的完善,并能对我国当前的刑事司法实践有所裨益。     

论治理商业贿赂的国际司法协助制度

跨国的商业贿赂往往构成犯罪,并且其危害性更大。司法协助是通过国际合作治理商业贿赂的重要举措之一。明定我国司法协助的主管机关,健全我国有关治理商业贿赂国际司法协助的国内法,完善我国司法协助的法制原则,改进我国刑事司法协助中的调查取证制度,以建立科学有效的治理商业贿赂的国际司法协助制度。     

National laboratories as business incubators and region builders

Public sector labs do not appear to have generated as much regional business spinoff as universities and research-intensive businesses. This difference may be explained in large part by the disparate capabilities for and attitudes toward new-firm incubation on the part of parent institutions and other anchor tenants. We believe that federal lab personnel systems, research cultures, geographical isolation, management preferences, and complex public interest issues are responsible. These phenomena are explored in an intensive case study of startups associated with Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico. Interviews conducted with 33 firms confirm many barriers to incubation, but also reveal some advantages offered by public labs and suggest that changes in attitude, culture, and policy can make a difference. We explore the difficult issues of property rights assignment, public employee conflict-of-interest rules, and the use of public sector equity in spinoffs, and we conclude that startup efforts have been underfunded. Lab partnerships with large corporations in comparison are expensive, hoard labor, and are less effective at transferring technology. Recommendations for improvement of the incubation process include entrepreneurial leave and training, streamlining of conflict-of-interest, patent, and licensing procedures, and lab based efforts to connect would be entrepreneurs with sources of business assistance, space and capital.     

PARENTAL REACTION TO THE DISABLED CHILD:

The special needs child demands adept and flexible care. This becomes harder to provide when the child resides in two homes or when the parents are in conflict about the child's diagnosis. To secure effective intervention, parents must become mini-experts in their child's condition, advocating tirelessly to secure necessary educational, financial, and medical assistance. These parents, confronted with the reality of their child's diagnosis, must also face the reality of a different future than the one they had imagined for their child and themselves. This can trigger a complex and fluid grieving process that is different for every parent. Understanding the role of grief in custody proceedings can provide a useful lens for viewing the vastly dissimilar opinions these parents often present. Failing to recognize the distorting effect of grief places family law professionals at a distinct disadvantage in dealing with these complex issues.     

Refugee resettlement program and Cuban/Haitian entrant program: cash and medical assistance policies. Social Security Administration. Interim final rule

This interim final regulation amends the refugee resettlement program regulations (45 CFR Part 400) and establishes new policies on cash and medical assistance available to refugees and Cuban and Haitian entrants who are ineligible for Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), adult assistance (OAA, AB, APTD, and AABD) in the Territories and medicaid. The Refugee Resettlement Program (RRP) provides Federal reimbursement to States for 100 percent of the costs of cash and medical assistance provided, during the first 36 months after entry into the United States, to such refugees in accordance with applicable program rules and requirements and the administrative costs of providing such assistance. Cash assistance provided to such refugees under the RRP is termed "refugee cash assistance" (RCA); and medical assistance provided to such refugees under the RRP is termed "refugee medical assistance" (RMA). This regulation permits 100 percent Federal reimbursement for RCA and RMA for an eligible refugee for the first 18 months that a refugee is in the United States. For a refugee who has been in the U.S. more than 18 months but less than 36 months, the regulation permits a State, at its option, to seek RRP reimbursement for the cost of General Assistance (GA) provided to such a refugee.     

Five Words for Assisted Dying

Motivated by Lord Joffe’s Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill, but with one eye on any possible future legislation, I consider the justifications that might be offered for limiting assistance in dying to those who are suffering unbearably from terminal illness. I argue that the terminal illness criterion and the unbearable suffering criterion are not morally defensible separately: that a person need be neither terminally ill (or ill at all), nor suffering unbearably (or suffering at all) to have a right to assisted dying. Indeed: I shall suggest that the unbearable suffering criterion undermines the Bill (or any proposal like it) wholesale. On the other hand, the criteria taken together are defensible, and this defence would be built on a concern for the protection of the vulnerable. However, I also claim that this implies that the law might justifiably—and maybe even properly—aim to prevent a person from gaining access to that to which they have a serious moral right. This seems paradoxical, and, towards the end of the paper, I seek to tease apart the paradox.     

Organized economic crime and corruption in Urkraine: The problem of countermeasures

The collapse of communism in Ukraine created opportunities for organized criminal groups to expand their economic criminal activities in the “shadow economy” by penetrating all levels of public and economic administration. Ukrainian law enforcement agencies are poorly equipped to handle this increase in criminal activity, especially with respect to uncooperative foreign and domestic economic institutions. State machinery for regulation and control of industry and commerce was easily accessible to organized crime through bribing of state officials, who received no supervision during economic restructuring. Notwithstanding the active assistance of corrupt government officials, organized economic crime has benefited from chaos and lost government control as the result of recent economic reforms in Ukraine. Researchers in this study hypothesize that the social and economic disorder, as well as a common and justified mistrust of state officials, fosters a pessimism and erodes moral standards, which in turn fosters criminal activity. Of late, judicial sentencing for those convicted of economic crimes has become lighter while many economic criminal cases are never investigated or prosecuted in the first place. In order to combat large-scale corruption, there must be better supervision of government officials and better monitoring of foreign economic transactions. One of the most disastrous consequences of the collapse of the Ukrainian communist system has been the widespread increase of economic crime. This phenomenon is self-sustaining, penetrating all levels of Ukraine's economy and administrative sectors. Criminal activity helps to sustain the shadow economy in Ukraine, which has been estimated by various sources to constitute 50 to 60 percent of the economy. Law enforcement and administrative efforts have been largely futile in curbing this corruption. Nevertheless, it is possible to overcome the criminal social and economic order that has become ingrained in this “shadow economy.” This paper seeks to propose policy solutions for Ukrainian economic crime and corruption that could be implemented at the national level.     

Framing Capital Punishment in Japan: Avoidance,Ambivalence, and Atonement

This article examines how two of Japan’s largest newspapers frame death penalty issues. Through a content analysis of 7,153 Asahi and Nikkei articles in the 66-month period from January 1, 2007 to June 30, 2012, 11 death penalty frames are identified: inevitability, atonement by dying, atonement by living, victims’ rights and emotions, human rights, miscarriage of justice, calls for discussion, life without parole, deterrence, public support, and retribution. In addition to frames, we examined who the main voices are in each article on capital punishment. We found that avoidance and ambivalence are the two main approaches taken by Asahi and Nikkei to cover death penalty issues, and the most surprising finding is the high salience of atonement as a frame for thinking about capital punishment. In Japan, atonement is used to justify (atone by dying) and oppose (atone by living) the death penalty. Although atonement by living in prison and atonement by dying at the gallows imply radically different outcomes, the flexibility of the atonement frame may suggest new possibilities for Japan’s anti-death penalty movement.     

中国东盟打击跨国犯罪刑事合作机制探析

中国东盟打击跨国犯罪刑事合作是双边政治、经贸发展的需要;已经建立的双边协商机制和法律合作机制是开展打击跨国犯罪的基础。中国和东盟国家已经签署的引渡条约在政治犯罪不引渡、本国国民不引渡等问题规定落后双边打击犯罪现实,亟需改进;中国和东盟国家司法协助形式较单一,需要增加。对于尚未与中国签署引渡条约的国家,由于不能根据国际公约开展引渡合作,只能开创新的合作思路。未来中国东盟打击跨国犯罪刑事合作应当向着建立区域机构、区域统一逮捕令、强化人员培训技术合作以及网络信息建设方向发展。