Why Does Employment Legislation Not Damage Small Firms?

Business rhetoric and conventional theory expect that employment regulations will have negative effects on small firms. Prior research has shown that effects are quite rare, but has not explained why. Case studies of 18 firms from three sectors identified four explanations. (1) Perceptions of effects tend to be broad and general, rather than reflections of concrete experience. (2) 'The law' is not uniform, with older laws being largely taken for granted. (3) Effects depend on competitive conditions, which are more important influences on firms than are regulations; where conditions are benign, regulations can be absorbed, but in other circumstances employment regulations can exacerbate competitive pressures. (4) A degree of informality in small firms further eases responses. By the same token, however, hopes that regulation will stimulate modernization are rarely realized.     

Freedom and Futures: Personal Priorities, Institutional Demands and Freedom of Religion

How should one define the legitimate reach of individuals' institutional obligations in the light of their right to freedom of religion? The most divisive settings for this question involve exclusions from certain jobs and schools. At the same time, some fundamental issues of ethics and law lie in the background. One of the most central concerns choice. On one approach, if there are other sources of work or education that do not make the same demands on the objector then she should choose between conforming and taking up that alternative. On another approach, even if there are such alternatives, people should not be confronted with such a dilemma: they should be entitled to stay in their preferred institution, which must make its best effort to accommodate them. The conflict between these two views arises from underlying differences concerning the nature of free choice itself; about the obligations borne by institutions in civil society; and about basic rights. The connections between these notions are investigated, and a way through the disagreement is suggested.     

Freedom of Religion and Minority Religions in Hungary

Religiosity in Hungary is not especially high; however, the vast majority of the population has a denominational identity. There has been a religious revival since the early 1980's, both in the mainstream churches and due to some religious groups newly active in the country. Religious claims are mostly accommodated on an individual basis. Legal entities called churches can be founded for the purpose of exercising religion, but the registration of a church is not a condition of the free exercise of religion. Religious freedom is guaranteed by the Constitution. The Hungarian state regards itself neutral in matters concerning ideology and religion. Church and state operate separately. The state, however, appreciating religious phenomena, provides support for churches and is open for cooperation with them on a sophisticated legal basis. A new method of offering state support for religions using taxpayer choices is described, which shows some interesting patterns of support for minority faiths as well as traditional ones.     

他为什么拒绝自由--兼谈文化、规则与行为模式

这件事情已经过去很久了 ,以至于现在我再把它当作一个故事叙述出来的时候已经完全平静 ,尽管当时我和许多中国学生一样为此事奔走、呼号、愤怒。在举国上下尽力推行依法治国的今天 ,在立法者、执法者和研究者们苦心积虑地为提高国家的法治水平而思考和行为的今天 ,在中国从无法可依走到了有规可循的今天 ,在越来越多的社会矛盾和争议被提上法庭的今天 ,在经过 2 0多年的法制建设中国人已经可以就任何法律问题和世界进行对话的今天 ,我经常想起这件小事和它当年所产生的政治、法律和文化振荡。对于故事的主人公来说 ,这无疑是一个非常痛苦的…     

国际间迁徙自由探析

国际间迁徙自由虽与出入境问题密切相关,但不等同和局限于出入境问题,它包括迁出自由、返回本国的自由、不被任意驱逐的自由以及相关的程序保障等。国际间迁徙自由理论目前尚不完善,有很多问题值得深入探讨,对该权利及其程序保障需要进一步发展和细化。     

Reframing Political Freedom In The Analytics Of Governmentality

What distinguishes studies of government (gouvernamentalité) from histories of administration, historical sociologies of state formation and sociologies of governance is their power to open space for critical thought. According to Michel Foucault, studies on government are studies of a particular stratum of knowing and acting, of the emergence of particular ‘regimes of truth’ concerning the conduct of conduct, ways of speaking truths and the costs of so doing, and of the inventing and assemblage of particular apparatuses and devices for exercising power and intervening in particular problems. The key point of this paper is that in the analytics of governmentality political freedom no longer depends on the systemic logic of the balance between government and governed, but on subjects’ obstinate and wild desire to live freely and on the ethos of those who intend to govern themselves and their like autonomously, which obstructs that logic even with extreme consequences. This capacity of resistance comes from life, from the sum of its functions that are useful in resisting death and no longer from a core of subjective rights, or from the will of individuals who oppose the state or the market.

More Reasons Why Jurisprudence Is Not Legal Philosophy

It is generally assumed, without argument, that legal theory, legal philosophy, philosophy of law, and jurisprudence all mean the same thing. This paper rejects that assumption, and in particular the assumption that jurisprudence is the same thing as legal philosophy. This assumption has recently been challenged by Roger Cotterrell in his article “Why Jurisprudence Is Not Legal Philosophy,” and I seek to build on his arguments by adding insights found in the work of Stanley Fish.     

为什么要立法保护投资自由

中国国民一旦享有投资自由,投资市场就会产生更多合法的投资渠道和＂财产性收入＂。积蓄的民间资本之水被疏导至合法的投资出路,自然不会流向非法的投资去处,也就用不着让＂非法吸收公众存款罪＂和＂集资诈骗罪＂费力不讨好地堵塞民间资本之水。然而,迄今仍然存在着投资法律空白     

Japan's Research Whaling Is Not Unlawful and Does Not Violate CITES Trade Rules

This article is a critique of two reports of “independent legal experts” sponsored by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW); the “Paris Panel” and the “London Panel.” The article shows that the Paris Panel's conclusion that Japan's research whaling in the Antarctic is unlawful and an abuse of rights under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) is based on misuse of evidence and failure to properly interpret Article VIII of the Convention and the legal status of recommendatory non-binding resolutions. It also shows that the London Panel's conclusion that the import of humpback whales from Japan's research program in the Antarctic and sei whales from its research program in the North Pacific are a violation of trade rules under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora is based on incorrect interpretation of that Convention's trade rules. It is concluded that the two independent legal experts panel reports are, from a legal perspective, seriously flawed, rendering their conclusions invalid and relegating the reports to the status of IFAW propaganda.     

Thoughts on a Thinker-Based Approach to Freedom Of Speech

Law and Philosophy - While agreeing with Seana Shiffrin that any free speech theory must depend on assumptions about our need for free thinking, I am sceptical about her claim that her...     

从"自由"到自由:劳动法的理念缘起与制度变迁

平等自由的法理念在劳动法上的实现经历了曲折的历史过程.在资本主义经济发展初期,劳动者的自由权因为劳动关系的从属性而在合同法的框架下被消解殆尽.严格限制甚至剥夺劳动者的自由是当时资产阶级朝野的共识.然而,这样的法律制度所带来的社会后果使资本主义政府逐渐认识到,"正义"在劳动关系中的实现不能简单依靠劳资双方的个别自由谈判,它需要政府的介入和劳资团体力量的相互制衡.劳动法正是在这样的理念支持下发展起来的.我国劳动关系的发展虽迥异于西方国家,但劳动法理念的缘起与制度变迁的理性脉络却与之有异曲同工之妙.     

成文宪法中的宗教内容比较研究

宗教信仰自由权是世界范围内各成文宪法保护的重要内容。与其他人权的宪法保护不同,宗教信仰自由权在各国宪法中具有扩散性保护特征。只有综合考量宪法规范中的宗教内容,才能准确理解宗教信仰自由权的宪法规范保护。通过在各成文宪法中查找与宗教相关的关键词,可以发现宗教信仰自由权成文宪法保护具有普遍性。以宗教信仰自由权为核心,辅之以政教关系的相关规定,构成了宗教问题宪法保护的基本框架。从内容上看,成文宪法保护的宗教信仰自由权具有内容的绝对性与相对性相统一、主体自主选择与结社自由相结合的特点;从属性上看,宗教信仰自由权具有入世性与政治性并存的特征。     

先行登记保存之不可诉性

先行登记保存是行政强制行为的一种,由行政处罚法创设,创设目的是为减轻查封、扣押措施的滥用。从先行登记保存的行为性质、期限性质等方面都证明其具有显然的不可诉性。先行登记保存行政强制行为的应然救济方式应是知情权救济或行政申诉等,而不是行政诉讼。     

从以道德立论的自由到以利益立论的自由——卢梭自由观与马克思早期自由观初探

卢梭和马克思都是思想史上的重要人物。但是长期以来,人们对卢梭与马克思的思想联系关注较少。本文试图通过对卢梭自由观与马克思早期自由观的简要介绍,阐明卢梭与马克思之间的思想联系。卢梭和马克思都对本体论意义上的自由和积极自由予以了关注,但他们对自由与法律的关系和自由、道德与利益的关系的论述却存在差异。     

知识产权确认不侵权之诉受理条件探析

知识产权中的不侵权之诉是近年来出现的一种新型案件,法院在受理时存在着不同的看法,本文从知识产权法和民事诉讼法的理论进行分析,指出确认不侵权之诉的目的是为了限制知识产权人滥用其权利,为被控侵权人提供的一种必要的救济途径。本文着重探讨提起确认不侵权之诉受理条件,不仅要符合民诉法中规定的一般受理条件,同时还应满足其特殊的起诉条件。