The new biology and the question of personhood: implications for abortion

Opposition to abortion is based in part on the assumption that personhood is achieved at or shortly after fertilization of the egg. This interpretation of personhood arises from a contemporary application of the ancient doctrine of preformationism, a doctrine which holds that there is a preformed individual, in an ontological sense, within the developing entity. The assumption that the fertilized egg is unique in its capacity to develop into a human being is at least in part responsible for the opinions of those opposed to abortion. Yet, the uniqueness of the zygote in its capacity to develop into an adult organism is qualified by the discovery that development may be possible in a number of other ways. Consideration of the phenomena of cloning, parthenogenesis and chimerism can relieve moral ambiguity about abortion and may reduce opposition to that practice.     

Law reform across the commonwealth: A new voice

This article examines the proviso to the ‘alternative remedies’ provision/clause in Commonwealth Caribbean constitutions. It does so from two perspectives emerging from the jurisprudence of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in this area. In the first, exemplified by Harrikissoon v Attorney General, the applicant brings a constitutional motion for infringements of his fundamental rights or freedoms in circumstances where he may have an alternative remedy at common law or under statute. In that decision, the Privy Council delineated the scope of this proviso under the Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago, effectively importing an ‘alternative remedies’ clause from the use of the word ‘may’ in section 14(2) of the Constitution. This article examines, first, what Harrikissoon decided; second, whether its reasoning is acceptable given the wording of the section; and, third, the limitations accepted by subsequent decisions of the Privy Council. In the second perspective, the applicant makes a similar application for infringements of his fundamental rights or freedoms arising from or occurring during the course of proceedings already begun. The locus classicus is the decision of Chokolingo v Attorney General and forms part of the wider concern of the courts to prevent its processes being abused where the applicant makes a collateral constitutional challenge rather than pursuing an ordinary appeal. This article also aims to examine the decisions that pre‐dated Chokolingo in order to understand its jurisprudential underpinnings; to explore that decision to determine what the Privy Council in Chokolingo decided; to consider the similarities and differences between the reasoning therein and that of the Privy Council in Harrikissoon; and to consider the extent to which the principle enunciated in Chokolingo has been extended or limited in subsequent decisions of the Privy Council.     

知识产权与《反垄断法》关系之我见

知识产权本身不构成《反垄断法》意义上的垄断,两者之间并没有必然的关系。《反垄断法》第55条的规定虽体现了这一点,但却混淆了滥用知识产权与《反垄断法》的关系。其实,滥用知识产权并不是适用《反垄断法》的前提,而是《反垄断法》适用的结果。     

论新《公司法》确立的股东代表诉讼制度

新《公司法》引进股东代表诉讼制度,有利于保护中小股东权益,在公司董事、高级管理人员、监事及其他人损害公司利益情况下,为中小股东提供了一个充分保护自己合法权益的手段,使其通过司法途径获得救济;同时,也有利于弥补我国当前公司治理结构不足,为平衡制约董事会权利开辟了一条新渠道,从公司治理结构外部提供了一个及时的监督机制。     

The new progress in Chinese Arbitration Law

The Chinese Arbitration Law of 1995, together with the Civil Procedure Law and other sources of arbitration laws, is served as the legal bases for the Chinese arbitration system. Compared with advanced arbitration systems in the world, there still exist some defects of the Chinese Arbitration Law due to its lack of rich legislative experience and the conservative attitude toward arbitration. However, the Judicial Interpretation by the Supreme Court of China in 1995 makes a progress in Chinese Arbitration Law by strengthening the support to arbitration, but not playing the interventionist role of it.     

硬法、软法的整合与经济法范式的革命

为依法治国提供理论指导和学理支撑,法学承担着重大的使命,也面临严峻的挑战。围绕保障"十三五"规划有效实施,以中国新发展理念为指引,在分析论证现代化经济治理创新和硬法、软法基本定位的基础上,对经济领域软法的引入应用及其与硬法的有机结合,提出了较为前卫和实际的对策建议。     

论公私法的划分对冲突法的影响——外国公法作为准据法的可行性分析

公私法的划分对冲突法的影响主要表现为:外国公法是否可以作为准据法?对于这一问题在国际私法学界是有争论的。本文在分析了公私法的划分在实体法和冲突法上的不同表现后,重点论述了外国公法作为准据法的可行性,和实现外国公法成为准据法的条件。     

公私法的划分与法的内在结构

公私法的划分是法理学的基本问题之一 ,也是建设中国特色社会主义法律体系必须解决的一个基本问题。本文回顾了公私法划分的历史 ,评析了学者们关于公私法划分的根据 ,对公私法的含义进行了新的阐释 ,认为公私法的划分是法的内在结构问题 ,划分公私法的直接根据是法律调整的不同方法 ,而法律调整的方法 ,基本上或主要地决定于法律调整的对象。明确这一问题 ,有利于澄清长期困扰法理学界的一些重要问题 ,以便根据法律调整对象的不同和实际生活的需要 ,选择最佳的法律调整方法 ,这对建设中国特色社会主义法律体系具有重大的指导意义     

法经济学视野中的行政法与民法的分界

对于不当行为,立法者是选择民法还是行政法进行控制,一般需要考量四个要素：当事人与行政主体掌握的行为风险信息方面的差异、加害人的赔偿能力、索赔威胁大小和行政成本。对于损害小、损害集中且发生率低的日常行为,应选择民法进行规制;对于发生率高、损害大、发现率低、损害分散的风险行为,行政法进行控制的社会效果更为明显。当同时选择两种控制机制时,遵守行政法规一般不构成加害人对抗受害人诉求的抗辩事由。     

科技法学——新兴法律交叉学科

一、科技法的特殊性科技法是20世纪60年代后产生的一门新的法律类别,我国在20世纪80年代末开始制定科技法律。科技法的实质是国家开拓先进生产力的法律工具,它不仅通过协调与规范科技研究开发及其成果产业化实施与应用中的社会关系和规定法律技术规范,以推动科技进步,发展生产力,预防科技发展中可能产生的消     

The Space of Law and the Law of Space

This essay investigates the interconnections between early Greek cosmology and legal theory. In particular, it demonstrate that spatial and legal concepts developed hand in hand, and that it would be mistaken to assume that legal terminology in cosmology, and/or spatial terminology in legal texts, are best read metaphorically. This state of affairs may be contrasted with contemporary legal theory, which often employs spatial terms metaphorically. The principal authors I␣consider are Solon, Anaxamander, Heraclitus and Parmenides. The essay concludes that justice and space/place were, for the Early Greeks, often equated—that distinct differing meanings for the two were not yet clearly established, and so, in a sense, there was both a spatial component to law, and a legal component to space.     

法的功能和法的作用辨异

法的功能和法的作用是形式上相似而实质上有别的两个事物。法的功能是法所固有的内在属性,而法的作用是被赋予和设定的;法的功能是法所固有的稳定属性,而法的作用则需常有变动;法的功能是法所固有的应然属性,而法的作用则具有现实的指向。法的功能主要是描述性的,法律人应把握法的功能的天然禀性,尊重法的规律来发现和表述法的功能,使法的功能的潜质尽可能得以实现,而不要去做形式上所谓“充分发挥”而实质上则属于画蛇添足的徒劳工作。法的作用主要是规定性的,法律人应在充分利用既有条件的基础上,更好地创设和发挥法的作用,使其能够适合国家、社会和公民生活的实际需求。     

侵权责任法与社会法关系研究

侵权责任法如果不与其他法律领域联动就很难解决损害与赔偿的问题,社会法正是由侵权责任法的边界区域进入传统的私法秩序中而发展起来的。一些广泛的政策性考量催生了与侵权责任法的私法性相异质的规范体,公法因素渗透进来并使其呈现出社会化的发展趋向。侵权责任法一直扮演着社会冲突的"雷达"角色,成为了正在显现的危险得以早期发现和预警的一种探测机制,进而成为更能有效解除社会冲突和社会危机的社会法的低级伙伴。社会法说服了侵权责任法朝向集体责任的发展方向,培植了侵权责任法认同社会团结与合作的文化基因。侵权责任法与社会法之间更为深刻的关系还在于权利与权力、义务与责任蕴含着政治性、经济性和文化性的制度基因。