国际投资仲裁中的人权保护

当前,国际投资条约和投资仲裁已经给人权保护带来消极影响。在投资者与国家间的投资争端中,仲裁庭对投资有关的人权问题可以行使管辖权。人权规则也已经被仲裁庭适用于界定间接征收、确定征收补偿数额等问题。当投资者通过国际仲裁机制挑战东道国的人权保障措施时,东道国可能会援引国际人权义务抗辩投资者的主张,此时,仲裁庭应当适当考虑东道国的人权义务,而不是任由投资规则践踏人权规则。     

Constitutional Comparisons by A Supranational Court in Flux: The Privy Council and Caribbean Bills of Rights

This article examines how the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council makes constitutional comparisons between ‘related’ constitutions that are or were within its jurisdiction, deploying its own precedents, as a pragmatic method of resolving idiosyncratic questions that arise across multiple constitutions. In particular, it considers the Committee's approach to the longstanding question of the interpretation of the opening section of Caribbean constitutional bills of rights, which has far reaching implications for the scope of constitutional protection of human rights. The JCPC's answer over time to this question reveals the fault lines for this supranational constitutional court as its jurisdiction peters out yet remains. The gaze of comparativism is very harsh as older constitutions are evaluated in light of newer ones and also as fossilised constitutional interpretations presented in earlier JCPC cases where the Committee no longer has jurisdiction are given new life in contemporary cases.     

Warranties and indemnities in contracts: protecting and exploiting IP

Legal context: Warranties and indemnities are present in most contracts butare particularly relevant in contracts involving intellectualproperty(IP), where the contract subject matter is intangibleand less open to verification. Warranties and indemnities areoften the most heavily negotiated parts of such contracts. Key points: This note discusses warranties and indemnities often found incontracts dealing with IP rights and deals with some of thekey practical areas that should be considered when draftingand negotiating such provisions. Practical significance: Warranties and indemnities offer important protection to licenseesand assignees of IP rights. However, it is important to understandtheir limitations. Firstly, warranties and indemnities are onlyever as good as the entity that gives them. Secondly, indemnitiesonly provide financial protection in respect of civil liability.As certain types of IP rights infringement are criminal offencesunder English law, indemnities should not replace the need forappropriate due diligence.     

试论行政合同中的诚实信用原则

从行政合同的契约本质考虑,诚实信用原则当然可以适用于行政合同;从行政合同的行政性来看,诚实信用原则适用于行政合同有利于规制行政特权的恣意行使。对于历来强调国家的优越地位,缺乏对个人权利保护和平等地位尊重传统的我国,在行政合同理论和实践中倡导诚信原则更具意义。具体适用时,一方面要借鉴诚实信用原则在私法合同中的适用,另一方面更要注重诚信原则对行政机关在行政合同中进行公益裁量、行使行政特权时的有效约束。     

'Solange, chapter 3': Constitutional Courts in Central Europe—Democracy—European Union

Abstract: Soon after the accession of eight post‐communist states from Central and Eastern Europe to the EU, the constitutional courts of some of these countries questioned the principle of supremacy of EU law over national constitutional systems, on the basis of their being the guardians of national standards of protection of human rights and of democratic principles. In doing so, they entered into the well‐known pattern of behaviour favoured by a number of constitutional courts of the ‘older Europe’, which is called a ‘Solange story’ for the purposes of this article. But this resistance is ridden with paradoxes, the most important of which is a democracy paradox: while accession to the EU was supposed to be the most stable guarantee for human rights and democracy in post‐communist states, how can the supremacy of EU law be now resisted on these very grounds? It is argued that the sources of these constitutional courts’ adherence to the ‘Solange’ pattern are primarily domestic, and that it is a way of strengthening their position vis‐à‐vis other national political actors, especially at a time when the role and independence of those courts face serious domestic challenges.     

Litigating Corporate Human Rights Information

This article analyzes trends in litigation brought against corporate actors regarding human rights information. Such information includes, but is not limited to, statements on packaging claiming that products are “ethically sourced” and investor-facing disclosures representing that an issuer's operations are environmentally friendly. It proceeds by outlining the sources of human rights-related disclosures as they arise under both legal and voluntary regimes. The article then addresses the case law. Recent years have seen an increase in lawsuits involving human rights information, or lack thereof, imparted by companies. Consumer protection or consumer fraud cases are being filed, alleging that companies have either provided false and misleading information or omitted information about corporate human rights impacts and mitigation efforts. Investors are filing similar claims. The article examines the trend and considers the role of this litigation both in holding companies to their word and in providing corporate accountability for the underlying human rights abuses that false or misleading human rights information may mask. It ultimately argues that, although success at trial in such cases remains elusive, litigation is a useful and potentially growing tool for holding companies to their word regarding human rights claims. It contextualizes this litigation, arguing that other means by which companies can be held to their word should be strengthened, including public enforcement and—potentially—new disclosure and due diligence laws.     

The Relevance of the Work of the International Criminal Court to Refugee Status Determinations

This article considers the work of the International CriminalCourt (ICC) and its overlaps with refugee law and practice.It focuses on ICC complementarity determinations. These involvethe organs of the ICC considering whether a state is willingand able to prosecute individuals accused of international crimes.The article draws attention to the fact that such determinationsprovide information on the extent to which state legal systemsare functional and non-discriminatory, and thus able to ensurethat those who violate human rights are brought to justice.Such information, it is suggested, can and should be drawn uponin deciding whether there is a real chance that an applicantfor refugee status will be able to receive the protection oftheir state through its justice system. The paper draws on thisoverlap between the work of the ICC and refugee law and practiceto support its concluding recommendation that refugee practitionersshould see, and take advantage of, the overlap between the workof the ICC and refugee status inquiries. It is suggested thatthis will help to ensure that persons deserving internationalprotection get it. It will at the same time bring us anotherstep closer to the development of a fully integrated systemfor the protection and promotion of human rights.     

Ironies in Human Rights Protection in the EU: Pre-Accession Conditionality and Post-Accession Conundrums

In the wake of the extensive scrutiny of the human rights credentials of the new Member States under the EU pre-accession conditionality, which itself was riddled with paradoxes, this article considers a rather unexpected irony thrown up by the accession of these countries. It is that the post-communist constitutional courts, which have been applauded for vigorous protection of fundamental rights after the fall of the Communist regime that was marked by nihilism to rights, have come rather close to having to downgrade the protection standards after accession, due to the new constraints of supremacy of EC law. The article will consider the sugar market cases of the Hungarian and Czech Constitutional Courts and of the Estonian Supreme Court, which appear to add weight to the concerns that have been voiced in some older Member States about the fundamental rights protection in the EU. Indeed such concerns were recently also addressed in the concurring opinions to the Bosphorus judgment of the European Court of Human Rights.     

投资条约仲裁制度改革的中国选择

投资条约仲裁制度有利于投资者保护,但其也存在易于导致东道国与投资者权益保护失衡等问题。中国应顺应国际上的改革大势和潮流,从实体规则和程序规则两个方面对投资条约仲裁制度进行改革,采取包括维护东道国的管理权、缩减仲裁庭自由解释条约的空间以及加强缔约国对条约解释的控制权等措施,以确保其能平衡保护投资者与东道国的权益。欧盟倡导的投资法院制度虽然对争端当事人的意思自治有一定的限制,但是能纠正投资条约仲裁制度的某些重要缺陷,中国可考虑在与欧盟的双边投资协定谈判中探索接受并改进这一制度的可能性。     

Family-owned,limited close corporations and protection of ownership

Protected ownership and freedom of contracts are two basic parts of the institutional framework of successful countries according to Douglass North, winner of the Nobel Prize in 1993. The incentives to make long-term investments are strengthened if ownership rights are protected and freedom of contracts is a basic element in the process of efficient allocation of scarce resources. An important engine in prosperous societies is the family firm. Most companies in these societies can be classified as family firms and a major part of GDP is produced by family businesses. Consequently, how ownership is protected in family firms is an important issue.Three important factors of private ownership of property are the rights to determine use of owned assets, the return generated from them and to transfer the assets at mutually agreeable terms to a new owner(s).The incentives of a founder entrepreneur to put efforts into the establishment of a firm are determined by all the three factors. We will here pay special attention to the third factor, transfer of the ownership of the firm. The founder often places contractual restrictions on such transfers to ensure that the structure of ownership is stable and that the firm stays in the family. The possibility to do so is part of the freedom of contracts and is associated with the extent of ownership held as well as the incentives to invest in new businesses.This paper is primarily about how protection of family ownership can be achieved from a legal point of view and discusses the reasons to enforce these legal relationships in the future for second, third, fourth etc. generations of family owners.     

网络服务合同中不平等条款的类型及其法律规制——以虚拟财产权的保护为视角

网络服务合同是确立网络运营商与用户双方权利义务的协议,是用户行使及保护其虚拟财产权的重要依托。实务中由于网络服务合同缺乏完善的法律规范,导致其中存在大量不公平的争议条款,当法律纠纷出现时,严重不利于用户对其虚拟财产权的保护与行使。如何在法律上对网络服务合同进行规制以及在司法实践中如何认定部分争议类型条款的有效性将是保护网络虚拟财产的重中之重。正基于此,在分析网络服务合同与虚拟财产权保护的主要矛盾,探讨网络服务合同中部分争议类型条款之后,对网络服务合同的法律规范提出相关建议。     

The Mythology of Human Rights

Abstract. A special legal status is accorded to human rights within Western liberal democracies: They enjoy a priority over other human goods and are not subjected to the majoritarian principle. The underlying assumption—the idea that there are some human values that deserve special protection—implies the need for both a normative and a conceptual justification. This paper claims that neither can be provided. The normative justification is needed to support the priority of human rights over other human goods and to rank and balance conflicting human rights, but it can't be provided because of the fact of pervasive value pluralism, the fact that human values are many, incompatible and incommensurable. The conceptual justification is needed to avoid arbitrariness in the interpretation of human rights at the adjudication stage. Such a justification is impossible, however, as the concept of human rights, and the concepts used to justify them and to solve their conflicts are “essentially contested concepts.” The paper concludes that, provided that the interpretation of human rights presupposes value judgements and political choices, the special legal status accorded to human rights is not justified.     

Human rights, ethical principles, and standards in forensic psychology

Human rights create a protective zone around persons and allow them the opportunity to further their valued personal projects without interference from others. This article considers the relationship between human rights and the general ethical principles and standards contained in the American Psychological Association's (APA's) code of ethics as applied to the forensic domain. First, it analyzes the concept of human rights, their structure, and their justification. Second, it briefly describes the APA's most recent code of ethics and the principles and standards that compose it. Third, it concludes by explicitly examining the relationship between the present human rights model and the APA's code, demonstrating how it is able to provide an additional ethical resource for forensic practitioners in their clinical work and so deepen their ethical sensibilities and decision making. Finally, the article presents a case study and discusses the human rights issues confronting practitioners inherent in such situations.     

Why Do Labour Lawyers Ignore the Question of Social Justice in European Contract Law?

Abstract: Over recent years, a heated debate about social justice in European contract law has been taking place. Great emphasis is placed on ideological assumptions. For example, the over‐individualistic interpretation of European private law, its market‐led orientation and the insufficient attention paid to the idea of the protection of the weaker party. This discussion considers the traditional conflict between the meta‐principles of market‐oriented efficiency and solidarity‐based action. The whole debate, it seems to me, now calls for a more rules‐based approach. In endeavouring to validate such an approach, this article starts by illustrating the various facets connected to the theme of ‘European contract law’. Then as a preliminary step, I shall briefly examine the question as to why labour lawyers have remained silent and take no part in the discussion on European social contract law. There is ample reason to believe that the contrary is necessary. It has been generally acknowledged that labour contracts are not outside private law—individual contract law in particular—and that it represents one of the most important examples of long term incomplete contracts. The idea of labour law as autonomous is dead and it appears simple to promote the reintegration of labour law into modern social contract law. In the context of the debate on European contract law, three different strategies can be envisaged to achieve this end. The first strategy tests the degree to which provisions under the contractual regime, not all of which are legally binding, effectively meet the needs of the weaker party in the contractual relationship, in terms of his/her security—what might for short be termed the social validity of the contract regime—(the Principles of European Contract Law, the EU rules affecting contract law, etc which are analysed and proposed in the various workshops that are currently examining them), from the specific point of view of labour law. A second strategy is to codify European or Community labour law. Lastly, another strategy is to introduce an intermediate category of long‐term social contracts. What makes this last trend particularly significant for the future is that today globalisation is progressively diminishing the income earned from labour contracts and in this sense creating insecurity. In a globalised economy, where levels of remuneration are lower than in the past, the individual's sense of security must be ensured also in the context of other social or long‐term contracts (outside the workplace), which enable people to obtain other sources of finance (such as consumer credit, for example), or to make arrangements necessary for living (such as tenancy contracts). A need exists for consumers to be granted similar rights to those which historically have been granted to workers. To take just one example: if the borrower under a consumer credit agreement loses his/her job for objective reasons, or falls ill and is therefore temporarily unable to pay the instalments under the agreement, why should there not be a mechanism which limits the credit‐providing institution from terminating the credit arrangement?     

论民法典中人格权的实证概念

尽管我国民法典以独立成编的方式规定了人格权,但是,由于对人格权的概念存在巨大争议,所以,从民法典人格权编的具体内容和规范来反观人格权的实证概念对于理论研究和司法实践更具有意义。从我国民法典的内容看,我国民法典人格权编实际上包括了两个部分:一是对人格权的保护,二是对人格尊严的保护。隐私权与信息的二元保护就清楚地说明了这一问题。因此,不能认为人格权编中保护的都是人格权。必须把人格权的概念与人格利益区分开来,从而决定其保护程度与救济措施的差别。另外,从表面上看,虽然看起来都是相同的权利(人格权),但是,法人和非法人组织的人格权与自然人的人格权建立在完全不同或者说完全不相关的基础之上--自然人的人格权是以人的自由和尊严为核心的,而法人或者非法人组织的所谓人格权完全是技术处理的结果。当然,这种处理方式也可以通过其他方式处理。荣誉权无论从哪个方面看,都不具有人格权的特征;虽然民法典对其予以了明确规定,但是,荣誉权确实不应该是人身自由和人格尊严的表现,我们在实践中应当将其作为一种特殊权利对待。总之,人格权可以定义为:自然人享有的人之所以为人的主体性权利,包括生命权、身体权、健康权、姓名权、肖像权、名誉权、荣誉权、隐私权等权利,是个人自由、尊严在民法上的具体体现。法人仅仅享有与自由和尊严无关的名称权、荣誉权和名誉权,但法人的名称权、荣誉权和名誉权在实质上不是人格权。     

Challenging Corporate 'Humanity': Legal Disembodiment, Embodiment and Human Rights

This article interrogates the corporate use of human rightsdiscourse. It does so in light of concern surrounding corporatedistortion of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)paradigm,¹ and in light of the fact that corporations can claimshelter under human rights documents, particularly—asrecently discussed by Emberland²—the European Conventionof Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR). The authoroffers a critical exploration of corporate human rights claims(and some arguments advanced in their favour), and identifiesthe phenomenon of legal disembodiment (or ‘quasi-disembodiment’),linking it to both a genealogical account of human rights andthe nature of liberal legal personality. This reading of humanrights genealogy invites the reader to focus on a series ofparadoxes surrounding human rights, including their nature asa form of sacral construct, and locates human rights at an entrenchedand challenging interface between historical and contemporarypatterns of inclusion and exclusion. Quasi-disembodiment emergesfrom the analysis as a key conceptual conduit for the legalreception of corporate human rights claims. Linking the ECHRto the liberal human rights tradition, the author suggests thatnotwithstanding judicial protection of corporations as beneficiariesof ECHR protection, it remains essential to engage in a normativecritique of the very notion of corporate human rights. Beneathhuman rights law (and the related closures of legal discourse)it is possible to trace a human rights-oriented critique thatadopts human embodiment (and its quintessential link with humanvulnerability) as the ethical foundation of human rights.³ Emphasisingembodied vulnerability as the foundation of human rights yieldsa significant and ethically relevant distinction between corporationsand human beings—a distinction with intriguing possibilitiesfor the future theorisation of human rights—and one thatarguably problematises the corporate use of human rights discourse.     

“Cloud bursts”: Emerging trends in contracting for Cloud services

Contracting for cloud based services might be said to be in its relative infancy, but such contracts as have been promulgated by the major providers have uniformly tended to be extremely restrictive in terms of the rights and means of recourse offered to customers. As contract values and service complexity “in the cloud” increase, however, more and more of such contracts are subject to review and challenge. This article accordingly considers some of the key points of common contention, and offers thoughts as to the direction of travel for such contracts in the months to come.     

The Application of Human Rights Law to Everyday Civilian Life Under Rebel Control

This article draws upon social science literature to offer a new assessment of the normative value of human rights law vis-à-vis international humanitarian law in territory under armed groups’ control. In particular, the article considers how the two bodies of law can be applied in a complementary manner to regulate the everyday life of civilians who are not involved in hostilities. The article demonstrates that while it might be tempting to imagine that concerns relating to rights such as the freedom of movement, the right to work or protection from common crime are completely displaced by considerations of physical security and survival in times of armed conflict, in reality this is often not the case.

     

The Trump Effect,Children, and the Value of Human Rights Education

Since launching his presidential campaign, Donald Trump's rhetoric has often been divisive as well as demeaning of selected groups. This article examines the impact of Trump's rhetoric on children and their communities and explores the role that human rights education can play in responding to Trump and forging broader support for human rights. The article reviews the research on human rights education and considers how human rights education can be embedded in broader efforts to educate children. Using children's literature as a case study, the article argues for the importance of mainstreaming human rights education and meeting children where they are, in order to foster greater recognition of and respect for the rights of all individuals.     

科学发展观与职务犯罪侦查阶段犯罪嫌疑人的人权保障

在职务犯罪的侦查阶段,由于侦查机关掌握法律赋予的广泛而强大的权力,而犯罪嫌疑人只是消极的被追诉方,双方的力量相差悬殊,因此,侦查机关的侦查活动必然涉及到对犯罪嫌疑人人身自由、个人隐私以及各种财产权利的限制与剥夺,两者的权利必然发生碰撞,犯罪嫌疑人的个人权利必然会受到侵犯。检察工作必须始终贯彻科学发展观,落实到职务犯罪侦查中,就是要正确处理好惩治犯罪与保障人权的关系。结合现行法律和司法实践,笔者封存在侵犯犯罪嫌疑人人权的问题以及原因进行分析。同时。笔者认为应从法律本土化、地方性知识的角度出发,从转变侦查观念、完善立法、转变侦查模式、强化监督四个方面入手,对职务犯罪侦查阶段犯罪嫌疑人的人权进行保障。