英美信托财产所有权归属设计研究

英美两国的信托财产所有权是建立在普通法与衡平法并行的双重法律体系之上的一种独特设计。在这种归属设计中：受托人是普通法上的完全所有人,不负有任何普通法上的义务,受益人也没有任何普通法上的权利;但在衡平法上,受托人对受益人负有义务,受益人对受托人享有衡平法上的请求权,在受托人滥用普通法上的所有权侵害到受益人的利益时,受益人可以向法院行使其衡平法上的请求权,要求受托人履行衡平法上的义务。     

论遗嘱自由之限制:立法干预的正当性及其路径

从平衡遗嘱人意愿与其近亲属利益、否定歧视妇女的传统、维护社会公序良俗、保护社会公平等考虑,均有必要找到遗嘱自由的"恰当底线"。在域外继承法中,无论大陆法或英美法传统的国家和地区,普遍采取措施对遗嘱自由进行一定限制。我国现行《继承法》却对遗嘱处分无所限制,仅必留份除外。该种过度信赖遗嘱人自治的立法,与财产继承法自身承担的职责不符。改革开放以来,遗产分配争议明显增多,与现行遗嘱继承立法不足有直接关系。我国遗嘱继承立法宜借鉴域外继承法经验,对遗嘱处分实施适当的限制,引入结婚导致婚前所立遗嘱无效、特留份制,限制遗嘱处分婚姻居所等,以保护被继承人近亲属的应得继承份额。     

投票权信托的本土化方式探讨

肇端于英国的信托制度在美国获得了极大的发展,其弹性机制被运用于众多的领域,投票权信托就是信托制度在美国公司法中的一种发挥.它是享有投票权的股东根据协议将其股份转让给受托人,由受托人持有该股份并行使投票权.投票权信托的灵活机制在促进公司治理与保护中小股东利益方面有着独特的价值,故中国目前应着手引进该制度.     

条款增补:我国信托法中的重要创造性规定的完善

关于确认信托财产所有权由委托人享有、将信托合同定性为诺成合同、确认委托人享有因其重大侵权行为而变更受益人或解除信托的权利和确认受托人可以向信托财产权利归属人行使报酬权和补偿权的规定,为我国信托法中重要的创造性规定,对它们需要通过增补关于遗嘱信托的信托财产所有权由受益人享有、委托人负有交付信托财产义务、受托人因不同意而辞任与解任和在特定情形下权利归属人可以拒绝满足该报酬权和补偿权的规定来完善。     

作为所有权运动形式的信托——一个解决信托财产所有权归属问题的理论尝试

信托在本质上是财产所有权移转的特殊运动形式。正常情况下，所有权由委托人流向受托人，再经受托人流向信托关系外部；受托人违背信托义务的情况下，其已经享有的所有权权能，转而回流到委托人手中。所有权运动期间，受托人享有一种临界于所有权的、最大限度的定限物权，同时享有自动获得所有权的资格。所有权运动不会在实际上影响所有权归属功能的发挥，因为根据信托的性质，确定所有权归属的需要必然包含明确所有权归属的条件。     

论社会保障基金投资信托受托人的谨慎义务

社会保障基金投资信托受托人的谨慎义务,是指社会保障基金投资信托受托人所承担的在投资过程中小心慎重、考虑周全、尽量避免给信托财产造成损害的义务。社会保障基金投资信托受托人谨慎义务的标准应为专家注意义务。我国现有立法对社会保障基金投资信托受托人谨慎义务的规定尚不完善,应在相关立法中增加这方面的内容,主要包括明确受托人承担谨慎义务的标准,投资多样化的要求,受托人投资时应考虑的因素,受托人投资的程序性要求,降低投资成本的要求,风险的防范措施等。     

《中华人民共和国信托法》中的创造性规定及其评析

《中国信托法》中的重要的创造性规定包括 :将信托合同规定为诺成合同 ,确认信托财产所有权由委托人享有 ,将登记确定为信托的生效要件 ,将委托人的三项重要权利规定为其以自己的行为干预信托的权利 ,为委托人增设因其重大侵权行为而变更受益人或者解除信托的权利 ,为受托人增设对信托的保密义务 ,将受益人不确定的信托规定为无效信托 ,将信托监察人制度限定适用于公益信托并规定公益信托应当设置信托监察人。     

The Modernization of Trustee's Fiduciary Duties in the Chinese Trust Law: A Perspective from the Uniform Trust Code in the United States

Trust is the greatest and most distinctive achievement of English law, grown and developed over the passage of time, to meet new demands towards providing new solutions to problems, resulting in its widespread and inventive use worldwide. Although the trust system was introduced by the enactment of a specialist Trust Law of the People’s Republic of China in 2001, there is no significant growth in the use of the trust system in civic life. The personal fiduciary relationship between the settlor and trustee is the foundation of a trust. The trustee has an affirmative equitable duty to act solely in the interest of the beneficiaries. Whether people can rely on the trust system and use it universally is highly dependent on a trustee’s fiduciary duty. In the United States, thirty-four states and the District of Columbia have adopted some substantive provisions of the very valuable Uniform Trust Code (UTC). To promote the development and appropriate application of Chinese Trust Law, this article examines the differences between trustee obligations under the American UTC and Chinese Trust Law, and then proposes the amendment suggestion for Chinese Trust Law. This article consists of five parts. In addition to the Introduction, Part I of this article overviews the provisions of a trustee’s fiduciary duties in Chinese Trust Law. Part II discusses and compares the differences and similarities on trustee’s fiduciary duties in Chinese Trust Law and the UTC. Part III explores the comparative consideration of a trustee’s fiduciary duties, and provides the proposals for legal reform. Finally, this article brings forward a brief conclusion.     

我国信托型资产证券化理论和实践之两大误区——兼评我国信贷资产证券化试点

我国信托型资产证券化理论和实践存在两大误区:实践中要求受托人须支付拟证券化资产信托移转对价;理论上主张特定目的信托架构是拟证券化资产信托移转的受让人和受益证券的发行人。正确的认识和做法应为:根据信托移转的目的和特定目的信托的功能,受托人无须支付拟证券化资产信托移转的对价;特定目的信托是否具有受让人兼发行人之主体地位,应区分事实论与价值论加以考量。     

The Bahamas: New legislation to accommodate private trust companies ('PTCs')

The existence of private trust companies in the jurisdictionhas, in recent years, become an important factor in attractingclients to that jurisdiction. Although private trust companiesare not a new idea, they have been frequently restricted tothose with a high minimum capital which has not made them worthwhilefor some trusts. The attraction of a PTC is that the settlor can establish hisown trustee as a separate legal person and thereby, probablyin conjunction with beneficiaries, enjoy more involvement inthe trust's administration. The representation of the settlorsand beneficiaries on the board of the directors of the PTC shouldavoid many of the conflicts which might arise between settlorsand beneficiaries and the trustees.     

The power of advancement and charitable donations

Can the discharge by a trustee of a beneficiary's moral obligationconstitute a benefit? The answer to this question was fundamentalto an application to the High Court in London by trustees fordirections of whether they could exercise a power of appointmentunder a trust deed and release a substantial part of the trustcapital to the life tenant who wanted to devote the money tocharitable causes. In principle the court decided that the exercise of the relevantpower in this way could be taken as being of benefit for thebeneficiary but, under the circumstances of this case, the intendeduse of the funds could not properly be said to be for her benefit. Under a marriage settlement, created in 1964, the trust deedgave the trustees a general     

财产独立管理委托的信托性质与信托制度融入民法典研究——从财产管理委托的类型化分析展开

委托财产依财产公示制度转移于受托人的财产管理委托,以受托人是否受制于委托人控制为标准,可分为财产独立管理委托和财产代理管理委托。财产独立管理委托系委托人为实现其某种目的与相关意愿,将其一定财产依财产公示制度转移于受托人,受托人仅受委托人设立委托时表示于外意思管辖,但意思表示可能存在若干空白的财产管理委托。财产独立管理委托与信托具有同一性,其中委托目的明示的财产独立管理委托与明示信托具有同一性,委托目的默示的财产独立管理委托与默示信托具有同一性。中国的过去和现在都客观存在大量的信托实践,信托制度具有民法化的实践基础。对物权概念为信托制度融入民法典提供了理论基础;《加拿大魁北克省民法典》为信托制度融入民法典提供了可资借鉴的成功经验。     

Private equity: fashion cult or new religion? A challenge for the trust investment advisor

Trustees, in considering their investment policy, need to considerall types of investment. The balance between capital growthand income is a matter requiring constant appraisal and thisfrequently requires an examination of alternative investments.A current type of investment, on which there is much attention,is that of private equity. Is this something which should beconsidered as a trustee investment? The author examines thisquestion and places private equity in context.     

信托财产所有权性质之再思考

确定信托财产所有权须考察信托财产流转全过程。参加这一过程的法律角色不仅有委托人、受托人和受益人,还有财产接受人。信托行为由财产管理和财产转移两个法律行为组合而成,相应形成信托财产经营管理法律关系和财产转移法律关系。信托财产经营法律关系的主体为委托人、受托人和受益人,此三主体对信托财产均无大陆法意义上的所有权;财产转移法律关系的主体为委托人和财产接受人。信托成立前,信托财产归属委托人所有,信托终止后,信托财产归财产接受人所有。     

日本《信托法》的修改及其借鉴意义

2006年12月日本对施行84年之久的《信托法》进行了重大修改。此次修改的主要内容表现在受托人的义务、受益人的权利以及信托利用的形态等三个方面。修改后的日本《信托法》确立了民事信托、商事信托与公益信托的共同规则;扩大了信托当事人的意思自治空间,增加了大量任意性规范;增强了法律用语的科学性和制度的可操作性。我国《信托法》宜借鉴日本《信托法》的此次修改,在立法观念上加以更新,并对法律规范进行修改和增补。     

中国信托业陷入低迷的法律分析——写在《信托法》实施以后

我国信托业虽然与银行业、保险业、证券业一并号称为现代金融体系的四大支柱,但信托业无疑是最弱的一支。《信托法》的出台并没有带来信托业的繁荣,在真正回归了＂受人之托,代人理财＂的核心主业以后,信托业却长期陷入了低迷。分析表明,在我国信托法中,双重所有权的法系冲突问题悬而未决,受托人容易沦为委托人的代理人,委托人和受益人容易出现对峙僵局,瑕疵承继制度矫枉过正,信托财产公示制度有名无实,没有合理的市场退出机制。这些立法缺陷是中国信托业陷入低迷状态的重要原因,也是信托制度在我国没有顺利实现本土化的突出表现。可以断言,中国的信托业已进入瓶颈阶段,信托法能否实现本土化是我国信托业能否走出低迷的关键。     

TESTING A BAYESIAN LEARNING THEORY OF DETERRENCE AMONG SERIOUS JUVENILE OFFENDERS*

The effect of criminal experience on risk perceptions is of central importance to deterrence theory but has been vastly understudied. This article develops a realistic Bayesian learning model of how individuals will update their risk perceptions over time in response to the signals they receive during their offending experiences. This model implies a simple function that we estimate to determine the deterrent effect of an arrest. We find that an individual who commits one crime and is arrested will increase his or her perceived probability of being caught by 6.3 percent compared with if he or she had not been arrested. We also find evidence that the more informative the signal received by an individual is, the more he or she will respond to it, which is consistent with more experienced offenders responding less to an arrest than less experienced offenders do. Parsing our results out by type of crime indicates that an individual who is arrested for an aggressive crime will increase both his or her aggressive crime risk perception as well as his or her income‐generating crime risk perception, although the magnitude of the former may be slightly larger. This implies that risk perception updating, and thus potentially deterrence, may be partially, although not completely, crime specific.     

我国遗嘱形式要件的认定及完善——中日比较法的视野

对于我国遗嘱形式的完善,学界在能否承认共同遗嘱问题上观点对立,还有学者提出在现行《继承法》规定的五种形式以外再增加秘密遗嘱形式。但通过对中日两国遗嘱实务进行实证分析可以看出,应当明文否定共同遗嘱等自设形式,同时秘密遗嘱不符合我国国情,而在规定了秘密遗嘱的日本,该形式已经受到学者废除的呼吁,因其实质是自书遗嘱。因此,在对遗嘱形式要件予以完善时,应当维持现行的五种形式,但需细化五种遗嘱形式的要件,以便于司法确认立遗嘱人的真意,实现立遗嘱人的终意。     

论英美信托财产双重所有权在中国的本土化

双重所有权是英美法信托制度中精巧的法律制度设计,但它与我国单一所有权理念格格不入。我国移植了信托制度,但没有妥善解决双重所有权的本土化问题,由此导致信托财产所有权归属模糊不清、受益权性质悬而未决、信托登记名存实亡。分析表明,是否采用双重所有权的形式并不重要,关键是本土化的制度设计能否实现同样的制度功能。在大陆法系的框架下,由受托人享有信托财产的单一所有权,同时受益人享有对受托人的债权请求权,这种设计既可以发挥信托制度的功能,又能够避免对我国传统物权制度造成巨大冲击,有助于实现信托制度的本土化。     

论表决权信托——以小股东利益保护为背景展开的研究

公司控制权的存在,使控制股东可获得大于其股权比例的收益,转移、减少其相应的风险,实现其利益的最大化。表决权是争夺控制权的基本工具,中小股东的表决权往往只是一种抽象的存在,在控制权争夺中其表决权的作用不能充分实现,其利益容易受到损害。表决权信托通过对表决权的重新安排,为中小股东利益保护提供了一个较好的外部机制。