The Legitimacy of Law: A Response to Critics*

Abstract
In this paper, the author responds to the claim that his critique of legal positivism, based on an account of adjudication in South Ahica, misses its target because it ignores, first, the positivist thesis of judicial discretion and, secondly, the fact that positivism offers no account of judicial obligation. He argues that these theses expose a tension in positivism between its commitments to liberal individualism and to the supremacy of positive law, a tension which can be resolved only by situating positivism in its true context, the Hobbesian argument for the legitimacy of law. Following Dworkin, he advocates the practice-oriented common law tradition, one that makes the legitimacy of law a matter of standards already implicit in law which are best revealed in adjudication.     

里约20年来国际环境法发展述评

从1972年斯德哥尔摩人类环境会议到1992年里约环境与发展大会再到2012年里约可持续发展大会,国际环境法已经走过四十余年发展历程。其中20世纪90年代以来的国际环境法不仅扩展和丰富了传统国际法律关系的内容,其本身也呈现趋同化现象和碎片化趋势。     

Prediction of Projectile Ricochet Behavior After Water Impact*

Abstract: Although not very common, forensic investigation related to projectile ricochet on water can be required when undesirable collateral damage occurs. Predicting the ricochet behavior of a projectile is challenging owing to numerous parameters involved: impact velocity, incident angle, projectile stability, angular velocity, etc. Ricochet characteristics of different projectiles (K50 BMG, 0.5‐cal Ball M2, 0.5‐cal AP‐T C44, 7.62‐mm Ball C21, and 5.56‐mm Ball C77) were studied in a pool. The results are presented to assess projectile velocity after ricochet, ricochet angle, and projectile azimuth angle based on impact velocity or incident angle for each projectile type. The azimuth ranges show the highest variability at low postricochet velocity. The critical ricochet angles were ranging from 15 to 30°. The average ricochet angles for all projectiles were pretty close for all projectiles at 2.5 and 10° incident angles for the range of velocities studied.     

The Effectiveness and Legitimacy of International Environmental Institutions

The Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) concluded during the past decades have established complex interlinkages between the institutions established by MEAs and institutions such as UNEP, UNDP and the World Bank and the funds administered by the Bank, in particular the GEF. Questions regarding the effectiveness and legitimacy of this system of global environmental governance have arisen both in practice and in research. This essay explores the manner in which these questions have arisen, how they have been addressed in recent research and provides the context for the subsequent contributions to this special issue. Steinar Andresen is professor of political science at the University of Oslo, Ellen Hey is professor of public international law at the Erasmus University, Rotterdam.     

质疑与回应：国际商事仲裁的保密性

有关国际商事仲裁保密性的研究长期以来被忽视,这有其观念上的原因。事实上,国际商事仲裁的保密性远非一般所认为的那样毋庸置疑。仲裁保密性已越来越受到挑战与质疑,越来越多的情形被纳入可公开的范畴。但并不能因此废除仲裁的保密性,而应权衡各种因素,在仲裁的保密性与透明度之间寻求平衡。国际商事仲裁裁决的公开应是一个重要的可突破保密性的优先领域,可以作为平衡保密性与透明度这架天平的游码。     

消失的国家:海平面上升对国际法的挑战及应对

气候变化和海平面上升给国际社会特别是低洼沿海国家带来严重威胁,也对国际法带来重大挑战。低洼、偏远的(发展中)小岛屿国家可能将逐步被淹没,引发包括海洋边界、国家主体地位、新的无国籍状态、跨境气候难民人权保护等诸多复杂法律问题。海平面上升可能从根本上改变海岸线,给岛屿、基线和全球海洋边界带来不确定性,增加国家间海洋权益争端。《联合国海洋法公约》尚未澄清导致领海基线后退的海平面上升是否会影响沿海国管辖海域的外部边界。海洋法、国际环境法、国际人权法等尚未能为国家应对该危机提供规则支持。《维也纳条约法公约》第62条不支持将海平面上升作为国家可单方面终止边界条约的情势变更。永久固定或冻结基线将促进海域边界的稳定并有利于海洋划界。一个领土"物理"丧失或不适宜居住的国家应能继续保持其"国家"地位,但其生存与海域管辖权行使将面临难题。     

Combatting Child Sexual Maltreatment: Advances and Obstacles in International Progress*

Child sexual maltreatment now violates international law. This is an incredible development. International law no longer limits itself to sex crimes that have explicit international dimensions, such as child abduction, child trafficking, and sex tourism. International law now aims to halt practices that are more clearly domestic. These practices include Western conceptions of “child sexual abuse” such as incest and child rape. More controversially, prohibited practices also include those that large segments of certain societies may view as normal and even necessary to proper socialization, such as child marriages and gender-related rituals. This article explores these developments and highlights obstacles that may be encountered in attempts to protect children from sexual maltreatment.     

政府采购国际规制之内在逻辑规律及我国的因应

政府采购国际规制是国际贸易和经济全球化的必然结果,其自身演进存在着内在逻辑规律;其规制内容始终受制于贸易自由化要求下的贸易壁垒规制要求;其规制规律对完善我国政府采购法的适用范围、采购方式、采购程序、救济制度等都有重要的借鉴和启示意义。     

Employing the Mental Health System to Control Sex Offenders After Penal Incarceration*

In the 1930s, several states provided civil commitment in mental institutions for certain sex offenders. Civil commitment of these sex offenders abated after most states repealed their statutes in the 1960s. In the 1980s, however, these statutes returned, as outraged citizens deplored the offenses of repeated sex offenders. The author of this essay examines civil commitment statutes for sex offenders in Washington and Minnesota, two of the leading states in this area, as well as recent rulings from each state's Supreme Court upholding the constitutionality of these statutes. Particularly, the author focuses on the psychiatric or mental health discussions by the justices in the majority in both state rulings. Furthermore, the author criticizes the legislatively defined mental abnormality statutes that sanction these commitments, proposes use of the ordinary civil commitment statutes for individuals who are seriously mentally ill, and concludes that sex offenders who do not meet the criteria for traditional civil commitment should be handled by the criminal justice system.     

个人解雇保护立法实践的国际比较：回应与建设

在个人解雇保护制度的基本要素中,我国在解雇理由、解雇费、不公平解雇赔偿金、不公平解雇主张的时效和复职程度等五个方面的立法规制强度高于国际平均水平;在解雇通知期、解雇程序、通知期开始前的延迟时间三个方面的立法规制强度低于国际平均水平。但综合来看,我国解雇理由虚严实宽,在解雇灵活性和解雇成本方面呈现出复杂扭曲的特点,尤其是定期劳动合同的解雇保护制度大幅降低了我国解雇保护的水平。借鉴国际立法例,根据我国的国情,可以在劳资双方都可接受的限度内,循降低解雇行为灵活性、改变解雇经济成本结构的思路提高解雇保护严格度,并做若干具体制度之改进。     

Functional MRI Detection of Deception After Committing a Mock Sabotage Crime*

Abstract: Using Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) functional MRI (fMRI) to detect deception is feasible in simple laboratory paradigms. A mock sabotage scenario was used to test whether this technology would also be effective in a scenario closer to a real‐world situation. Healthy, nonmedicated adults were recruited from the community, screened, and randomized to either a Mock‐crime group or a No‐crime group. The Mock‐crime group damaged and stole compact discs (CDs), which contained incriminating video footage, while the No‐crime group did not perform a task. The Mock‐crime group also picked up an envelope from a researcher, while the No‐crime group did not perform this task. Both groups were instructed to report that they picked up an envelope, but did not sabotage any video evidence. Participants later went to the imaging center and were scanned while being asked questions regarding the mock crime. Participants also performed a simple laboratory based fMRI deception testing (Ring‐Watch testing). The Ring‐Watch testing consisted of “stealing” either a watch or a ring. The participants were instructed to report that they stole neither object. We correctly identified deception during the Ring‐Watch testing in 25 of 36 participants (Validated Group). In this Validated Group for whom a determination was made, computer‐based scoring correctly identified nine of nine Mock‐crime participants (100% sensitivity) and five of 15 No‐crime participants (33% specificity). BOLD fMRI presently can be used to detect deception concerning past events with high sensitivity, but low specificity.