ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY REGULATIONS： GUARANTEE THE HUMAN RIGHT TO A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT

Throughout history, human beings have wastefully utilized human resources, unknowingly at first, and then without taking into consideration the concept of sustainability. This has led to a quantitative and qualitative deterioration of the ecosystems providing the necessary resources to satisfy what current society considers is essential. The international community has conducted several efforts that tend to protect the space in which life develops. Among those efforts we can highlight due to its historical importance： the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment which took place in June of 1972 in Stockholm. There was the participation of l13 countries which signed a declaration that became the foundation for all environmental policies： the Worm Charter for Nature, Then 10 years following the Stockholm conference, it came to ratify the principles originating from the aforementioned event. The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development which took place in Rio de Janeiro in June of 1992 established the principles to achieve sustainable development. The 2002 Johannesburg Summit in South Africa promoted the implementation of concrete actions to comply with the Rio Conference in specific times. In Mexico, the constitutional recognition of the Human Right to an adequate third generation environment for the development and well- being of every individual requires legal protection. This issue becomes crucial to the design and implementation of an environmental protection regime in case of environmental element destruction, whether they are national property or res communes, will allow the damage to be repaired and will reduce the possibility of new damages from happening. Mexico has signed 62 international treaties related to environmental matters. Nine of which refer to environmental damage responsibility before the international community. Environmental Law in Mexico is composed of a series of ordinances that have been issued in different historical moments and contexts. That is the reason why they lack a connection that organizes them and aims them to an ultimate objective. So, here are presented some considerations which are essential in order to operate a legal responsibility system for environmental damages.     

THE RIGHT TO MARRY AND THE SAN FRANCISCO EXPERIENCE

This article chronicles the issuance of marriage licenses to lesbian and gay couples in San Francisco in the winter of 2004. The article explores the political and legal landscape in the fight for the right to marry nationally and examines the current legal status of lesbian and gay couples in the country.     

MAGNA CARTA AND THE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT TO DUE PROCESS

The 800th anniversary of Magna Carta has been marked by much pageantry and celebration. Some scholars have taken this opportunity to point out that the myth of Magna Carta is far greater than what the actual 1215 Charter managed to accomplish. Nevertheless, Magna Carta did make a meaningful and concrete contribution to due process in 1215, as shown by certain provisions that are seemingly overlooked by critics eager to downplay the Charter’s importance. This article highlights two lesser known clauses of Magna Carta that had real contemporary significance in guaranteeing the availability of jury trial for some categories of civil litigation. The ringing promises of Clauses 39 and 40 may have inspired great jurists and founders of nations, but the more humble Clauses 17 and 18 — specifying the proper location and manner of hearing certain civil cases — must also be taken into account in assessing the Charter’s importance.     

REALIZING THE RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT THROUGH JUDICIAL REFORM: THE STRATEGIC CONNECTION AND PRACTICAL INTEGRATION

The birth of the right to development (RTD) shifted the paradigm of international discourse from need, charity, and aid towards human rights, shared responsibilities, and cooperation. The implementation of RTD requires effective development policies at the national level, and equitable economic relations and a favorable economic environment at the international level. From the new theory perspective, RTD is a type of integrated human rights, charazterized by integration feature and process-oriented approach, by the method of dialogue, in order to achieve the idea of equilibrium. It would be ideal to overcome the dilemma of implementing RTD based on overall strategic framework and improve the legal and judicial reform in the context of globalization. However, for the developing countries that have been struggling to change the unequal international political and economic order, it is the core driving force of realizing RTD in the process of deepening dialogue and negotiations, which is reflected in the process of legal and judicial reform. Therefore, it is necessary for us to change the strategy from legislative base to judicial focus, from one-way path to plural view, exploring the possibility of new model to realize the RTD in the context of comprehensive judicial reform.     

THE RIGHT TO EQUAL DEVELOPMENT AND ITS PRACTICE MODELS IN CHINA

As a holistic right, the right to equal development emphasizes equity of opportunities for development in economic, social, cultural and political fields among subjects of present and future generations at different regions. Right to equal development may receive theoretical support from ideas of social solidarity, global justice, inclusive growth and traditional culture of China. China engages in the realization of the right to equal development in five models, namely cooperation among local governments, interaction between public power and private rights, sustainable development, holistic development and government intervention.     

地役权与居住权问题 评《物权法草案》第十四、十五章

<正>一、关于地役权的规定(一)关于地役权的类型的问题《物权法草案》(以下简称《草案》)只规定了当事人通过契约设立的地役权,这种地役权在学理上被称为意定地役权。在大陆法系国家,除意定地役权之外,还承认有法定地役权的存在。之所以有法定地役权,主要是考虑到在许多情况下,需役地对供役地的利用有绝对的必要(比如说汲取生活用水),出于利益衡量的考虑,法律规定需役地的所有人直接依法取得对供役地的地役权,不需要取得供役地所有人的同意。法定地役权,由于依法而存在,完全排除了     

TOWARDS A HUMAN DIGNITY BASED APPROACH TO FOOD SECURITY: LESSONS FROM CHINA AND INDIA

Despite almost halving the proportion of the world’s undernourished over the past two and half decades, the number of undernourished people in the world remains staggeringly high. Efforts to address the global state of food insecurity must target China and India, which are home to the world’s highest and second highest number of undernourished people. This article analyzes the comparative experiences of tackling food security in China and India and adopts an inter-disciplinary approach, which melds legal, economic, and human perspectives to food security. Both China and India have made concerted efforts to improve food security of vulnerable populations in the past three decades. These efforts have historically focused on actively promoting grain production, which has been largely successful in achieving grain self-sufficiency and securing adequate availability of food for their populations. However, the contemporary challenges to food security are now increasingly driven by unsustainable dietary patterns and are exacerbated by growing populations, increasing wealth, and the globalization of food supply chains. As a result, the cause of food insecurity is no longer fundamentally about food supply, but rather about the extent to which marginalized populations are empowered with the rights, freedoms, and capabilities that enable them to attain healthy and productive lives. China and India apply markedly different approaches to address the issue of people’s access to food. In India, the right to food movement has gained momentum through the work of civil society actors and there is now a legal right to food. In contrast, in China the right to food is neither stipulated in Chinese law nor referenced to in the official policy rhetoric as the country seeks to ensure access to food by focusing on poverty alleviation more generally through an income transfer program and a non-food based, social safety net to help the poor. At the same time, the Chinese population’s high educational level provides enormous potential for effective interventions and education on nutrition and health. A comparison of the approaches to food security in China and India ultimately reminds us that efforts to tackle food insecurity must center on human dignity, which requires more wide-ranging investment in enhancing people’s capabilities, combined with effective enforcement of the right to food.