A Puzzling Paradox: Advancements in Reproductive Technology and New York's Ban on Commercial Surrogacy Agreements

With infertility on the rise in the United States and the legalization of same sex marriage, it has become increasingly difficult for many Americans to start a family. Advancements in modern medicine have addressed this issue and now couples can create their family through surrogacy. However, New York's current laws have not caught up to the changing times and surrogacy agreements are still invalid and unenforceable. This Note proposes the repeal of New York's surrogacy ban and the adoption of legislation to recognize and enforce surrogacy agreements in order to bring New York's laws within the purview of modern medicine.     

Rights Restoration and the Entanglement of US Criminal and Civil Law: A Study of New York's “Certificates of Relief”

Despite burgeoning interest in prisoner re‐entry and the “collateral consequences” of criminal convictions, we know little about the practical operation of policies governing the rights and privileges of people with criminal convictions. This study examines New York's Certificates of Relief from Civil Disabilities to explore the workings of the US carceral state at the intersection of criminal and civil law. These certificates remove some legal restrictions accompanying convictions, particularly licensure barriers, and are easier to achieve than pardons; other states have used New York's policy as a model. Interviews with judges and probation officers reveal deep variations in how they understand and award certificates. In some cases, differences stem from informal local agreements, particularly concerning firearms in rural communities; in others, from discretionary judgments in a context of legal ambiguity. These practices demonstrate how specific legal, organizational, and cultural factors contribute to complexity and variation in the US carceral state.     

ALMOST,BUT NOT QUITE: THE FAILURE OF NEW YORK'S GET STATUTE

The quandary of Jewish women unable to remarry because of their husbands’ refusal to grant them religious divorces is a real problem affecting real people. Husbands are wielding this lopsided power to “extort” money from their wives, obtain favorable child custody settlements, property settlements, and child support payments. The burgeoning divorce rate is certain to exacerbate this problem. Already, this situation has garnered international attention. In the wake of New York's legislative attempt to remedy this problem, countries, including the United Kingdom and Australia, have promulgated legislative solutions to this dilemma. New York is the only state in the United States to pass such a statute. Unfortunately, New York's statute is flawed because it is of limited applicability and still allows for situations in which the Jewish wife is civilly divorced but religiously married. This Note proposes amending New York's statute to make it applicable to any and all divorce proceedings and to any barrier to remarriage. This Note will further recommend that the proposed amended statute should be adopted worldwide.     

Creatures of the State: A Hard Look at the Supersession of Municipal Power in New York's Mineral Resources Law

The controversial method of gas extraction known as hydraulic fracturing has revealed a critical issue within New York's Mineral Resources Law: Can a local government prohibit the practice through its zoning power? This piece analyzes supersession clauses found in other New York statutes, as well as the statutes of other jurisdictions. It criticizes the construction of the law by two lower courts in the recent decisions concerning the towns of Dryden and Middlefield, and applies recognized principles of statutory construction to determine that towns may not effect a prohibition of gas mining through local zoning ordinances.     

中国近代法学留学生与新中国初期的法治建设

本文主要从四个方面论述了中国近代法学留学生与新中国法制建设的关系。第一 ,许多近代法学留学生没有跟随国民党政权前去台湾而留在大陆的原因。第二 ,近代法学留学生对新中国的立法、司法和法学教育所作的贡献。第三 ,1957年反右斗争中近代法学留学生对自身生存方式的呻吟。第四 ,1957年反右斗争中近代法学留学生对新中国法制建设中一些错误做法的批评。     

Keeping the Family Together: Why New York Must Amend Evidence Rules to Protect a Parent's Right to be a Parent

In New York, hearsay statements made by children may be admissible in a child protective proceeding. Under Article 10 of the Family Court Act, an out‐of‐court statement only requires corroboration to support the statement's reliability. The Family Court has the choice to determine what evidence will be sufficient for corroboration. In comparison to other statutes from different states, New York's statute is very broad. This Note proposes amending the current evidence statute under Article 10 of the Family Court Act to strengthen the standard for admitting hearsay statements in child protective proceedings.     

Case Baiting

In 2014, New Jersey passed the Sports Wagering Act, permitting sports betting at state casino and racetrack venues, in direct conflict with the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. In 2017, South Dakota passed Senate Bill 106, requiring that certain e-commerce retailers collect and remit sales tax, in violation of federal law. The two U.S. Supreme Court decisions arising from challenges to these state statutes—South Dakota v. Wayfair and Murphy v. NCAA—exemplify U.S. Supreme Court “case baiting.” Case baiting is a tactic states implement to challenge federal directives by passing state legislation that directly conflicts with federal law to lure the Court into granting certiorari and ruling in their favor. This article argues that South Dakota's and New Jersey's triumphs pave the way for other jurisdictions to pursue similar strategies across multiple legal issues such as abortion restrictions and immigration law. In addition, this article suggests that case baiting invites further scholarly exploration of important policy considerations, including the use of this tactic as a novel approach to the application of law and strategy, whether case baiting promotes the Court's progression toward a more quasi-legislative role, and whether passing conflict legislation violates state legislators’ oaths of office.     

CHILD SUPPORT GUIDELINES:

Since 1984, all U.S. jurisdictions have established child support guidelines. Using computerized worksheets, we compared the guidelines of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut (which use the “Income Shares” model also employed by 30 other jurisdictions). We calculated how child care, alimony to a prior spouse, and subsequent children change the support obligation. We found that, generally, Connecticut requires the most child support, New York is second, and New Jersey third. However, if children require child care, New York requires the most support. In Connecticut, child care costs have virtually no impact. When a noncustodial parent is paying alimony to a prior spouse, support is dramatically greater in Connecticut than in New Jersey, with New York in between. Only New Jersey reduces the support paid by the noncustodial parent who has subsequent children. New York's and Connecticut's mathematical guidelines do not consider subsequent children.     

我国环境基本法中基本原则的立法探析

环境法基本原则对环境法体系建设和司法实践具有重要的指导作用.我国环境法基本原则是学者在参考和借鉴国际环境法基本原则的基础上,结合我国环境保护立法归纳概括得出的.由于没有较高位阶的立法规定,现行环境法基本原则存在表述不一致、内容不确定、无法充分体现环境法价值理念等缺陷.纵观外国环境基本法大都有环境法基本原则的专门规定.在全球环境法形成的大趋势下,环境法基本原则的内容也呈现出明显的趋同性;而不同的法律文化和环境法治背景又使得各国环境法基本原则立法技术极具个性化.目前,具有我国环境基本法地位的《环境保护法》正面临修改,利用这一契机,在学习和借鉴外国环境法基本原则的基础上通过立法明确我国环境法基本原则是环境基本法修改的重要任务之一.     

The Process Model of Closure and Nonprofits: The Exit of Exit Art

Experts think of arts nonprofits as fragile organizations, prone to closure. Despite these predictions, little research has been completed on the process of closure within these organizations. I leverage a comprehensive organizational database and seventeen in-depth interviews with staff and board members to understand the process of closing New York's Exit Art. I explore the value of Sutton's (1987) process model, and its application to nonprofits by Duckles et al. (2014), to analyze the case. This study offers novel insights into management practices that may benefit nonprofits in the future, and interest scholars who study management transitions and organizational closure.     

论环境纠纷处理与环境损害赔偿专门立法

环境纠纷的日益增多和公民环境维权意识的不断提高 ,需要制定专门的立法解决环境纠纷和维护公民的环境权利。该立法的制定不仅有利于环境法体系的完善 ,而且也可以在一定程度上弥补民法和民事诉讼法的不足。国外已经有环境纠纷处理和损害赔偿专门立法的成功经验可供借鉴。我国的环境纠纷处理和环境损害赔偿立法应当采取实体和程序一体的立法模式 ,并着重规定在环境纠纷处理和环境损害赔偿方面所涉及的一些特殊问题。     

论我国环境刑法立法体例问题简

目前,我国环境刑事立法体例已经很难适应愈演愈烈的环境犯罪.我国现行刑法对环境犯罪的客体界定不清,对环境犯罪罪名的规定散乱不成体系;环境犯罪在现行刑法中的位阶较低,不利于有效地惩治环境犯罪.我国环境犯罪的刑事立法,应当遵循人本主义同时兼容生态主义的原则,充分尊重生态环境本身的独立价值,借鉴德国环境犯罪刑事立法模式,选择环境犯罪在现行刑法典中独立成章的立法体例,调整部分有关环境犯罪且散见其他章节的罪名,扩充环境犯罪罪名涵盖的范围.     

The effect of joint and several liability under superfund on brownfields

To encourage redevelopment of potentially contaminated sites (or “brownfields”), various programs protect purchasers of such sites from Superfund liability. This protection may be unwarranted, however, if sellers can reduce property prices to compensate buyers for this liability. We identify four previously overlooked effects of joint and several liability under Superfund that may discourage sales. Thus, the brownfields problem may be more widespread than the prior literature suggests. Furthermore, the effects we identify may distort any decision of anyone subject to any joint and several liability if that decision may affect the number of other parties liable for the same harm.     

New Labour’s communitarianism,supporting families and the ‘rationality mistake’: Part II

In Part I of this study, we argued that New Labour is keen to use legislation to promote what it sees as desirable family forms and to discourage other, less-favoured family practices. The codification of this approach in the 1998 Green Paper Supporting Families - and, in particular, the 'New Deal for Lone Parents' - was compared with recent empirical research on how people make decisions about their moral economies. We concluded that the government's approach is subject to a 'rationality mistake' - people do not make decisions in the way the government assumes and hence legislation can be inefficient or even oppressive. Here, we examine this contention further, this time focusing on chapter 4 of the Green Paper, indicatively entitled 'Strengthening marriage'. Using recent empirical research on mothers' views on marriage and cohabitation, we find further evidence of the 'rationality mistake', where the government has misunderstood the ways in which people make decisions about partnering and hence misplaces the role of family law. We conclude that supportive and flexible legislative frameworks are needed that recognize the varying ways in which people take moral economic decisions.     

论环境法的正当性的依据

判断和论证环境法的正当性有五项依据。科学依据是判断环境法正当性的＂钢规铁律＂,具有正当性的环境法律应该遵循自然生态规律;信仰和伦理道德是为法律提供正当性的基本方式,衡量法律是否正当的最终标准是正义,而正义基本上是一个信仰、伦理道德问题;利益是衡量法律正当性的常衡器,将利益作为判断法律正当性的依据,是指该立法是否增加了正当的、积极的利益,是否限制了不正当的、消极的利益,对增加的和限制的利益的分配是否公平;将合法律性作为论证环境资源法正当性的一个依据,主要指其符合宪法、法统和环境基本法律;衡量制定的法律是否正当、有效,主要取决于该立法过程是否切实遵循了正当程序,判断立法程序正当性的实际标准,是看是否重视立法的民主程序和公众参与。     

Privatising the green police: the role of NGOs in wildlife law enforcement

This article examines the role of NGOs in wildlife law enforcement, drawing on empirical research conducted within UK environmental law enforcement but also drawing on a review of the academic literature and policy debates concerning NGOs and pressure group activity. It examines the theoretical basis for NGO actions and different policy perspectives, the ideologies employed by NGO's and how these manifest themselves in law enforcement policies and practice. While the focus of this essay is UK and US NGO activity with its professional enforcement activity and policy networks, the impact of wildlife and environmental NGOs is significant in a range of jurisdictions and is a vital component in effective policing of wildlife legislation.     

新版《药品管理法》的主要内容与特色研究

经2019年8月修订后的《中华人民共和国药品管理法》的出台是国家药品管理的立法典范。它在完善卫生法律体系的立法架构下,通过采用修订立法方式,界定区分假、劣药品概念,强调信用监管,规范网络售药行为,鼓励科技创新,明确法律责任与处罚,突出法律的回应性立法特征,保障公民健康权利。法律的生命在于实施。应结合社会主义法治理念要求,建议健全药品的配套法规,严格药品监管执法,合理开展普法宣传,加强司法适用,实现"良法善治"的目的。     

Finding a Safer Harbor: Mandating Health Care Clinics to Intervene in Child Sex Trafficking by Amending the Safe Harbor Act

When it comes to child sex trafficking, health care clinics have become spaces of duality. While these facilities provide medical care to child victims, many argue that this facilitates traffickers in concealing evidence of child sex trafficking. This Note proposes an amendment to New York's Safe Harbor Act and various sections of the Social Services Law to cure legislative ambiguity with respect to health care clinics. The amendment will mandate that all state‐run health care clinics implement a uniform process, utilizing mental health professionals and a standardized interview process, to identify and report instances of potential child sex trafficking.     

Transit Industry Gears Up and Responds to Climate Change Challenges

The transit industry in the United States is preparing for growth as the world deals with climate change and it is applying various methods to measure and monitor its impact on the environment. Working with local, state, and federal governments, transit agencies have adapted many commonsense solutions. Now the American Public Transportation Association is putting together standards and best practices to encourage the industry and inform the public about the benefits of public transportation to the environment, helping our nation join the rest of the world. It is also developing and applying new transit strategies that will attract more riders and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Portland, Oregon's Tri-Met, New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and the Utah Transit Authority are leading the industry. Portland, Oregon's Tri-Met General Manager, who chairs the industry's Sustainability Committee for the American Public Transit Association has been leading by example with an Environmental Management System that addresses greenhouse gas, pollution, waste, inefficiency, and congestion. New York and Utah are recording greenhouse gases with the Climate Registry. Many agencies are developing new strategies that are attracting more riders and experiencing an intermodal shift to buses and trains. Meanwhile, developing countries are able to increase service and pay for it by selling carbon credits.     

Safe or sorry? Rights,responsibilities and retribution—the new three Rs of education in New Zealand?

A school is a microcosm of society and thus is subject to the problems existing within society generally. The rights and responsibilities of persons outside the school gates apply within the school also. The school environment is unique in that not only is a young person compelled to attend but he or she must spend a great deal of each day within the school's jurisdiction. May it then be argued that there is an enhanced responsibility of schools towards the emotional and physical welfare of their students in relation to matters within their control? This article will examine whether a New Zealand public school has a responsibility that extends further than a moral duty for the safety of its students. Particularly it will consider a school's potential liability in respect of the various forms of student‐to‐student bullying and harassment. It examines the potential for an action against a school under human rights legislation, at common law, and in criminal law.