Targeting Underage Drinking and Driving in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Courts: The Reinforcing Alcohol Prevention (RAP) Program

Alcohol use is a concern among our nation's least experienced drivers, and underage drinking contributes to the overall burden of traffic injury and mortality. The goal of the Reinforcing Alcohol Prevention (RAP) Program was to develop a court‐based program targeting underage drinking and driving among teens. An advisory board created the program which included changes to the drivers' licensing ceremonies and traffic dockets conducted in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Courts. Additions included 5‐minute videos of individuals in alcohol‐related crashes and a crash‐photo display. Exit evaluations garnering impressions/opinions of the program indicated 84% of teenagers felt every teen should view the presentation and 96% would be less likely to drive after drinking. The RAP Program has been well‐received by judges and participants and could be easily implemented by other jurisdictions.     

社会主义法治理念专题笔谈

为贯彻落实《司法部关于印发〈司法行政系统社会主义法治理念教育实施方案〉的通知》精神,最近,司法部研究室专门组织了一次为期一天的社会主义法治理念专题研讨会。全室研究人员、科研管理人员畅所欲言,共同交流,收效颇丰。因版面所限,现将本次研讨会的主要内容以专题笔谈的形式整理如下:     

民商法在公安执法中的地位研究

民商法的平等、权利保护、诚信等基本原则对树立人民警察的执法理念具有重要作用,对维护人民警察自身合法利益也具有重要意义。现在,公安机关在具体执法工作中愈来愈多地应用民商法知识。因此,研究民商法在公安执法工作中的地位,有助于扭转以往公安工作重刑轻民的传统观念,提高警察的素质,更好地发挥人民警察的作用。     

Rule of Law with Chinese Characteristics: The Role of Campaigns in Lawmaking

China increasingly relies on its legal system to regulate a broad spectrum of social and economic activity. There is, however, widespread failure to observe the law, which periodically leads to social crises and popular unrest. The Chinese state is not, of course, alone in experiencing this, but it responds to enforcement failures in distinctive ways. This article examines one such response. In this article, we explore the role played by the enforcement campaign in the development of the Chinese legal system. We focus on one campaign in particular: the campaign that was waged between 2004 and 2007 to redress the chronic failure to pay wages. Chinese enforcement campaigns are not simply directed at securing greater compliance with existing law. They are integrally linked to cycles of law reform in the PRC. Whilst their main impact is on enforcement, they also have an important role in influencing the drafting of legislation and the interpretation of law. This article documents the impact of this campaign on the production of law: in speeding up the iterative process of lawmaking, interpretation, and implementation, with production of important reforms to existing labour law in 2007 and 2008. It is the strong “planned” nature of the campaign and its emphasis on state leadership of lawmaking and enforcement that continues to shape the development of China's particular version of the “rule of law.”     

Outing Courtesy: The Role of Rude Dissent in Rule of Law Systems

This essay critically examines Keith Bybee's All Judges Are Political, Except When They Are Not. Although Bybee's creative use of the cultural form of courtesy helps us better understand the consensus‐building and legitimating features of rule‐of‐law systems, it overlooks the role that rude dissent can play in exposing the violent, exclusionary, and materially disadvantaging aspects of such systems. Using examples of outing closeted public figures and the rude AIDS activism of the 1990s, this essay explores the rule of law from the perspective of those who are subject to it.     

论预先防范原则在国际环境法中的地位

预先防范原则是在20世纪80、90年代出现在国际环境法领域的一种新的处理缺少确切科学证据的环境风险的主张.迄今已有至少八个国际环境条约载入了与预先防范原则有关的内容,虽然具体用词不尽相同;与预先防范原则有关的案例也已经有数个.以这些为研究对象,探讨预先防范原则在国际环境法上的地位.现在预先防范原则还没有形成国际环境法领域的习惯法,但很多国家愿意在处理缺少确切科学证据的环境风险时,使用与其相关的方法或措施.     

Promoting Human Rights within the Union: The Role of European Private International Law

Abstract:  This article aims to contribute both to the 'Refgov' project, which is focused on the ambition to find ways of promoting human rights within the EU, but also, more in general and apart from the project, to an improved understanding of the crucial place conflict of law rules occupy in the building of a common Europe—a highly political question behind apparently technical issues. In the study the author deals with the parameters, points of interest, etc in relation to private international law which should be heeded if European Member States 'look at' each other's laws, and—in the context of the 'Refgov' project—if the idea is to exchange 'best practices' or harmonise substantive law, or to harmonise private international law, etc further through a type of open method of coordination. The contribution also shows that private international law issues are decisive in respect of every evaluation of the impact of European integration on human rights, both if this integration process takes place through 'negative' harmonisation (for example by falling back on the principle of mutual recognition) and through 'positive' harmonisation.     

Steering, Supporting, Enabling: The Role of Law in Local Government Reforms

Reforms in local government often follow decisions that are taken by central governments. To initiate these changes, law is the most important mechanism. This article analyzes the different regulative strategies legislators can apply in this context. Since local governments have a variety of options at hand to resist orders for change, a strict steering approach is not necessarily the most promising mechanism. Contrariwise, to play a purely enabling role might not be a satisfactory option for central governments that want to express their commitment to a multilevel reform agenda.