Property and constitutional order: Land tenure reform and the future of the African state

The debate over land law reform in Africa has been framed asa referendum on the market – that is, as a debate pittingadvocates of the growth-promoting individualization of propertyrights against those who call for protecting the livelihoodsand subsistence rights of small farmers. This article arguesthat the prospect of land law reform also raises a complex bundleof constitutional issues. In many African countries, debatesover land law reform are turning into referenda on the natureof citizenship, political authority, and the future of the liberalnation state itself. The article describes alternative landreform scenarios that are currently under debate, and identifiesthe constitutional implications of each. The practical salienceof the issues is illustrated through reference to land reformpolitics in Côte d’Ivoire, Uganda, South Africa,and Tanzania.     

东莞检察研究与检察改革情况报告

一、检察研究的总体情况 (一)检察研究开展情况 近年来,东莞市检察机关坚持以邓小平理论和"三个代表"重要思想为指导,紧紧围绕"强化法律监督,维护公平正义"的检察工作主题,立足检察实践,密切结合东莞市经济社会的实际情况,大力开展检察研究工作,使检察研究有效地发挥了为东莞市经济社会稳定发展大局服务、为领导决策服务、为检察工作服务的作用,取得了明显成效.     

甘肃检察研究与检察改革情况报告

2003年以来,甘肃省检察机关法律政策研究部门认真学习贯彻"三个代表"重要思想和党的十六大精神,紧紧围绕党的中心工作和检察工作的重点、难点问题深入开展调查研究,努力发挥研究部门为领导决策服务和检察业务服务的职能,取得了一定成绩.     

轻微犯罪刑事政策的具体运用

应对轻微犯罪与重刑犯罪分别适用不同的刑事政策,以暂缓起诉等人文关怀方式挽救和感化轻微犯罪人,促使其尽快复归社会,实现社会治安的良性循环.立足于非犯罪化和非刑罚化的实现途径,一要实现轻微犯罪的非刑罚化和刑罚个别化;二要强化犯罪嫌疑人的权利保障意识,改变以逮捕为主导的候审羁押制度.     

Public administration reform for Aboriginal affairs: An institutionalist analysis

Persistent underperformance of public policy and program implementation in Aboriginal affairs is widely recognised. We analysed the results of two case studies of attempted reforms in public administration of Aboriginal primary health care in the Northern Territory, using a framework based on the institutionalist and systemic racism literatures, with the aim of better understanding the sources of implementation failure. Implementation of the agreed reforms was unsuccessful. Contributing factors were as follows: strong recognition of the need for change was not sustained; the seeds of change, present in the form of alternative practices, were not built on; there was a notable absence of sustained political/bureaucratic authorisation; and, interacting with all of these, systemic racism had important consequences and implications. Our framework was useful for making sense of the results. It is clear that reforms in Aboriginal affairs will require government authorities to engage with organisations and communities. We conclude that there are four requirements for improved implementation success: clear recognition of the need for change in ‘business as usual’; sustainable commitment and authorisation; the building of alternative structures and methods to enable effective power sharing (consistent with the requirements of parliamentary democracy); and addressing the impact of systemic racism on decision-making, relationships, and risk management.     

Shading,lines, colors: mapping ethnographic taxonomies of European Russia

This article explores the role of maps in the construction and development of ethnographic taxonomies in the mid-century Russian Empire. A close reading of two ethnographic maps of “European Russia” produced by members of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society, Petr Keppen (1851) and Aleksander Rittikh (1875), is used to shine a spotlight on the cartographical methods and techniques (lines, shading, color, hatching, legends, text, etc.) employed to depict, construct, and communicate these taxonomies. In doing so, this article draws our attention to how maps impacted visual and spatial thinking about the categories of ethnicity and nationality, and their application to specific contexts and political purposes within the Empire. Through an examination of Keppen’s and Rittikh’s maps, this article addresses the broader question of why cartography came to be regarded as such a powerful medium through which to communicate and consolidate particular visions of an ethnographic landscape.     

Public Perceptions of Income Inequality in Hong Kong: trends,causes and implications

This article examines the patterns and changes in public perceptions of domestic income inequality in Hong Kong in the past two decades and explains individual variations in these perceptions. It found that the perceived seriousness of income disparities had been persistently high, while the perceived unjustness of income disparities showed a fluctuating trend. Our findings lent partial support to the structural position thesis that the privileged groups are less likely than the underprivileged groups to consider existing income disparities to be serious and unjust. Nonetheless, the popular understanding of poverty is still biased towards ‘individual’ explanations, and this perhaps explains why the government is less willing to tackle the economic and political foundations of poverty in Hong Kong.     

Commentary on the Newly Published White Paper Concerning the Rule of Law in China

On February 28, 2008, the State Council Information Office published a white paper entitled China＇s Efforts and Achievements in Promoting the Rule of Law. This document is the first white paper published by the government on China＇s rule of law. It contains eight chapters and six appendices to review China＇s achievements on the road to practicing the rule of law in a compre- hensive way, and to expound the official Chinese policy and position on this is- sue. With some essential points inside, the publication of this white paper is of great significance, especially this year, to China＇s rule of law, human rights prog- ress, and its communication and dialogue with the international community.     

云南省专业技术人才队伍建设问题研究

从战略高度充分认识专业技术人才的重要作用,切实抓好专业技术人才队伍建设是增强云南可持续发展后劲的关键举措。经过多年努力,全省专业技术人才队伍建设取得了显著成绩,但也还存在一些问题,必须从全方位创新观念、深化专业技术人才管理体制改革、健全专业技术人才队伍建设机制、营造专业技术人才成长的良好环境等方面,加快建设步伐,才能实现跨越式发展。