Should algorithms be regulated by government?

There has been, and continues to be, an explosion in the use of algorithms across the economy and society. There are growing concerns about how algorithms are being used and whether they are accountable. This article reviews the literature on the issue of algorithms in several key areas, such as fairness, accountability, and transparency. The article examines arguments on why algorithms should be regulated, and it explores the available literature to identify how a potential Canadian regulatory framework may be developed.     

THE CRITICAL CLIMATE AGENDA

The world set a goal in the Paris Agreement: to keep global warming within 1.5 degrees Celsius of preindustrial levels. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has explained why this is a valid goal. If global warming were to go higher than 1.5 degrees Celsius, this would jeopardize life on the planet with a potential multi-meter sea-level rise, the collapse of critical ecosystems, and the release of methane from thawing permafrost, possibly triggering runaway warming. Yet the world's current trajectory implies a catastrophic 2.7-degree- Celsius increase in global temperature.     

应税事实依据经济实质认定之稽征规则——基于台湾地区“税捐稽征法”第12条之1的研究

台湾地区税捐稽征法第12条之1课税构成要件之认定及明订举证之责任,将税捐稽征中已实行多年的实质课税原则条文化。当避税安排的法律形式与其经济实质不相符时,稽征机关认定应税事实应以实质经济事实关系及其所生实质经济利益之归属与享有为依据。由量能课税原则导出的实质课税原则,重经济实质甚于法律形式,是实现税捐正义的实质性手段,并不违背税收法定原则。稽征机关实质课税的自由裁量权理应谦抑行使,其以税捐负担的公平分配为原则,以不损害纳税人的合法权益为底限。稽征机关依据经济实质认定应税事实,应依法承担举证责任,纳税人依法应尽协力义务,否则,稽征机关有权推定应税事实。大陆《税收征管法》亦应增订实质课税原则。     

香港与内地仲裁裁决司法审查制度的借鉴和融合

通过对香港和内地在仲裁裁决司法审查范围、标准和技术方面的综合分析,本文认为两地在司法制度、法治发展和仲裁理念上的较大差异导致了两地在对待仲裁裁决司法审查上之截然不同。重要的是,香港法院对仲裁的支持态度及其具体审查操作的先进经验,可为内地在这一领域的改革提供重要指引。《香港与内地关于相互执行仲裁裁决的安排》实施近十年来,已逐渐出现两地仲裁界和司法界在审查制度面向上的趋同。惠于"一国两制"和"更密切经贸关系"的大背景,相信两地间商事仲裁的融合会更加蓬勃发展,为中国跨境商事活动提供更好的争端解决服务。     

侵权冲突法一般规则之确立——基于罗马Ⅱ与中国侵权冲突法的对比分析

2007年欧盟《非合同之债法律适用条例》(罗马Ⅱ)是侵权冲突法立法的典范。罗马Ⅱ洋溢着平衡与理性的精神,但关键处亦偏袒欧盟国家的利益需要。中国侵权冲突法已经严重滞后于时代。对比罗马Ⅱ与中国侵权冲突法的一般规则,指陈各自的利弊得失,揭示各自所需服务的特殊法律政策,探索侵权行为地法、共同住所地法、最密切联系原则和意思自治这四大系属公式在侵权冲突法的一般规则中的最佳结合方式,有助于我国在当下的国际私法立法中构建科学合理的侵权冲突法的一般规则。     

当下国际金融监管法律制度改革的焦点与问题

由美国次贷危机引发的国际金融危机爆发后,国际社会出台的金融改革方案都把国际金融监管法律制度的改革作为整个金融改革的不可或缺的有机组成部分,这是金融全球化条件下防控金融风险和危机的需要和必然反映。从目前来看,加强和健全国际监管规则和标准、健全国际监管责任的划分、建立国际金融监管机构等方面,是国际金融监管法律制度改革的焦点。国际金融监管法律制度的改革关系着国际间利益的分配,我国对每一项国际金融监管法律制度的改革都应视其情况,研究和采取恰当的策略。     

Bargaining for justice: A means to resolve competing justice claims

In many types of social situations, individuals defend their claims to a portion of the rewards by arguing that they are just. Although a great deal of research demonstrates that individuals differ in their distribution preferences and thus their beliefs about what is fair, the literature curiously omits consideration of the consequences of these differences, especially the conflict they may engender. This paper first reviews the few attempts to address such justice conflict. The limitations of these approaches suggest concerns to be addressed in an alternative framework. The paper presents a theoretical discussion of this alternative that integrates assumptions about distribution preferences, justice beliefs, conditions fostering the emergence of justice conflict, and elements of negotiation processes as a basic framework for predictions about the bargaining strategies individuals may employ to resolve competing justice claims.     

Parent-adolescent congruence on decision-making and its relation to adolescent adjustment

Much attention has been paid to the nature of parent-adolescent relationships, with a frequent conclusion being that it is a time of marked disagreement between parents and their adolescents. However, other literature suggests that this time is not inherently conflictual. The purpose of this study was to examine agreement and disagreement between mothers, fathers, and adolescents on specific issues. Then, adolescent adjustment was assessed, and the degree to which it was a function of congruence with parents was examined. A modified version of the Issues Checklist was used to measure intrafamily agreement; the Revised Behavior Problem Checklist and the Harter Scale of Child's Actual Competence were completed by adolescents' social studies teachers to assess adolescent functioning. Relative to their parents, adolescents reported that they should make more decisions alone, while both mothers and fathers reported that decisions should be made jointly among all family members. Only father-adolescent congruence was found consistently to be related to adolescent functioning. Possible explanations for the present results and relevant issues pertaining to family agreement are discussed.