Practitioners' theories of international negotiation

Book reviewed in this article:
William J. Jorden , Panama Canal Odyssey
Jeffrey Davidow , A Peace in Southern Africa: The Lancaster House Conference on Rhodesia, 1979
James K. Sebenius , Negotiating the Law of the Sea     

International norms on execution of the insane and the mentally retarded

Conclusion Victor Hugo considered the death penalty to be the hallmark of barbarity. 104 International human rights law clearly contemplates abolition of the death penalty. To some extent, it has succeeded in promoting universal and imperative norms, as in the case of the prohibitions on torture and slavery. 105 With respect to the death penalty, results have been more gradual and the effort has met with more opposition. Although international norms now exist prohibiting the death penalty, 106 they are not yet widely ratified. This is why international organizations dedicated to the promotion of human rights have insisted upon strict limitation of the death penalty, including its total exclusion for certain categories, such as juveniles, pregnant women, the elderly, and the insane.No treaty provision exists to exclude the insane from the death penalty. The conclusion that this prohibition represents a customary norm is an important one, with consequences not only in international law but also in domestic law since many states consider customary international law to be a part of their domestic law. Wherever a court concludes that in the absence of any domestic statutory provision to the contrary, customary international human rights law prohibits execution of an insane prisoner, a small step will be taken away from the barbarism lamented by Hugo.B.A., University of Toronto 1972; M.A., University of Toronto 1973; LL.B., University of Montreal 1983; LL.M., University of Montreal 1990; LL.D., University of Montreal 1993.     

Tax enforcement: A public choice perspective

Federal income tax inforcement varies greatly across individual states. While it is not known if this interstate variation enhances efficiency, anecdotal evidence suggests it does not. In this paper we apply the Weingast/Moran model to the treasury and explore the relationship between the legislature and the IRS. Specifically, we model IRS audit rates by state as a function of both political and efficiency considerations. We find that the interstate differences in enforcement is influenced by efficiency considerations but also the IRS shifts enforcement away from states represented by legislators who sit on committees with oversight responsibility for the IRS.     

文化性的缺失—论课程的文化锁定现象

课程起源于化传承的需要，传递、复制、再生产社会化是学校课程唯一不变的使命。在课程发展中形成了特定的化锁定现象。它造成了课程应具有的自的化品性及其所必然引发的内在的、独立的价值标准与宗旨的消解。课程成了现实社会主流化的“代言人”。它具有诠释、粉饰及原样传递的职责，却无反思、批判、创新的品质。学校教育的工具品性、灌输与训练机制、教育教学理论的学术品质等，都是课程化锁定现象所造成的化性缺失的必然结果。揭示课程化性缺失的病理表征，是使课程由化的工具存在转变为化的主体存在的重要前题。