误区的超越与主导价值的转换——对我国当下公平与效率关系问题的新解读

公平正义,是构建社会主义和谐社会的必要前提。公平的根本问题是权利与义务的关系问题。不论是经济公平与经济效率的关系,还是社会公平与经济效率的关系,二者都是互为前提、并行不悖的。社会主义市场经济体制的建立是以实现社会公正和共同富裕为目标的,坚持以社会公平为主导的价值取向,不仅是我国社会主义制度的本质要求,而且是考验执政党驾驭市场经济能力、构建社会主义和谐社会的一个重要课题。     

民事诉讼解纷机制中蕴含的正义

冲突的本质在于当事人利益的对抗,外化为双方意志的对抗。程序的纷争,可以通过纠纷主体选择合意或接受第三方或一方的决定方式解决。两种解纷方式契合了一定的正义理论,体现了个体私益、公共利益在诉讼程序中的运行。在具体的民事诉讼程序中,两种方式并不是完全区分开来的,在相当多的情况下,纠纷的解决需要两种方式的综合运用。     

价值抉择:反恐措施与刑事诉讼——以美国法为范例的检讨与反思

反恐措施对刑事诉讼领域的入侵,对程序正义和人权保障提出了前所未有之挑战。监听、搜查、羁押、司法审查、法庭审判、证据规则等刑事诉讼基本制度受到猛烈冲击并对人权保障产生直接影响。美国的反恐怖立法及其司法实践的变革,成为全球的焦点,也成为该领域的典型范例。这种变革的背后是深层价值选择,是正义和功利之间的博弈引领美国反恐怖立法和司法的走向,而尊严价值的勃兴为程序正义的重新抬头奠定了理念基础。我国刑事诉讼理念更新和立法完善应当引以为鉴,对恐怖犯罪作出合理的反应。在平衡理念之下,程序正义的内在价值决不能向打击犯罪的功利需求轻易低头。     

行政复议制度近期可能的改革

现行行政复议制度的施行效果不彰,应当对之进行改革。在改革方向上,宜在保留行政复议范围的同时增强其司法性;在具体方案上,目前可以在复议法所容许的范围内制定行政法规,以增强复议制度的准司法性为重点,增强复议机构的独立性,完善复议程序、复议裁决的作出等程序规定。     

强化我国行政执法公正的问题浅析

行政执法公正是人们对执法追求的基本理念。目前,我国行政执法存在诸多不公的现象。究其成因:一是法律意识淡薄;二是自由裁量权滥用;三是权责不清;四是监督不力。为了实现行政执法公正,必须从以下方面努力:一是强化从严执法的法治观念;二是防止行政自由裁量权的滥用;三是建立健全行政执法责任制;四是强化行政执法监督机制。     

环境法上的公正

环境法的公正具有自己的特征,环境法上存在着区域公正,国际公正,社会公正和代际公正。区域公正是指在相关区域环境权利与义务的分配是否恰当平衡。国际公正涉及国与国之间享有环境的权利和国际环境义务的分担。社会公正要求将环境行为置于社会背景下认识和解决。代际公正要求现实环境问题的解决方案要考虑到下代人的利益。     

刑事政策视野中的司法理念

刑事政策具有追求效率的本性,刑事政策视野中的司法理念应当是有效率的正义。以社会为本位的刑事司法理念重视解决犯罪问题的社会效果,体现了刑事政策的价值目标。刑事司法要关注刑事政策的需要,刑事政策才能借助法律手段来完成自己的使命。     

Contract Damages, Corrective Justice and Punishment

This article re-examines the established principle that contract damages compensate but do not punish from the theoretical perspective of corrective justice and, in particular, the version advocated by Professor Ernest Weinrib. Weinrib argues that corrective justice affirms the traditional view that contract damages should be circumscribed by compensatory functions, and the notion of punitive damages is inconsistent with the structure of corrective justice and hence contractual rights. The correctness of this conclusion depends, however, on what is understood by punishment. This article argues that punishment is not necessarily explicable only as a form of state punishment, but may (adopting the retributive idea of punishment expounded by Jane Hampton) also be understood as a form of correlatively-structured response that redresses the moral injury inflicted by one's conduct on another. If that is the case, punitive damages for breach of contract may be justified even within the framework of corrective justice.     

The Strange Death of Blasphemy

Recent years have witnessed a considerable growth in legislation and litigation concerning religion. This article examines the implications of the latest change, namely the abolition of the offences of blasphemy and blasphemous libel by section 79 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008. First, the article provides the context by examining what has been lost, analysing the ambit of the offence, focussing on litigation in the twentieth century both in domestic courts and at the European Court of Human Rights. Second, the article seeks to explore why blasphemy has been abolished now, scrutinizing five developments that led to the abolition. The article concludes by examining the extent to which the criminal law continues to protect religious beliefs and believers, contending that while the body of the blasphemy laws is dead, its soul lives on in a plethora of other criminal laws and, more problematically, in non‐legal means of control.