Regulation of Liberalised Network Industries: Infostructure as a Missing Link

The aim of this paper is to evaluate how infostructure has been reformed in the liberalisation process of network industries, which has involved third party access to the network through a comparison of the electricity, railway, and civil aviation sectors in Switzerland. Our theoretical argument posits that infostructure is a missing link in the study of the regulation of liberalised network industries. Infostructure is defined as the control and command services that are necessary for monitoring the access to and optimising the uses of infrastructure. Our empirical comparison of the sectors aims at answering the principle question: What is the impact of the management of infostructure on the liberalisation process and the structure of liberalising markets? This study of the liberalisation of network industries in Switzerland highlights the potential strategic function of infostructure in the context of opening to competition and internationalising markets. Infostructure management can impact infrastructure ownership and service operation in terms of market structure and constrain access to the infrastructure and the market. Infostructure could also weaken the capacity to regulate the entire sector from regulatory agencies, particularly when self‐regulatory arrangements control third party access to the network.     

The Regulatory State in Developing Countries: Can It Exist and Do We Want It? The Case of the Indonesian Power Sector

Abstract

In the rush for development, the regulatory state has assumed the mantle of a new panacea: the instruments and mechanisms necessary for better government, better governance, and better lives. This paper poses two basic questions in response to the rise of the regulatory state and its increasing diffusion into developing countries. First, can regulatory states exist in developing societies or, more accurately, can effective regulatory states emerge and hope to function in a manner similar to their counterparts in developed countries and deliver the types of benefits and outcomes they promise? And second, do regulatory states offer the most effective modalities for delivering enhanced social well-being? By unpacking the concept of the regulatory state and addressing its underlying assumptions and implicit normative values, it is suggested that the modalities of governance entailed in the regulatory state model may not be well suited to developing countries, hurting rather than enhancing governance outcomes. These issues are explored in relation to the Indonesian energy sector, specifically the upstream electricity generation, transmission and distribution sectors, and the machinations involved in governing the sector.     

Data processing by police and criminal justice authorities in Europe – The influence of the Commission's draft on the national police laws and laws of criminal procedure

The proposal for a fundamental reform of the European data protection law, published by the EU Commission on 25 January 2012 is composed of two elements. Apart from a General Data Protection Regulation, the Commission proposes a second regulatory instrument, namely a Directive with regard to data processing by police and criminal justice authorities that shall supersede the Council Framework Decision 2008/977/JHA. This paper seeks to analyse the draft Directive in the context of the entire reform approach and scrutinizes a number of specific issues in regard to the scope, the requirements of data processing, notification duties and data transfer to third countries.     

How about me? The scope of personal information under the Australian Privacy Act 1988

A recent Australian Federal Court decision has raised the issue of the scope of information protected under the Australian Privacy Act 1988. The Court failed to adequately address this question, leaving Australians unsure as to whether sections of their information, such as the IP addresses allocated to their mobile devices, will be considered personal information under the Act. The main consideration the Court dealt with was what it means for information to be “about” an individual. In this paper I address two questions: a) how is information determined to be “about” an individual under the Act; and b) how should this determination be made in the future? I conclude that currently available guidance from the courts, the Australian Information Commissioner and scholarly commentary are inadequate to enable individuals, organisations and agencies to consistently make such determinations. Accordingly I draw on approaches to this question taken in Canada, New Zealand, the European Union and the United Kingdom to argue that the definition should be broadly interpreted in a technologically-aware manner. This will help to ensure that personal information is more comprehensively protected under the Privacy Act.     

The challenge and imperative of private sector cybersecurity: An international comparison

Attacks on computers and information networks, both public and private, are disclosed in the news daily. Most recently, Apple, Facebook, and Twitter acknowledged that they were attacked and were now taking additional measures to secure their networks. In January of 2013, Kaspersky Labs reported discovering malware that not only targeted government information in Eastern Europe, former Soviet republics, and Central Asia, but also had been actively doing so since 2007. The scope of global cyber attacks is staggering and the solutions to securing property and protecting national security are illusive, in large part because infrastructure is owned and operated by private, rather than public, entities. Nations struggle with choosing the most effective strategy and potential regulation of the private sector in order to reduce overall cybersecurity risk. This paper reviews the nature of cyber threats, and compares the United States and European approach to promoting cybersecurity in the private sector. Furthermore, the paper discusses how different approaches can affect cybersecurity risk, and suggests a framework for visualizing the impact of law and strategy on security.     

论食品安全规制中的企业主体责任——以日韩食品安全监督员为例

为了应对食品安全风险,进一步发挥企业主体责任,在企业内部设置食品安全监督员,是一种有效的措施。虽然我国2009年制定的《食品安全法》引入了食品安全员制度,但规定得过于原则。目前,我国《食品安全法》修订在即,最近的《食品安全法(修订草案送审稿)》规定了食品安全员资格,但是,我国在食品安全监督员的任职资格、责任等领域仍然需要进一步规定。日本、韩国的食品安全监督员制度比较成熟,可资借鉴;通过对比分析两种不同的制度背景和运作模式,有助于完善我国《食品安全法》中的食品安全员制度。     

浅议诱惑侦查

诱惑侦查作为一种侦查策略容易被滥用。对于其立法性也有争论。故此,应从立法上、司法上和监督机制上对诱惑侦查进行规制,以对社会和公民进行保护。     

“私代履行人”的理论定位及规范建议

虽然《行政强制法》规定行政强制措施权不得委托给私人,但是在代履行中,却存在着"私代履行人"参与公法任务的空间。"私代履行人"理应被定位为行政助手。然而,作为公私协力的模式之一,行政助手理论制度存在一系列争议,需要对委托机关与"私代履行人"的法律关系性质、"私代履行人"的代理权行使及其侵权的行政救济等问题消除歧见。在此基础上,对"私代履行人"的条件、职责、权利义务、诉讼途径及法律责任等进行规范建议。     

For Better or Worse? The Europeanisation of the Conflict of Laws

From its very beginnings the European Union(EU) has taken an interest in that area of legal activity known as the conflict of laws or private international law. The purpose of the conflict of laws is to determine how a national court should behave when confronted with a legal dispute that involves a foreign element. A state's conflict rules will provide the answer to three basic questions: in what circumstances their courts may assume jurisdiction over cases involving a foreign element, what system of municipal law to apply (their own or that of some foreign legal system) and which foreign judgments are capable of recognition and enforcement within their national system. The very fact that the EU exists in order to bring states together to form a single internal market would seem likely to provoke conflict of laws situations. It, therefore, appears unremarkable that the EU has agreed a variety of measures with a bearing on the conflict of laws. The purpose of this article, however, is not to give a detailed account of the EU's interventions on this topic. Instead the intention is to offer some thoughts upon and to raise some questions regarding the implications of the EU's engagement with the conflict of laws. In particular this article aims to provide an overview of the direction in which the EU is taking the conflict of laws and how this has affected the focus and character of the subject in one Member State, namely the United Kingdom. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

统一行政程序立法的破冰之举——解读《湖南省行政程序规定》

《湖南省行政程序规定》是我国第一部系统规定行政程序的立法。这部地方政府规章以推进依法行政、建设法治政府为根本立法目的,以公民的程序权利为主要内容,参与和公开构成其核心要素。湖南的尝试必将对中国统一行政程序法典的出台从路径到内容产生深远的影响。