Procedural Justice Theory and Evaluations of the Lawmaking Process

Americans believe that Congress' most important duties are passing laws and dealing with the nation's problems. A majority, however, disapprove of the way that these functions are carried out. Drawing on procedural justice literature, this article examines the role that process perceptions play relative to preferred outcome in people's legitimacy assessments. In particular, a controlled experiment tests the argument that the weight assigned to procedural justice considerations relative to policy considerations is in part a function of the information environment and the types of issues under deliberation.     

地方税收立法权探析

由政治体制、国家规模以及社会经济结构等决定,我国应确立中央相对集权,同时向地方适度分权的复合税权分配模式,建立以中央立法为主,省级立法为辅的税收立法格局.地方税收立法能优化区域资源配置,减少因中央在信息不完全的情况下制定地方税法带来的效率损失;使地方在清费立税,收入减少的情况下,能够通过税收立法权因地制宜地合法取得收入,并纳入预算管理,从根本上规范地方的收入行为.根据地方税种的不同界定地方税收立法权限,同时辅以配套措施以落实地方税收立法权.     

刑事法定代理人制度的适用

刑事法定代理人作为独立的诉讼参与人,在刑事诉讼中起着维护被代理人的诉讼权利和合法权益,配合司法机关推动诉讼活动顺利进行等重要作用。但是,由于我国现行刑事诉讼立法一方面没有明确被代理人所指,另一方面有关法定代理人的条文甚少且含义不清。所以,法定代理人制度的应有价值没有得到充分的体现。作者通过对国际刑事诉讼制度相关制度的考察,并注意到国内立法所应具有的一致性,提出了正确使用法定代理人制度的几点建议:保障未成年犯罪嫌疑人、被告人的法定代理人行使出席审讯的权利;明确被代理人的诉讼身份;重新界定法定代理人的范围等。此外,作者对刑事诉讼法有关条款立法精神的探寻也颇具实践意义。     

我国违宪审查制度的确立及完善

违宪审查制度是保证宪法得以有效实施,裁定并处罚违宪行为的一项重要制度。我国在有关法律中对违宪审查提出的主体、违宪审查的基本程序等作出了较为具体的规定,但在实践中也出现了一些问题,需要从以下几方面对其加以完善:扩大违宪审查提出的主体范围;设立专门性的违宪审查机构;扩大违宪审查范围;完善违宪审查程序;等等。     

我国一人公司制度立法价值取向失衡分析

我国新公司法确立了一人有限责任公司制度。这有利于鼓励投资,促进就业,繁荣社会经济。但我国一人公司制度过分强调安全,而忽视效益,在立法价值取向上存在着严重失衡,这既不符合一人公司作为商事组织的本质属性的要求,也违背了我国公司法的立法目的。因此,我国一人公司应以效益优先、安全与效益兼顾为立法价值取向进行制度重构。     

The impact of electoral reform at the local level in Africa: the case of Senegal's 1996 local elections

Local electoral systems in transitional polities can play a critical role in the growth and development of democratic governance. In this study, the impact of electoral system change at the subnational level in an African nation, Senegal, is examined. Senegal recently altered the electoral system it employs for the selection of its local and municipal councils. The mixed plurality-proportional system, favors the largest parties. It clearly introduced distortions between the distribution of voter support and seats on councils. These distortions are modified by the proportional part of the vote which provides opportunities for smaller parties to obtain seats. The presence and impact of strategic entry and strategic voting, both in rural and urban areas is assessed.     

宽严相济的刑事政第与刑法的完善

刑事政策是对一国对刑事立法和司法提出的总的指导原则。建国以来我国实行过“惩办与宽大相结合”的刑事政策和“严打”的刑事政策,目前“宽严相济”是我国刑事政策的基本内容。从“宽严相济”的刑事政策的内涵出发,有效的贯彻这一政策,对刑事犯罪当严则严,该宽则宽,宽严相济,我国首先应对刑法的一些方面进行完善。     

我国“国家有关规定”规定的立法完善

我国法律法规规定中含有“国家有关规定”字样的条文非常多,将这些条文进行粗略的分类,按照涉及技术类规范制定、引导法律适用、另行引用专门规范、作为兜底条款加以引用、涉及细化规定等可划分为5类。在不同的分类中,“国家有关规定”规定的效力不同,有的是绝对有效,有的是相对有效,有的则是模糊不精。必须在保证立法科学性、合法性、民主性的前提下对现行含有“国家有关规定”字样的法律法规条文进行清理,同时在新制定法律法规时要分清情况,慎用“国家有关规定”字样的规定。     

If Immigrants Could Vote in the UK: A Thought Experiment with Data from the 2015 General Election

The distribution of voting rights in the UK is an artefact of history rather than a product of clear legal or philosophical principles. Consequently, some resident aliens (i.e. immigrants) have the right to vote in all UK elections; others can vote in local elections but are excluded from national elections; still others are excluded from all elections. In England and Wales alone, roughly 2.3 million immigrants are excluded from voting in national elections. This exclusion is inconsistent with the founding principle of democracy and distorts political discourse. What if all immigrants could vote in national elections? We estimate that up to ninety‐five parliamentary seats could have been won by a different party in the 2015 general election. More substantially, enfranchising all immigrants would require re‐drawing UK constituency boundaries. The new electoral map would increase the relative power of urban constituencies and would incentivise some political entrepreneurs and parties to temper anti‐immigration rhetoric.