Legal empowerment of the poor: with a little help from their friends?

In 2005 the initiative to create a High Level Commission on the Legal Empowerment of the Poor, to be co-chaired by Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto and former US Foreign Affairs Secretary Madeleine Albright, was launched with strong support from the Norwegian government. This article first reviews some of the debate surrounding the initiative, giving special attention to the role of Norwegian civil society organisations that questioned central assumptions of the Commission as well as its composition and working procedures. Next, the article looks at the propositions made by the Commission on the Legal Empowerment of the Poor and argues that it was very much a top-down affair that called on those in power to behave in favour of the poor and relegated organisations of the poor and civil society to a supportive role. Issues of political power thus were downplayed. This also is reflected in the fact that the question of (re)distribution of assets is hardly addressed by the Commission. Questions of power or the distribution of assets were sidestepped by focusing primarily on the legal dimension and formalisation. And, although the Commission mentions macro-economic conditions it fails to critically analyse the conditions that account for poverty and informality, which basically are attributed to legal arrangements. Such an analysis would require a (critical) political economy perspective.     

Local-level law enforcement: Muscovites and their uchastkovyy

The uchastkovyy, or beat officer, is at the front lines of Russian police work. This article investigates the general environment in which the uchastkovyy functions, using Moscow as an example. More specifically, this article examines the institutional structure within which the beat cop operates, his/her duties and resources, the quota system used to evaluate his/her performance, and the nature of the interaction between the uchastkovyy and the public. In so doing, the study disaggregates the monolith that is the Russian police, focusing on that component of the force (uchastkovyy) that interacts most directly with the citizenry. It relies on data from a survey of 1500 Muscovites and four focus group encounters organized by the author to elicit a broad range of public attitudes regarding the performance and conduct of uchastkovyy, exploring particularly what measures might be taken to enhance the level of public trust in their local beat officers.     

Limits to non‐state market regulation: A qualitative comparative analysis of the international sport footwear industry and the Fair Labor Association

Non‐state market regulation has become a central focus and continues to receive scholarly attention. The present paper provides an assessment of the conditions under which multinational firms join a multi‐stakeholder certification initiative. The cases of the Fair labor Association and 17 international sport footwear companies have been selected for this purpose. A Qualitative Comparative Analysis of the 17 cases is performed. The paper argues that the combination of sustained NGO pressure and public ownership of a firm is a necessary precondition for firms joining a multi‐stakeholder certification initiative. The theoretical and policy implications of this result are discussed.     

Presidential roles and rhetoric

Traditional literature on the public dimensions of the American presidency suggests that the office has a significant impact upon the political lives of Americans and that contemporary presidents frequently appeal for public support to pressure other government elites. This study systematically analyzes rhetorical references to the presidency by examining a president's articulation of presidential roles in public speeches and press conferences. This study finds that Johnson, Nixon, and Carter did rhetorically refer to presidential roles, especially when confronted by crisis and controversy. The implication is that when confronted by serious controversy, presidents tell Americans about the responsibilities of the presidency in an effort to mobilize public support.     

东盟东增长区的发展与引资成效

自20世纪90年代初以来,东盟次区域经济合作非常活跃,先后出现了新加坡、马来西亚柔佛和印尼的廖内群岛等组成的"新柔廖增长三角",又被称为"东盟南增长三角";印尼、马来西亚、泰国相邻部分组成的"东盟北增长三角";文莱、印尼、马来西亚和菲律宾相邻部分组成的"东盟东部经济增长区(简称东盟东增长区)"等.这些由东盟各国自愿组成的各种增长三角已成为东盟进行合作的重要形式,促进了东盟各国间经济联系和相互合作,带动了贸易和投资的发展.本文选取东盟区域内最大的、最年轻的东盟东增长区,分析其带动资本流动的效果,探讨其发展成效.     

副猪嗜血杆菌抗体间接血凝检测方法的建立及应用

将副猪嗜血杆菌(Haemophilus parasuis,HPS)血清型4、5型分离菌株经超声波破碎处理后的产物致敏醛化红细胞,建立了检测HPS抗体的间接血凝试验方法。最适反应条件为绵羊红细胞30℃醛化5 h,4、5型菌株浓缩抗原以1∶8稀释致敏红细胞。免疫猪2周后检出率达89%。对15种HPS血清型阳性血清进行检测,结果均为阳性;对猪瘟病毒、口蹄疫病毒、猪圆环病毒、猪细小病毒、猪伪狂犬病病毒、猪生殖与呼吸综合征病毒、猪肺炎支原体、猪链球菌、猪肺疫巴氏杆菌、Ⅰ相支气管败血波氏杆菌及胸膜肺炎放线杆菌阳性血清进行检测,结果均为阴性。敏感性为琼脂扩散试验的16倍。对1 665份猪血清进行检测,阳性率为47.1%。结果表明,该方法敏感性较高,特异性强,重复性好,可用于疫苗免疫后抗体水平的检测及副猪嗜血杆菌的流行病学调查。     

Responsibility Determination: Free Will and Legal Responsibility in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Free will is the foundation of determination of responsibility. Genetic enginnering represented by technologies of gene editing, artificial medical devices and AI have fundamentally challenged the concept of free will and so have significantly influenced determination of legal responsibility. These challenges are fundamental, not instrumental, and can be divided into two aspects in legal philosophy. First, the direct challenge, that is, the emerging technology represented by genetic engineering and artificial narrow intelligence (ANI) has challenged the concept of free will. Second the would-be ultimate challenge, that is, presented by an artificial general intelligence (AGI) agent that is considered to reach humanlevel free will, can be a legal subject, thus taking full legal responsibility. The direct challenge constitutes a new “forgiveness” condition for taking responsibility. The would-be ultimate challenge deserves significant attention, because the concept of free will is not only about human responsibility, but also about human dignity.     

共产国际、联共(布)与中共早期主要领导人的更替

中共成立后至1931年间,其主要领导人发生了几次大的更替。它们都是在共产国际与联共(布)的掌控下完成的。莫斯科在取舍中共主要领导人时,更多的是顺从自己的理论指向或自身利益的需要。按照莫斯科的意图来取舍中共的主要领导人,给中国革命事业和中共党的自身建设带来了两个主要弊端:一是共产国际、联共(布)的理论指向和自身利益不一定符合中国革命的利益;二是这样做的结果使中共主要领导人的更替完全围绕着莫斯科的意图来进行,党不能独立自主地选择自己的领导核心。两个弊端给中共领导的革命事业以及自身建设带来了不利影响。     

儒家法律传统与中华法系

儒家法律传统是中国古代社会农耕生产方式、宗法家庭组织、君主专制政体三合一基本特征的历史产物。先秦儒家法律传统以“礼治”、“德治”、“人治”等思想为其基本内容。西汉以后又不断充实完善，成为支配古代法律实践的正统价值观。     

浅论宪法未列举基本权利的保护

权利是有层次的,权利按层次性可分为基本权利和一般性权利.宪法没有必要也不可能对全部权利进行保护,因为基本权利是人生而就有的、涉及人的本质和本质特征、关乎人的尊严和幸福的权利,并且它是不断发展的,具有不可穷尽性,宪法只是对现有的基本权利的确认和认可.因而宪法未列举的基本权利的宪法性认可和保护值得加以认真对待.