Breaking down the barriers? New public management in the European commission

On 15 March 1999, the mass resignation of the College of Commissioners amidst accusations of fraud, mismanagement and nepotism was the catalyst for potential transformation of the European bureaucracy in a radical way. The Commission is at the centre of networks of European governance but it only demonstrates a ‘shadow of a cohesive administrative culture’ (Cini 1996: 223). The managerial reforms which have finally been engaged by the Commission twenty years later than its member countries focus primarily on efficiency and accountability in order to bridge the ‘EU's management deficit’ (Metcalfe 2000: 824). This paper seeks to argue that reforms in the European Commission can only be successful if a cultural analysis is carried out, developing a distinctive approach to European public management in order to lay the basis for new forms of European governance. Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications.     

Reengineering the Child Support Scheme: An Australian Perspective on the British Government's Proposals

After years of problems with the Child Support Scheme in Britain, the Government has decided to attempt reform again, less than four years after a previous major change was implemented in 2003. The author evaluates these reform proposals, drawing upon his experience in leading a recent major review of child support policy in Australia. While many of the reform measures offer a sensible way forward for child support policy, Britain risks going backwards in terms of community acceptance of the child support obligation. The Government needs to consider the likely impact of its policy settings on private agreements about child support. Ways are proposed both to protect the Treasury and to promote the wellbeing of children by adopting different policy settings that ensure the resident parent has an incentive to bargain for the level of child support required by the new formula. The new formula itself is evaluated in the light of the international research on the costs of children. Ways are also suggested for developing a co-ordinated approach across government to the provision of support services for parents who do not live together.     

The European Commission and fiscal governance reform: a strategic actor?

The intensification of the financial and economic crisis in Europe has added a new impetus to the debate over the possibilities for securing supranational fiscal integration within the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). Since the literature on the European Union’s response to the crisis is dominated by the study of intergovernmental politics, this article considers the previously neglected role of the Commission. A framing analysis of the Commission’s crisis discourse is operationalised here, which is supplemented by interviews with senior officials located in the Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN) during key phases of the crisis. It is found that a supranational reform agenda was never internalised by the Commission. Instead, the Commission acted strategically by framing the crisis around intergovernmental fiscal discipline. These findings suggest that, in line with the ‘new intergovernmentalist’ thesis, supranational institutions themselves may not be as ‘hard-wired’ towards supranationalism as is often assumed.     

浅析操纵证券、期货交易价格罪的有关问题

认定操纵证券、期货交易价格罪,应正确掌握犯罪的主观方面和客观方面,分清罪与非罪的界线及本罪与编造并传播证券、期货交易虚假信息罪的界限。对于共同犯罪和行贿、受贿罪的不同情况,要区别对待,正确定罪。     

联合国人权理事会法律制度探析

2006年3月15日,第60届联合国大会通过决议,设立联合国人权理事会,取代已运行60年的联合国人权委员会。作为联大权力之下的指导和协调联合国人权活动的机关,新的人权理事会在其职权范围、法律机制和执行能力等方面都体现了对其前身——人权委员会的扬弃。特别是“普遍定期审查”机制的创建和建议权的行使等,可以使人权理事会更好地发挥作用。我国应继续参与联合国人权理事会各项规则的制定,与发展中国家和发达国家一道,推动世界人权事业的发展。     

Reordering Honours: Perspectives and Possibilities

The UK's honour system is a strange mixture of ancient tradition and Victorian invention, and is drifting into obsolescence. Many of its honours recall a vanished imperial past, or maintain increasingly unacceptable demarcations between classes of recipients. However, the high rate of acceptance of honours and the almost universal existence of similar systems throughout the world suggests that people do still value an honours system. But what form should it take? In 2004 two separate reports looked at most elements of the system and produced recommendations, though their impacts were lost in the shadow of the far more dramatic Butler Report. David Cannadine assesses both honours reports and their prospects for adoption at a time when the policy‐makers and government are preoccupied with other issues. He concludes that the time is right for change — in spite of the inevitable opposition from some quarters — given that both Whitehall and Westminster agree that change is necessary.     

Blair's Commission for Africa: Problems and Prospects for UK Policy

This article examines the recommendations contained within the Commission for Africa's report Our Common Interest , and asks what they might mean for the UK's Africa policies. After discussing the choice of the Commissioners and summarising the main recommendations made in their report, the article identifies some of the central problems raised but not resolved by the Commission in the relation to issues of security, political economy and governance. The article concludes that the Commission's report raised the profile of an important set of issues but neither resolved them conceptually nor set out a persuasive plan to implement its numerous recommendations. In particular, the Commission did not convincingly explain how neo-patrimonial regimes in Africa could be reformed to ensure that they pursue genuinely national development policies instead of the current strategies that benefit their supporters and weaken their political opponents.     

论证券发行审核中的监管权配置

我国证券虚假发行上市问题屡禁不止,这折射出证券发行监管无力。透过证券发行监管中的问题,可以看到根源在于证监会、保荐人及证券交易所监管权配置被扭曲,因而应当重新定位三者的职能,合理配置监管权。证监会应当逐步放松股票公开发行审核的行政管制,回归执法者角色,配合完善的保荐人制度和证券交易所的一线监管职能;这样,可以在很大程度上解决虚假发行上市问题。     

The European Commission's Opinions under Article 6(4) of the Habitats Directive

The contribution examines the Opinions which the European Commissionhas issued so far under Article 6(4) of Directive 92/43 (HabitatsDirective). It examines Member States' reasoning for justifyingthe application of Article 6(4) of the Habitats Directive inthe light of the European Court of Justice rulings, and comesto the conclusion that probably not one of the cases submittedwould have been accepted by the Court.     

以欧盟为中心看欧洲私法的法典化趋向

随着欧盟政治一体化的不断推进,欧洲法律一体化的步伐也日益加快,其中欧洲私法的法典化趋势尤其引人瞩目.欧盟自身的发展动力,以及法学界围绕<欧洲民法典>工程进行的学术准备,推动欧盟采取正式行动,着手解决欧洲私法面临的困境;其立法规划最终落实为一项所谓的<共同参照框架>.这份即将出台的法律文件是实质的法典编纂,将引发一场深远的欧洲私法的法典化变革.然而受制于欧盟权限,欧洲私法的法典化呈现出不同于传统的独特性.