Settlement Disputes: Evidence from a Legal Practice Perspective

This paper explores the agency relationship between a lawyer and a client in the context of deciding whether to settle a case. The impact of alternative fee arrangements on settlement disputes is empirically assessed in a discrete dependent variable econometric model utilizing survey data from lawyers in British Columbia. In contrast to the previous research based on traditional single-task principal-agent models, a broader multitask perspective of a lawyer's practice is explored. More frequent settlement disputes are observed where the handling of disbursements is one-sided, and among lawyers who advertise, use lump sum billing and pursue jury trials and punitive damages. Disputes are less frequent among lawyers who employ percentage contingency fees and hourly rate contracts with a bonus for successful results. Disputes are also less frequent among lawyers in larger firms. There is also evidence that legal fee regulation and ex post judicial review of legal fees in British Columbia have affected the frequency of settlement disputes.     

Planting families: Intent and outcome in the development of colonial Georgia

This article examines the evolution of a plantation society in the British American colony of Georgia. It explores the original intentions of founders and settlers, and how those intentions were discarded or adapted in the face of a volatile demographic environment. It uses information from land grant applications to describe the make-up of late colonial families, and locates the experiences of the Georgia population within the broader context of Atlantic population history. In particular, it argues that familial instability initially catalysed the emergence of a plantation system. The “family” was later accorded real significance in plantation Georgia only when it became serviceable to provincial elites, though it remained important as an organising unit beyond the plantation world, and as a source of shared aspirations.     

中国-东盟贸易、投资与环境协同发展争端解决机制研究

当前国际组织在处理贸易、投资与环境问题的方法上各有利弊,为了解决中国-东盟贸易、投资与环境的冲突问题,实现中国-东盟贸易、投资与环境的协同发展,基于设计的中国-东盟争端解决机制构建的思路和框架体系,并进一步探讨了确保争端解决机制正常运作的保障机制,即建立中国-东盟环境协调发展总局、中国-东盟环境协调发展基金会以及中国-东盟争端解决机制的诉讼体制。     

论民事撤诉合意

撤诉合意是指原告与被告於诉讼外约定 ,由原告向法院撤回诉讼为内容的意思表示一致的行为。我国现行民事诉讼法只规定了原告单方撤诉制度 ,没有明文规定原、被告间的撤诉合意 ,而实践中撤诉合意大量存在 ,且大都附属于当事人间就实体权利义务达成和解协议。针对这一特点 ,文章论述了在法无明文规定的情况下 ,撤诉合意的合法性、准诉讼行为性质以及所具有的法律效力 ,并分析了撤诉合意的效力与我国民事诉讼法规定的和解制度的冲突及实务运作上的困难 ,进一步提出了完善和解制度的建议。     

The Interdisciplinary Settlement Conference: A Grassroots Alternative for Resolving High‐Conflict Parenting Disputes in Lean Times

This article describes a court‐connected alternative dispute resolution program, the Interdisciplinary Settlement Conference. The key feature of this program is the participation of two volunteer panelists, one a family law attorney and the other a mental health professional experienced in parenting disputes, who assist the judicial officer in working with the parties and their attorneys (if any) to reach a resolution of their parenting dispute. Significantly, in addition to addressing the parties’ legal issues, the panelists also address the parties’ psychological and emotional issues relevant to the dispute on an as‐needed basis. Findings from six years of experience with the program are discussed, including evidence of high satisfaction with the program, a high rate of settlement, a decrease in relitigation, and a concomitant savings of scarce judicial resources.     

“10+3”框架下的人民币区域化推进策略

人民币区域化作为人民币国际化战略的重要组成部分,迎来了成熟的推进时机,而人民币区域化的加速推进又将成为东盟与中、日、韩"10+3"背景下顺利推进中国—东盟自由贸易区(CAFTA)的关键。但在现阶段,人民币区域化进程中仍存在着一些局限,需要通过大力推动试点建设,建立人民币离岸市场,规范发展离岸业务以及允许境外结算银行或代理行参与同业拆借等措施来逐步提高人民币在东盟及周边国家的认同度,进而推动人民币区域化,为人民币的进一步国际化打下良好基础。     

执行前和解协议法律效力研究

生效裁判确定的权利义务,当事人有权进行处分;当事人在执行前达成和解协议,应当理解为履行义务、处分权利的表现形式;执行前和解协议本质上是以生效裁判确定的义务为基础和前提,双方履行该义务达成的民事协议,应当具有可争议性和可诉性;对执行前和解协议进行审理和裁判应当以生效裁判作为事实基础,不构成重复诉讼,也不违背生效裁判的既判力;执行前和解协议仅仅具有实体法效果,而执行程序中达成的执行和解协议则同时具有程序法和实体法双重效力。     

论上诉考核的替代性机制

司法审查形式化的固有缺陷、便宜结案的办案模式及审级制度内在的行政化元素,为当事人通过上诉解决纠纷提供了心理暗示和路径依赖。而上诉考核机制的矫正功能和激励效用极为有限,不能从根本上解决这一问题。对此,可考虑引入上诉考核的替代性机制:一方面,构建相应的基础性保障机制,扩展司法实质性解决纠纷的范围和能力;另一方面,对审级进行功能划分,升格上诉程序品质以及建立诉讼成本分担机制,应更有利于实现纠纷解决的目标。     

浅议“继续中止减让案”中的报复措施终止问题

授权报复,是WTO争端解决机制中最有威慑力的执行手段。但对于如何终止报复措施,DSU并未明确规定。在2008年10月审结的"美国——在欧盟荷尔蒙争端中继续中止减让"案中,上诉机构作出了比较明确的回答。从基本案情入手,讨论本案暴露出的问题,并通过解读上诉机构报告予以回答和解释,可为我国致力于DSU的修改工作提供借鉴。     

Process choice

Regulation scholars have long searched for the best tools to use to achieve public policy goals, generating an extensive body of research on what has become known as instrument choice. By contrast, analysis of options for structuring how officials make regulatory decisions – process choice – remains in relative infancy. Notwithstanding the emphasis legal scholars and political economists have placed on administrative procedures, surprisingly little research has investigated why regulators choose among different process options or what value they and the public receive from different choices. In their book, Regulation by Litigation, Andrew Morriss, Bruce Yandle, and Andrew Dorchak make a significant contribution by empirically and normatively examining regulators' choices between notice‐and‐comment rulemaking, negotiated rulemaking, and what they call “regulation by litigation.” This review article considers three central questions about regulation by litigation. First, how if at all does regulation by litigation differ from other uses of litigation to achieve policy goals? Second, why do regulators choose litigation over other process options? Third, is regulation by litigation as bad as Morriss, Yandle, and Dorchak say it is? By addressing these conceptual, empirical, and normative questions, this review article not only reveals the specific strengths and limitations of the book, Regulation by Litigation, but also highlights more general opportunities and challenges for future research on process choice.