Law-making functions of the Chinese courts: Judicial activism in a country of rapid social changes

The judicial production of law and the legislative production of law make a striking distinction between the two legal traditions. Despite of these differences, judges in both legal traditions in adjudicating cases have a common task, which is the application of legal rules to the facts of cases pending for judgments. The tension between the certainty and the “discretion” is universal for any legal system and, to a certain extent, it poses a hard dilemma for the rhetoric of rule of law. In the transitional countries such as China where rapid social changes and transformations take place, the judiciary and judges can not escape from taking more active roles in interpreting or even law making process. It arouses much controversy, particularly in continental legal traditions, for the judiciary is deemed to perform a mechanical role in adjudicating cases. This article intends to analyze the needs for judicial law-making function in China and its reasons. It reveals that judicial interpretation constitutes an important source of law despite its ambiguous legislative position. The article argues that judicial activism is inevitable against the transitional nature of current Chinese society.     

浅谈涉外合同法律适用的几个问题

关于涉外合同的法律适用，各国的理论和实践存在各种不同的观点。在我国，应采用“分割法”来确定合同各个不同方面的准据法；对于意思自治原则的适用，除了违反本国强行法和社会公共利益的外国法不能选择外，当事人可以选择任何国家的法律作为合同的准据法，当事人选择时，应采用明示方式；而关于最密切联系原则的运用，则应采用“特征性履行说”来确定最密切联系地法律。     

欧盟国家地方税立法权问题初探

对一个主权国家而言,地方税立法权是一个既重要又复杂的问题。一个国家的地方税立法权制度不仅在很大程度上取决于其宪政体制,而且与该国的历史与传统也紧密相关。欧盟国家的地方税立法权体制因各国的国情不同而不尽一致,德国、英国、西班牙和法国所采行的模式颇具代表性,基本囊括了目前世界各国实行的主要几种模式。对欧盟这几个主要国家,特别是法国的地方税立法权进行考察,有利于对中国在构建本国的地方税立法权体制时将其作为参考借鉴的资讯。     

侵占罪的立法缺陷及完善

侵占罪的设立 ,是我国刑事立法的一大进步。但由于它是一个新罪名 ,因而难免有其不完善之处。司法实践证明 ,侵占罪的立法缺陷日渐显露 ,如把侵占罪规定为自诉案件范围 ,但在侵占公有财物和侵占案需要侦查时 ,其明显无法解决。再如 ,规定“拒不退还”和“拒不交出”为侵占罪成立的要件 ,但对这一要件何时具备的认定 ,实在难以把握。本文将对上述问题逐一论述并试图加以解决     

行政性ADR论纲

行政性ADR是行政机关处理民事纠纷的一种非诉讼解决机制,它的存在具有一定的逻辑支撑:诉讼救济的不足为其提供了必要的空间;权力分立理论与实践的差距为其提供了可能性基础;本身固有的资源优势使其存在具有一定的可行性。行政性ADR具有重大的法律价值和意义,它有实现正义、维护秩序和政策形成的法律机能。作为一种特殊的诉讼外纠纷解决机制,行政性ADR应注意贯彻以下几项基本原则:自愿原则、及时原则、程序公正原则。     

Politics and the Adoption of Legislative Television: An Analysis of the U.S. House Vote on C-SPAN

The present study extends the work of Crain and Goff (1988) by examining the political determinants of the earliest decision to adopt legislative television on a permanent basis at the national level in the United States. Data on legislator and district characteristics are used to explain the 1977 vote to adopt C-SPAN coverage of proceedings in the U.S. House of Representatives. Logit regression results suggest that length of service and extremity of political views/ideologies had clear and significant effects on politicians' votes concerning the adoption of legislative television. As with Crain and Goff (1988), these measures capture some element of legislator self-interest.     

中国税法通则立法的问题与构想

中国税法通则的基本定位应当是调整税收活动中的基本问题、共同问题和综合问题的通则性立法,主要规定税收征纳过程中的实体基本制度和程序基本制度,是税法体系中的一般法,是规模适度、体系科学、赋有现代法治理念的现代税收通则法。在立法时,应当侧重从健全和完善税收法律体系的角度,重点处理好与宪法、财政法、立法法、行政程序法、税收征管法、民法的关系。在搭建立法架构时,应当以“总则——纳税义务——税收征纳的一般规则——税收确定——税收征收——税收执行——税收争讼——法律责任——附则”为立法主线。     

论我国授权立法的监督

授权立法有着迅速、灵活、专业性强的优点,但也具有内在的危险性,所以必须对授权立法加强监督以防止其走向异化。目前我国对授权立法的监督存在重大缺陷,为保障授权立法的质量,充分发挥授权立法的积极作用,应完善我国的授权立法监督制度,实行事前监督和事后监督相结合。     

论船舶优先权的物上代位性

针对现行《海商法》不承认船舶优先权具有物上代位性这一特性,运用立法论的基本观点,剖析了《海商法》关于船舶优先权的规定所存在的问题,并提出完善这一制度的基本构想。     

Assessing the relevance of confederalism to cross-strait integration and China’s reunification

This article explores the relevance of confederalism for cross-Strait integration and the reunification of China. It explains the distinctions between the related concepts of federation, confederation, federalism and confederalism, and analyzes the use of confederal principles in resolving conflicts and maintaining or promoting state integration. It further lists the arguments for and against confederations and the practice of confederalism in the context of cross-Strait relations. The article argues that although a confederation cannot be regarded as a mutually acceptable model for China's eventual reunification, the application of some of the ideas, principles and values embodied in confederalism may be useful for cross-Strait integration and to peaceful reunification.