The return of public investment in telecommunications: Assessing the early challenges of the national broadband network policy in Australia

Against a current trend of investing in the next generation networks (NGNs) by using public funds, the Australian government has initiated a so-called National Broadband Network (NBN) project to invest up to AUD$36 billion tax payer's money on building a national wide fibre broadband network aiming to cover 93 per cent Australian by 2020. As being the most costly infrastructure-building project in Australian history, the NBN project promises to deliver super-fast broadband services, create jobs and promote the country's economy at large. This article will critically analyse the NBN project in Australia and highlight the challenges that are coming alone at this early stage of the deployment, so the Australia's experience of pubic investment in broadband networks can be shared and lessons can be learnt.     

公用事业公私合作合同的法律属性与规制路径——基于经济法视野的考察

公用事业公私合作合同是国家规范公用事业公私合作活动的重要法律工具,具有经济法的属性,应接受公法与私法的双重规制。就公法规制来说,政府应保留一定的公权力,并承担相应的义务,同时,私人部门也应承担一定的公法义务,其部分私权利要接受公法的限制。就私法规制来看,主要体现在基于契约精神对政府公权力进行限制,并要求政府承担相应的合作风险,以及在违反合同义务的时候,承担相应的民事法律责任。     

论我国特殊的普通合伙制律师事务所的现状与前景

特殊的普通合伙制无疑是近十年来我国立法在专业服务机构组织形式上的一大创举。特殊的普通合伙制律师事务所优势在于专业化、规模化、国际化。特殊的普通合伙制律师事务所小众化的主要原因是设立条件较高、关于法律责任承担存在错误认识等。解决之道是:建立"直索责任"规则;改良律师事务所年检制度;完善法规,政策支持。如此,特殊的普通合伙制中国律师事务所则必有光明的未来。     

Barriers to Gender Equality in the Canadian Legal Establishment

In this paper we trace the historical exclusion of women from the legal profession in Canada. We examine women’s efforts to gain entry to law practice and their progress through the last century. The battle to gain entry to this exclusive profession took place on many fronts: in the courts, government legislature, public debate and media, and behind the closed doors of the law societies. After formal barriers to entry were dismantled, women continued to confront formidable barriers through overt and subtler forms of discrimination and exclusion. Today’s legal profession in Canada is a contested one. Women have succeeded with large enrolments in law schools and growing representation in the profession. However, women remain on the margins of power and privilege in law practice. Our analysis of contemporary official data on the Canadian legal profession demonstrates that women are under-represented in private practice, have reduced chances for promotion, and are excluded from higher echelons of authority, remuneration, and status in the profession. Yet, the contemporary picture of the legal profession also reveals that women are having an important impact on the profession of law in Canada by introducing policy reforms aimed at creating a more humane legal profession. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The role of the ortoq in the Mongol Empire in forming business partnerships

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the emergence and development of business partnerships established by the Mongols and their merchant partners, ortoqs, in the Middle Ages. Ortoqs are known to have conducted trade and money-lending with the capital invested by their partners. This study shows that the contractual arrangements of Mongol–ortoq partnerships closely resembled medieval partnership contracts, such as mudharaba, inan, societas and commenda. Sophisticated concepts of liability in relation to investments and loans were developed in Mongol–ortoq partnerships, promoting trade and investment to facilitate the commercial integration of the Mongol Empire.     

有限合伙法律问题探讨

目前风险投资实业界和理论界公认有限合伙为风险投资机构的最佳组织形式 ,本文通过对有限合伙的概念及其特征的介绍 ,探究其在风险投资实务中的突出价值 ,并结合我国实际情况 ,对我国《合伙企业法》的修改及有限合伙立法提出具体建议。     

Politics and Markets in the Irish 'Celtic Tiger'

Ireland's rate of growth and employment creation during the 1990s far outstripped economic performance in the rest of the OECD. Competing explanations are available in accounting for these outcomes, one stressing the primacy of the market, the other focusing on political choice. A case is made for the importance of politics, particularly the successful strategic adaptation to the challenges and opportunities afforded by the completion of the Single European Market during the 1990s. Ireland, as a small open economy, needs to combine effective external adjustment with appropriate domestic adjustment policies. Two policy areas are chosen for particular attention: industrial development strategy, and social partnership arrangements. This experience has implications beyond the Irish case, as the new central European and Baltic EU member states face similar challenges of policy adaptation.     

《合伙企业法》的定位与法律协调

合伙从契约到组织体的观念和规则变更很大程度上是由于商事交易和由此产生的商事规则的发展.由于缺乏无限公司的立法传统和理念基础,在我国现有市场经济体制下应当坚持将合伙企业定位为一种与公司、个人独资企业等相并列的企业组织形式,形成《公司法》、《个人独资企业法》、《合伙企业法》等并行的商主体制度.修改后的《合伙企业法》坚持了这一原则,应当在将来的《民法典》的统领下,与公司法、外商投资企业法、税法、律师法、注册会计师法等法律部门充分协调、互相配合,形成一个完整和谐的规则体系.     

A middle power’s trade policy under U.S.-China FTA competition: South Korea’s double hedging FTA diplomacy

Existing studies on the roles and foreign policies of middle powers place too much focus on their security policies, while there is a dearth of scholarship on their trade policies. Middle powers have used free trade agreement (FTA) politics not only to obtain economic benefits through trade expansion, but also to achieve broader foreign policy goals. Given the U.S.-China FTA competition in East Asia, as a middle power, South Korea, has developed double hedging FTA diplomacy by supporting both powers’ FTA initiatives in order to avoid potential conflicts and maintain favourable relationships with both powers. Specifically, Korea has tried to maximize its national interest and, furthermore, to maintain regional stability by establishing two bilateral FTAs, the Korea-U.S. FTA and the Korea-China FTA, and by showing interest and participating in larger FTA discussions, such as the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership and the China-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.