论《世界人权宣言》的思想基础和权利体系

《世界人权宣言》以自由和平等为其思想基础,构建了世界各国和人民努力实现的共同标准。它所设定的权利体系不仅包括公民权利和政治权利,而且还涉及到经济、社会和文化权利,为国际社会提供了一份详尽的人权保护清单,成为国际人权法的基本法律文书。     

论我国刑事被害人国家补偿制度的构建

刑事被害人国家补偿制度体现了国家对刑事被害人这一弱势群体的人权保障,反映了一国的法治水平。本文就建立我国刑事被害人国家补偿制度的必要性和可行性进行了分析,提出了具体的构建设想。     

论民族、种族和宗教犯罪的立法完善——从国际人权公约角度看

民族、种族和宗教相互之间具有紧密联系,且对一个国家的和谐与稳定关系重大。我国加入或即将加入的国际人权公约对民族、种族和宗教相关的犯罪行为已经作出了明确规定,我国有必要以国际人权公约的规定为参照检视我国刑法在民族、种族和宗教犯罪上的规定,作出与我国实际相符合、也与国际人权公约相一致的修正。修改现有相关犯罪的构成条件,增加我国刑法没有规定但危害严重的民族、种族和宗教犯罪。     

Talcott Parsons on full citizenship for African Americans: retrospective interpretation and evaluation

In this essay in the Thinking Citizenship Series, Lidz evaluates the contributions of Talcott Parsons for thinking about citizenship and race relations in twentieth century America.     

National Security, Terrorism and Constitutional Balance

The 'war on terrorism' engages all the institutions of the state. A constitutional structure devoted to protection of liberty must place a paramount value on separation of powers, and a parliamentary democratic constitution should ensure that the ultimate locus of responsibility rests in the legislature, the only branch which has a direct connection to the citizens. However, in an ironic reversal of practice that prevailed before the coming of mass democracy, Parliament in the UK since the early twentieth century has largely accepted a supine role compared to the executive in matters of 'national security'. The judiciary, despite the enactment of legally enforceable human rights, has also manifestly failed to exercise its proper function of curbing abuses of state power. The result is an over-mighty executive, able to draw upon the deference of other branches of government in prosecuting the 'war on terrorism' on the battlefield and in the statute book, which has trampled on individual rights with virtually no check or counte-balance. Some principles by which the balance might be restored are suggested.     

Foucault,Critique and Rights

Abstract

This paper outlines Foucault's genealogical conception of critique and argues that it is not inconsistent with his appeals to concepts of right so long as these are under stood in terms of his historical and naturalistic approach to rights. This approach is explained by reference to Nietzsche's account of the origins of rights and duties and the example of Aboriginal rights is used to exemplify the historical character of rights understood as internal to power relations. Drawing upon the contemporary ‘externalist’ approach to rights, it is argued that the normative force of rights can only come from within historically available moral and political discourses. Reading Foucault's 1978-1979 lectures on liberal governmentality in this manner suggests that his call for new forms of right in order to criticise disciplinary power should be answered by reference to concepts drawn from the liberal tradition of governmental reason.     

权利二重性:解读农民自杀问题的一个视角

权利二重性是理解30年来农民自杀率变迁逻辑及其区域差异现象的重要理论视角。其中,权利启蒙论认为,分田到户以来,市场改变了资源的代际分配结构,农民的权利意识不断被启蒙,农民的行为逻辑逐渐从义务本位向权利本位转变,从而引发了农民家庭权力结构和家庭伦理秩序的适应性调整,使农民自杀现象在社会转型期得以凸显。权利规约论认为,农民的权利表达一旦失去有效的规约机制,就有可能在农村社会形成不利于老年人的自杀秩序;而如果能够得到村庄内部结构性力量的有效规约,农民代际之间的权利与义务关系就会在新的水平上达成均势状态,农民的自杀率随之就会出现明显的下降现象。     

The Moral Community and Immigration

In “Which American Dream Do You Mean?” David Stoll never justified his assumption that Guatemalans who want to immigrate to America have a moral claim on our attention. The “conversation” he describes really involves only Americans as only they are held responsible for immigration. Some advocates justify immigration on the basis of rights while others appeal to compassion, but both assign all responsibility to rich Americans and none to the sending societies. A huge moral asymmetry separates the West, which is assumed capable of achieving civic values from the non-West, which is not. Americans hunger for a more candid conversation about how to distribute the responsibility for immigration. That is essential to legitimizing immigration policy and preserving the civic character of American society.     

The backlash against civil society in the wake of the Long War on Terror

The enthusiasm for civil society that emerged in the late 1980s and 1990s with the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the spread of democratic regimes has been replaced in recent years by a backlash against civil society on many levels and fronts. This has particularly intensified since the attacks of 11 September 2001 and the ensuing global war on terror. This article examines the causes of this backlash within the context of the ‘Long War on Terror’, describes the overt and implicit manifestations of the backlash, and reflects upon the implications for the future. It considers how the growing prominence of concerns about security and the concomitant expansion of counter-terrorist measures across the world threaten the spaces for civil society to flourish and act. It argues that while the manifestations of the backlash, such as the crackdown on NGOs in Russia and the taming of NGOs by bilateral and multilateral agencies, may appear to be disparate, unconnected phenomena, on closer inspection it is clear that they are intricately intertwined.     

Breach of Confidence as a Privacy Remedy in the Human Rights Act Era

This article examines the impact of the Human Rights Act (HRA) on the current lack of a remedy for non-consensual publication of personal information by the media. It argues that the action for breach of confidence is now ripe for development into a privacy law in all but name and that the normative impetus for this enterprise can be found in the HRA which will require domestic courts to consider Convention jurisprudence. It will suggest that when Strasbourg decisions are examined in the context of more general Convention doctrines, they may be seen to suggest the need for an effective privacy remedy. Drawing upon approaches from other jurisdictions it seeks to demonstrate that principled solutions may be found to the thicket of legal problems associated with such development. It contends that the main objection to this enterprise, the perceived threat to media freedom, is largely misplaced, as analysis at the theoretical and doctrinal levels reveals that speech and privacy interests are in many respects mutually supportive and the areas of conflict small and readily susceptible to resolution.