Through the European looking glass: citizenship tests in the USA,Australia, and Canada

Discussing new or recently reformed citizenship tests in the USA, Australia, and Canada, this article asks whether they amount to a restrictive turn of new world citizenship, similar to recent developments in Europe. I argue that elements of a restrictive turn are noticeable in Australia and Canada, but only at the level of political rhetoric, not of law and policy, which remain liberal and inclusive. Much like in Europe, the restrictive turn is tantamount to Muslims and Islam moving to the center of the integration debate.     

Africa and its Diaspora: The principal reciprocal benefits to be derived from the amended Constitutive Act of the African Union

Abstract

Under article 3(q) (Objectives) of the Protocol on Amendments to the Constitutive Act of the African Union, we read the following: ‘invite and encourage the full participation of the African Diaspora as an important part of our continent, in building the African Union (AU)’. According to the AU, ‘The African Diaspora are peoples of African descent and heritage outside the continent, irrespective of their citizenship and who remain committed to contribute to the development of the continent and the building of the African Union’. Not only is this posture entirely consistent with the African development agenda and Renaissance, but it is also congruent with the recent and first-ever AU African Diaspora Summit which was convened on Friday, 25 May 2012, at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg. This is so because the Summit provided us with an excellent opportunity to continue to reflect on, and engage with, issues relevant to the development of the continent and, by extension, its multilingual and globally dispersed Diaspora. In this public lecture, it is argued that the current Amendment to the Constitutive Act of the AU in which the African Diaspora is now considered the sixth Region of the AU – an Amendment which has not yet been ratified by the requisite number of African states and one which might still be in need of some degree of disambiguation – provides the framework within which some fundamental and reciprocal benefits can be derived from an ongoing interaction between Africa and its Diaspora – especially its Older or Historic Diaspora. In essence, it is my contention that the principal reciprocal benefits that can accrue from this interaction between Africa and its Diaspora might best be captured in the language of pan-Africanisation and re-Africanisation respectively.     

Wiping the Slate Clean: Reforming Scots Law's Approach to Evidence of the Accused's Bad Character

This paper discusses the Scottish Law Commission (SLC)'s Report on Similar Fact Evidence and the Moorov Doctrine, which proposes revolutionary changes to the way in which Scots law deals with evidence of the accused's bad character, including his previous convictions. The article sets these proposals in context by explaining the existing Scots law, and comparing it to the English provisions on bad character evidence contained in the Criminal Justice Act 2003. This comparison reveals similarities between the responses of the two jurisdictions. It is remarkable that the SLC did not consider English law to be a viable model for reform, choosing instead to propose legislation which would simply deem certain pieces of bad character evidence relevant in criminal trials. The second part of the paper explains why these proposals should not be implemented.     

The founders of the association for the study of nationalities: the case of Stepan Horak (1920–1986) and the Shevchenko Scientific Society,USA

The present article critically evaluates the contribution of the Shevchenko Scientific Society, USA, and the founder of the Association for the Study of Nationalities (ASN), Stepan Horak, to the genesis and development of the ASN.     

Community Participation in Spatial Planning: Exploring Relationships between Professional and Lay Stakeholders

The literature that explores relationships between lay and professional stakeholders in community participation generally suggests that professionals perceive five main difficulties in working with lay people: it is unnecessary within democracies; lay people lack expertise; they are not representative; there is commonly a lack of trust, and decision-making is made more complex. In respect of spatial planning in South West England, from survey evidence these difficulties are not so apparent except in respect of complex decision-making. It is likely that the variation between the literature and the survey is influenced by the longer heritage of community participation in the spatial planning process in England, than in most other local authority services.     

格式条款的法价值机理与规制新思路——兼评新《消费者权益保护法》第26条

格式条款因其有助于交易的迅捷而被广泛应用于各种消费领域,但其亦日益沦为经营者侵害消费者利益的工具,并愈演愈烈。因此,此次《消费者权益保护法》着重从防范格式条款滥用的角度对其进行修缮。但是,如果深入剖析格式条款制度所蕴涵的效率与公平法价值及两者间的运行机理,则会发现此次防范和规制格式条款的修改思路依然是旧有规整思路,难以取得法律修改的预期效果。合理而正确的规整思路应当是,区分不同消费领域对公平与效率价值的强弱需求,然后在遵循不同法价值机理的基础上配置相称的规制手段。     

Examining the Scope for National Lesson‐drawing on Climate Governance

The need to understand the scope for comparative lesson‐drawing on national‐level climate mitigation policy has acquired added significance due to the current impasse in international‐level governance. Greater policy learning or lesson‐drawing among peers at the national level could, to an extent, foster meaningful developments by overcoming generalised international apathy and inaction. In this respect, we analyse the features of one significant example of national climate policy in order to examine the scope for lesson‐drawing, thereby setting out a normative research agenda. The UK Climate Change Act 2008 remains one of the few examples of legally enshrined national mitigation legislation and hence provides a relevant, but surprisingly under‐researched, source of learning for policy‐makers worldwide. By analysing its development, critical features and implementation, this article shows that—despite criticism of the sustainability and implementation effectiveness of the Act—some aspects of the policy could provide lessons for other states, and hence are potentially transferable extraterritorially, although lesson‐drawing itself is conditional on contextual constraints.     

中美构建新型大国关系在亚太起步

为打破崛起国与守成国必然走向对抗的历史魔咒,中美双方就"构建中关新型大国关系"达成共识。中美在亚太地区能否共处是构建中关新型大国关系能否实现的"试金石"。为突破中关在亚太地区的经济模式之争、安全理念之争、政治制度之争以及两国围绕地区热点问题的博弈,双方需要努力实现经济互补、安全互动、政治互尊并着力进行热点管控,通过在亚太地区的"试点",塑造在亚太地区构建中关新型大国关系的有效途径。     

对2005年英国《意思能力法》的再解读——以社会工作为视角

2005年英格兰和威尔士颁行的《意思能力法》将判例法的大部分实践奉为准则以保护丧失决策能力的成年人,促进个人自主性以及确保个人能够提前做出拒绝治疗的相关决定.它在需要替欠缺行为能力成年人做主要的身体和福利决定的情形下引入了新的替代决策方式以满足这些需求以及相关特殊主张.2005年《意思能力法》的适用范围从不同的角度得到再次解读,此法与在既定领域以新角色与他人进行合作的社会工作者之间的密切关系得到考察,社会工作者的部分责任得到阐明,研究结论指出：社会工作者具备完美实践的潜力,而这也需要专业的反思与服务监督的支持.