CBRN Incidents: Political Regimes,Perpetrators, and Targets

This article investigates the relationship between regime characteristics and the likelihood of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) terrorist incidents. Odds ratios establish that democratic ideals—democratic rule, strong rule of law, and honest regimes—are associated with more CBRN incidents. Failed states may be where some terrorist groups form or take refuge, but these states have not been the venue of choice for CBRN incidents. Religious (cults and fundamentalists) and nationalist/separatist groups are not more likely than others to engage in CBRN attacks. To date, indiscriminate CBRN attacks are as likely as discriminate attacks to cause casualties. Transnational terrorist groups are less adept than others in concealing their acquisition of CBRN substances. For some regressions, democratic rule and strong rule of law are positive determinants of CBRN incidents.     

Fighting for the rule of law: civil resistance and the lawyers' movement in Pakistan

Pakistan, sometimes referred to as ‘the most dangerous place on earth’, is not typically thought of as a place where popular nonviolent resistance could take root, much less succeed. Citizen apathy, poor governance, and fear of regime repression and terrorist violence are barriers to effective civic activism inside Pakistan. Yet, over the past two years, Pakistan's authoritarian ruler was ousted and its independent judiciary restored following a massive grassroots campaign led by lawyers. The ‘men in black’, whose insistence on the rule of law and embrace of nonviolent struggle captured the hearts and minds of millions of Pakistanis, helped transform the country's political landscape in unexpected ways. The successes tallied by this nonviolent movement, this article will argue, can be attributed to the large-scale non-cooperation and civil disobedience that pressured two successive Pakistani regimes – one authoritarian and one democratic – to yield to its demands. Unity and mass participation, nonviolent discipline, and the creative use of nonviolent tactics were three key ingredients of success. While instability and Islamist extremism continue to plague Pakistan, the lawyers' movement highlights the steadily growing strength of Pakistani civil society have a potential to influence democratic change in the country.     

The emergence of the rule of law in Russia

This paper challenges an empirical claim about the commercial courts (arbitrazhnye sudy) made by Kathryn Hendley and her co-authors in their paper “Law, Relationships and Private Enforcement: Transactional Strategies of Russian Enterprise” in Vol. 52, No. 4, Europe-Asia Studies in 2000. Basing their case on a quantitative survey of Russian firms, they conclude that economic actors in the 1990s relied on ‘the law and legal institutions’ because the commercial courts were relatively effective. In order to test this claim about the link between individual behaviour and the judiciary, I ask: What type of belief about corruption was held by Russian economic actors who trusted the commercial courts for conflict resolution at the end of the 1990s? The data set is drawn from a survey of 227 Russian firms made in 1997. I use self-reported data on economic actors’ preference for using or not using the commercial court (in case of a hypothetical conflict about a considerable amount of money) as a proxy for trust. A binary logistic regression model shows that economic actors who accepted corruption as a fact of life at the time of market entry were three times more likely to trust the commercial courts for conflict resolution than economic actors who rejected corruption. This finding contradicts any reasonable definition of the rule of law and suggests that the neo-liberal reformers should have paid more attention to the content – rather than merely to the speed – of reform.     

党的十九届六中全会决议中的法治要义

十九届六中全会通过的《中共中央关于党的百年奋斗重大成就和历史经验的决议》是党关于历史问题的第三个专门性决议。该《决议》全面总结了新中国成立以后社会主义革命和建设的历史经验,对一些重大历史事件和重要历史人物作出了实事求是的评价。该《决议》对我们党尊重法律、遵守法律、依靠法律和捍卫法律的百年奋斗历史作了全面系统的概括和总结,对党依法执政的历史成就和重要经验进行了系统性地归纳,为中国特色社会主义法治建设指明了继续前进的方向。该《决议》关于我们党依法办事、依法执政重大成就和历史经验的全面系统归纳和总结是通过决议文本中的139个“法”字以及由“法”构成的词组来科学地加以表述的。对十九届六中全会通过的《决议》中的“法”字进行系统性的归纳和总结,可以提炼出十九届六中全会决议中的法治要义,全面和系统地呈现中国共产党依法执政、依法治国、依法办事的百年奋斗的历史脉络。     

毒品犯罪若干刑罚问题新议——以大陆刑法理论为研究视角

本文以大陆刑法理论为研究依据,对毒品犯罪的若干刑罚现象作了分析并认为,没收毒资、制毒工具等是大陆刑法对物的保安处分;对不满16周岁和患有精神病的犯罪嫌疑人进行政府收容教养或强制治疗是对人的保安处分措施;《刑法》第356条是毒品犯罪的常习犯规定,当该规定与《刑法》第65条发生实体竞合时,可以合并适用两个条款;以“顶风作案”等藉口处罚行为人,在大陆刑法理论中找不到任何依据,不应予以提倡;毒品数量应当是毒品的纯量。     

法律的道德视角审视

法律以伦理道德为价值基础,道德始终贯穿于法律运行过程之中,共同维护社会的良性发展.在建设法治社会进程中,道德体现于法律的各个环节,对立法、司法、守法等不同环节的完善起到有效的促进作用.     

生态文明建设的呼唤与环境保护法治的回应

环境保护法治,不仅仅只有环境保护的法律制度,而且包含环境保护的立法、执法、司法、普法等内容。应通过科学立法、严格执法、有效司法和全面普法来实现环境法治的完善,为生态文明建设提供有力的制度保障。     

香港法治发展径路之启示

不同的社会背景产生不同的法律,而法律是社会物质生活条件的反映,法治的形成与发展必须与这个社会的物质生活条件相适应,从而形成良法,但仅有良法并非就是法治,法治社会的形成除有良法外,还必须具有相关制度的支持,以及公众对司法的信赖,这是建设法治社会的基础。香港及西方法治社会的形成昭示:法是由统治者制定的用来规范社会主体行为的规则,这些规则只有得到社会公众的自觉遵守和维护,才能发挥其规范作用,否则将是一纸空文。     

我国公务员行政处分制度中的问题与对策

我国现行公务员行政处分制度的主要内容包括行政处分的基本依据、基本程序、救济制度;主要问题是行政处分依据不合理、程序不公平、救济不完善、相关处理措施不配套;基本对策是创新行政处分理念、加强行政处分法治、综合运用相关手段。     

论片面共犯是否成立共同犯罪

片面共犯的客观存在以及它的危害性是不言而喻的。但是理论界对于片面共犯的性质有着肯定说和否定说两种争论，实际上也就是犯罪共同说和行为共同说的争论。但是，无论是从修正的犯罪构成、严重的社会危害性，还是从适用共犯处罚原则等角度来看，片面共犯都应当成立特殊的共同犯罪。通过分析这个问题，我们可以反思我国当今的共犯制度下“共犯关系”理论还是存在着比较大的缺陷。