For Better or Worse? The Europeanisation of the Conflict of Laws

From its very beginnings the European Union(EU) has taken an interest in that area of legal activity known as the conflict of laws or private international law. The purpose of the conflict of laws is to determine how a national court should behave when confronted with a legal dispute that involves a foreign element. A state's conflict rules will provide the answer to three basic questions: in what circumstances their courts may assume jurisdiction over cases involving a foreign element, what system of municipal law to apply (their own or that of some foreign legal system) and which foreign judgments are capable of recognition and enforcement within their national system. The very fact that the EU exists in order to bring states together to form a single internal market would seem likely to provoke conflict of laws situations. It, therefore, appears unremarkable that the EU has agreed a variety of measures with a bearing on the conflict of laws. The purpose of this article, however, is not to give a detailed account of the EU's interventions on this topic. Instead the intention is to offer some thoughts upon and to raise some questions regarding the implications of the EU's engagement with the conflict of laws. In particular this article aims to provide an overview of the direction in which the EU is taking the conflict of laws and how this has affected the focus and character of the subject in one Member State, namely the United Kingdom. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

统一法的竞争管辖条款助长“挑选法院”

许多国际统一法公约都设置了竞争管辖条款.这种竞争管辖条款的设置为当事人开辟了一个十分广泛而又合法的法院选择范围,从而使国际统一法公约非但没有实现阻止当事人"挑选法院"的宗旨,反而助长了当事人"挑选法院".     

反腐败国际合作法律问题研究--兼论《联合国反腐败公约》在我国的适用

随着我国打击腐败犯罪力度的加大 ,贪官外逃和腐败资金外流问题成为我国腐败犯罪的新特点 ,打击此类犯罪也成为我国反腐败工作的新重心。有效打击外逃贪官必须寻求国际司法合作。 2 0 0 3年我国签署《联合国反腐败公约》 ,为我国开展反腐败国际司法合作奠定了重要的国际法基础。     

烟草贸易的国际法控制：世界卫生组织与《控制烟草贸易框架公约》

2 0 0 3年 5月世界卫生组织的 192个成员国一致通过了《烟草控制框架公约》。烟草控制不仅是疾病控制问题 ,还涉及到贸易、科学技术交流、民间与国际合作、国内法与国际法等多方面的问题。《公约》确立了保护非吸烟者等弱势群体 ,加强政治保障等八项原则 ,采取了价格和非价格措施 ,要求各国进行信息披露 ,管制烟草制品成份、包装和标签、管制烟草制品的广告、促销和赞助。公约还要求各国通过教育、交流、培训促进公众的控烟公共意识 ,控制烟草需求。     

Sir Mark Potter And The Protection Of The Traditional Family: Why Same Sex Marriage Is (Still) A Feminist Issue

In Wilkinson v. Kitzinger, the petitioner (Susan Wilkinson) sought a declaration of her marital status, following her marriage to Celia Kitzinger in British Columbia, Canada in August 2003. The High Court refused the application, finding that their valid Canadian marriage is, in United Kingdom law, a civil partnership. In this note, I focus on Sir Mark Potter’s adjudication of the human rights issues under Articles 8, 12 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights (E.C.H.R.), highlighting his restatement of the ideology of the ‹traditional’ family as natural, normative and desirable. I argue that this case shows that the exclusion of same sex couples from marriage is a feminist issue, because denying same sex couples access to marriage works to sediment patriarchal ideas and re-inscribe gender roles within the family. Wilkinson v. Kitzinger [2006] E.W.H.C. (Fam.) 2022; [2006] H.R.L.R 36     

《联合国反腐败公约》视角下的国际商业贿赂犯罪

国际商业贿赂犯罪不是一种独立的犯罪形式,而是指发生在国际经济交往过程中各种贿赂形式,包括了《联合国反腐败公约》规定的三种类型的贿赂犯罪.该公约较为全面地规范了国际商业贸易中的贿赂犯罪,构成了全球性反腐败规范性法律文件的基本内容.我国应该以参加或签署的有关国际反腐公约为基本依据,借鉴世界各国反腐败的经验和做法,结合我国的实际情况,对刑法中有关贿赂犯罪的法律条文进行修订.     

论人权的“欧洲尺度”

《欧洲人权公约》为人权保护提供了基本的法律依据,对缔约国课以保证本国人民享有人权的义务.欧洲人权法院通过判例不断发展出符合公约精神的法律解释,对公约进行丰富和完善,树立了人权的"欧洲尺度".欧共体法院在人权条款阙如的情况下,参照一般法律原则和成员国共同宪法传统进行司法解释,并格外倚重《欧洲人权公约》以及欧洲人权法院在实践中所确立的人权标准.     

严密法网、宽严相济——《联合国反腐败公约》刑事政策评价与思考

作为联合国历史上通过的第一个用于指导国际反腐败斗争的法律文件,《联合国反腐败公约》呈现出法网严密、宽严相济的特点。它综合了多学科的方法,为国际反腐败提供了有力武器。我国批准了该《公约》,不仅需要在微观上寻找与《公约》的差距,研究学习《公约》中的具体措施,还需要在宏观的刑事政策上借鉴《公约》的脉络,全面、深入地完善我国反腐败的措施和体系。