Merger Melancholia: An Empirical Analysis of the Perceptions of the Residents of the Forcibly Amalgamated Manilla Shire Council

Notwithstanding cogent reasons for the continued existence of small local authorities in the sparsely populated Australian hinterland, compulsory council consolidation has been a recurring theme throughout the history of Australian local government. Despite its ubiquity, especially in rural, regional and remote Australian communities, its local consequences have not yet been fully examined by scholars or policy makers. The present paper seeks to remedy this neglect with an exploratory study of the social and economic consequences of forced local government amalgamations through the lens of the ‘lived experience’ of the small rural community of Manilla, which was forced in merge with the much larger Tamworth in 2004.     

Is compulsory voting habit-forming? Regression discontinuity evidence from Brazil

Voting in one election increases one's propensity to vote in the future. It remains unclear, however, whether this pattern holds when voting is compulsory – as is the case in a quarter of all democracies. Is compulsory voting habit-forming? I address this question using a regression discontinuity design and administrative turnout data from Brazil, where voting is voluntary at age 16 and compulsory at age 18. I find no evidence that compulsory voting instils voting habits. Instead, the evidence points to a first-time compulsory voting boost, which gradually dissipates as voters grow older. I show that targeted mobilisation of first-time compulsory voters is a plausible mechanism behind the turnout boost. Alternative explanations find less support in the data. The results clarify the scope conditions of prior research on voting habits, and have important implications for the debate over the second-order effects of compulsory voting.     

我国民事诉讼标的及其识别问题分析

民事诉讼标的是指法院予以审理和裁判的对象。我国的民事诉讼标的理论吸收大陆法系诉讼标的理论基础,形成民事纠纷说、新二分支说、分别识别说与为实践部门普遍接纳的旧实体法说等诸学说。其争议焦点主要围绕给付之诉的诉讼标的识别标准进行。从利于诉讼实践的角度出发,仍应坚持实体法学说,但诉讼标的的识别要以原告向法院提出的实体法律关系或请求权为准,未向或未能向法院提出的实体法律关系或请求权不能作为识别依据。     

The impact of motivational and contextual factors on turnout in first- and second-order elections

Based on voter survey from European election study 2009, we examine the impact of one individual-level motivational factor, i.e. interest in politics, and its interactions with institutional and contextual factors such as compulsory voting, electoral competition and the number of parties on participation in 2009 EP elections and previous national elections. The results show that political interest is more closely connected to turnout in second-order elections which are usually considered less salient. Correspondingly, also the contingent effect of compulsory voting and competition is more evident in EP elections. While compulsory voting substantially decreases the turnout gap between the most and least politically attentive voters in both types of elections, the moderating effect of competitiveness is found only in EP elections.     

试论方法特征限定的产品权利要求的撰写形式与保护范围

方法特征限定的产品权利要求是指产品权利要求的技术方案部分或者全部由方法特征进行限定。对于这类权利要求,各国对于其可专利性存在不同的规定;对于方法特征对整个权利要求的保护范围所产生的影响也存在不同看法;在专利侵权诉讼中应当如何分配举证责任也存在不同的做法。通过研究目前国际上的各种相关规定,对于方法特征限定的产品权利要求进行理论和实践上的分析,尝试提出解决上述问题的方法。     

交通事故赔偿与工伤待遇竞合的法律分析

职工在上下班途中发生交通事故,此时产生交通事故赔偿与工伤待遇竞合。处理这类案件存在不同的学术观点．司法实践对这类案件的处理方法也极不统一。根据工伤保险法律、法规及司法解释以及相关法学理论,在这类案件中．交通事故肇事者是终局责任人,应当承担最后的赔偿责任,用人单位支付工伤待遇后有权追偿,所以,受伤职工不能同时获得交通事故赔偿与工伤待遇。     

论融资租赁合同中承租人的索赔权

融资租赁合同中承租人对出卖人享有索赔权,其理论依据是债权让与说:依据契约条款,租赁公司将自己对于供应商的买卖契约上的请求权转让给承租人。承租人行使索赔权须具备三个条件:出卖人不履行买卖合同义务;出租人、出卖人、承租人三方约定承租人对出卖人有索赔权;该约定须符合法律规定。     

被保险人与受益人同时死亡时保险金之给付

当被保险人与受益人在同一事件中死亡,死亡的先后顺序对保险金给付请求权应由谁来行使具有决定作用。被保险人与受益人在同一事件中死亡而不能确定死亡先后顺序时,不能简单适用我国现行继承法上的死亡确定规则。我国现行《保险法》对此无明文规定。本文针对此问题,讨论被保险人与受益人在同一事件中死亡而不能确定先后时的死亡推定规则及其法律精神。     

财产权对人格权的积极索取与主动避让

财产权与人格权的关系历来是充满争议和左右徘徊的问题。传统理论认为人格权是内在于人且具有绝对的不可侵犯性,在与财产权冲突时优先。但并非所有人格要素都是内在于人,物质性人格权,尤其是身体权和生命权具有绝对优先性,财产权面临生命和身体冲突须主动作出自我牺牲性避让,甚至是以作为方式提供救助,而一些非物质性人格利益并不具有内在性和绝对不可侵性,财产权则可以对其实施积极索取,但在一定临界点,也必须立即停止积极索取行为,只是这种避让无须作出自我牺牲,无须作为。     

中间省略登记论

不同的物权变动模式下,中间省略登记具有不同的效力.笔者在分析物权形式主义、债权形式主义和意思主义三种模式下中间省略登记效力的基础上,探讨我国《物权法》对中间省略登记效力以及中间省略登记请求权的态度.