Reviews

Books reviewed:
Foster, The Ethics of Medical Research on Humans
Vidmar, World Jury Systems
Simpson, Human Rights and the End of Empire. Britain and the Genesis of the European Convention
Carty, An Analysis of the Economic Torts
Wright, Tort Law & Human Rights     

公民权利与社会稳定关系初探

在近现代社会,公民权利的享有不仅仅体现在人身自由权利和社会经济文化权利,某种意义上更多地体 现在政治权利;社会稳定应是一种动态的稳定,相对的稳定。保障公民权利的享有是社会稳定的关键所在,社会稳定 意味着保障和进一步扩大公民权利的享有。     

论我国预重整之程序构建北大核心SSCI

预重整制度有利于企业债务重组与破产重整程序的高效衔接,我国近年相关政策性文件亦强调要积极探索建立预重整制度。从目前各地法院的司法实践来看,因缺少预重整的基本理论共识,各地法院在适用预重整程序方面做法各异,有必要总结我国各地法院的预重整经验,构建起统一且适合我国的预重整程序规范。预重整程序的构建需以预重整的内涵、性质及形式等理论问题为其逻辑前提,在此基础上本文提出我国预重整的形式应采取庭内预重整,明确预重整的强制性效力,同时构建起以法院为主导的预重整程序,包括预重整的启动、临时管理人的产生、预重整方案的制定和法院的审查受理等。预重整制度在我国确立与发展,不仅需要借鉴域外预重整的制度规范和先进理念,更需要根据我国的现实环境进行培育,需要我国立法、司法与理论界的积极推动以及政府、法院与当事人之间的有效互动。     

Regulation and its discontents: the Indian judiciary and higher education

The role of the judiciary in strengthening regulatory regimes is well regarded. In developing countries where regulatory bodies are captive to powerful interest groups, the judiciary is regarded for its activist role in providing participatory access to groups excluded from the policy process. In contrast, this paper draws attention to the limits of the judiciary as a gatekeeper of regulatory governance. Using the case of regulation in India’s tertiary education sector, it shows how the judiciary’s track record of enabling elite actors to influence policy, often at the cost of legislative mandates, can undermine regulation.     

Law clerks as an instrument of court–government accommodation under autocracy: the case of the Russian Constitutional Court

There is a normative expectation that constitutionalism does not co-exist well with autocracy. How do constitutional courts then uphold their integrity under authoritarianism? In this paper, I answer this question by taking the case of the Russian Constitutional Court (RCC) and showing how court–government accommodation in the new post-third wave autocracies can be achieved by limiting the amount of information the court receives from its secretariat. It follows from a detailed analysis of case selection in the RCC that the secretariat can function as an “insulator,” protecting the Court from political and reputational risks. The two features that make this possible are its invisibility to the judges and the clerks’ specific professional culture. The research is informed by an extensive series of in-depth interviews in the RCC, and benefits from the relocation of the RCC to St. Petersburg in 2008.     

An exploratory study of constitutional design in three island states: Seychelles,Comoros, and Mauritius

This article explores the effects of constitutional design on conflict management and democratisation outcomes in three African island states: Seychelles, Comoros, and Mauritius. As an exploratory framework, the article reflects upon Arend Lijphart’s theory of accommodative constitutional design in view of political developments in the three cases, beginning around their independence and continuing into recent times. The case studies provide some general support to Lijphart’s accommodative theory, and particularly to the need to facilitate broad representation and an overall sense of political inclusion, but they also raise critical questions regarding the effects of his institutional recommendations. Contrary to Lijphart’s approach, majoritarian legislative elections might under certain conditions facilitate greater inclusion than proportional representation, and direct presidential elections could sometimes be more inclusive than a parliamentary executive. The findings on Lijphart’s recommendations of group autonomy are less clear, particularly regarding the question of whether territorial autonomy might increase risks of secession.     

In search of international criminal justice in Africa: What role for the United Nations?

The International Criminal Court (ICC) ran into considerable controversy almost immediately after its creation. More than 10 years later, the tension between the court and the AU is palpable. The court’s perceived political prosecutions as well as procedural flaws in light of the power bestowed on the UN Security Council under Article 13(b) of the Rome Statute are some of the areas of contention. However, despite the obvious flaws of the ICC, there is also widespread scepticism that the AU can be trusted to mobilise sufficient political will to deliver justice on the continent, more so in cases where the perpetrators are sitting heads of state or government. In lieu of cooperation with the ICC and the UN, can the AU deliver justice to victims of gross human rights abuses? Are extraordinary African Chambers such as the one created in Senegal to try the former Chadian dictator Hissene Habre an alternative to the ICC? This article argues that it is only through a partnership of convenience between the AU and the UN that victims of human rights abuses on the continent can access justice. Furthermore, the article opines that calls for African states to withdraw from the ICC en mass must be vigorously opposed.     

社会福利保障的宪法路径选择

世界各国宪法保障社会福利有两种模式,一种是在宪法中列举各种社会权利的"社会权"保障模式,另一种是仅在宪法中明确建设社会国家的原则或者类似条款的"社会国"保障模式。从我国《宪法》的现有规定及其变迁、宪法的解释与学界的解读看,我国属于"社会权"模式。"社会权"保障模式的缺陷是随着民众追求平等意识的成长、市场机制的扩展和公民权利意识的增强,社会福利可能借助宪法无序、无限地扩张。通过淡化社会福利的权利性质、转变社会权的合宪性审查的方向、扩展反射利益推进社会福利以及贯彻宪法设立的可承受性、适度性原则,可以推进我国社会福利宪法保障模式由"社会权"模式向"社会国"模式转换。     

试论侦查人员出庭作证简

英美法谚云：“警察是法庭的仆人，其主要是指警察必须根据法庭传召出庭作证”，①由此可知，侦查人员出庭作证是保证司法公正的基本制度，是法治社会的必然要求。但是，由于受传统观念的影响和客观现实的制约，该制度在我国一直难于落实，严重影响了我国人权事业的发展和法治建设进程。2010年，最高检和最高法等部门在《关于办理刑事案件排除非法证据若干问题的规定》中，首次提出讯问人员应当出庭作证；2012年，修改后《刑事诉讼法》亦明确规定侦查人员负有出庭作证的义务。这是我国刑事司法变革融入世界证据立法的具体体现，无疑是历史的进步。然而，侦查人员该以何种方式出庭作证？侦查人员作证的范围该有多大？在保障被告人权利的同时应如何保障出庭作证侦查人员的人身权利？诸如此类的一系列问题显然不容忽视。我们拟以刑事案件中“情况说明”的运用为切入点，深入分析上述问题。     

法院调解的检察监督问题探析简

一直以来,法院调解的检察监督问题存在很多争议.新《民事诉讼法》在立法上明确了检察机关有权监督法院调解,并对监督方式、监督对象作了相应规定.不过,区区几个条文,且略显简单的规定,并不能彻底解决法院调解的检察监督在新法实施过程所可能遇到的问题.对于监督对象、监督时机、监督方式和监督保障的规定,还需进一步完善、细化.