The Future of Northern Ireland: the Role of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement Institutions

Since the 2016 Brexit referendum a series of crises has gripped Northern Ireland's politics. This has had a destabilising effect across society, which has arguably been felt most acutely by political unionism. The Belfast/Good Friday Agreement (B/GFA) of 1998 created a series of institutions to deal with political conflict in Northern Ireland, manage cross-border cooperation and normalise relations between the UK and Ireland. However, many aspects of it have been sparingly and ineffectually deployed, most notably the second and third strands dealing with north/south and east/west relations respectively. In this article, the authors argue that regular use of the institutional arrangements created by the Agreement would help to deal with the challenges currently facing Northern Ireland and help address unionist anxieties over the Protocol. Use of the North-South Ministerial Council (NSMC), the British Irish Council (BIC) and the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference (BIIGC) should be prioritised. The unresolved issues arising from Brexit require a recommitment to the intergovernmental logic at the heart of the 1998 Agreement, despite the obstacles.     

Towards a New Ireland

Despite all the contemporary difficulties that we face on the island of Ireland, twenty-four years on from the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, there is a clear sense of hope for a better future. We should be optimistic for our shared future, even if we do not agree on what form that should take. We cannot discuss Northern Ireland or its future without acknowledging that Brexit has significantly shifted the conversation. Not only has it brought Anglo-Irish relations to a low not seen in the past twenty-five years, but it has also damaged the reputation of the UK internationally and brought the topic of Irish unity back to the fore of our political discourse.     

Predictors of Initial Court Agreement and 1‐Year Relitigation in Title IV‐D Contested Paternity Cases

We examined potential predictors of initial court agreement and 1‐year relitigation in a sample of contested paternity cases involving unmarried parents coming to court to establish paternity, child support, and other issues. Cases participated in an RCT of a parent program and of a waiting period between establishment of paternity and court hearing. We controlled for RCT study factors and used baseline assessment data to predict likelihood of reaching full agreement in the initial court hearing and relitigation in the following year. Findings suggest that cases in which parents get along better outside of court are more likely to reach agreement and less likely to return to court. Additionally, particular parent demographics predict lower likelihood of reaching initial agreement (e.g., parents are non‐White, father earns below $10,000 yearly), more relitigation (e.g., parents are non‐White, mother earns above $10,000 yearly, father has children with others), and less relitigation (e.g., father earns above $10,000 yearly). Child demographics and most parent relationship characteristics did not predict outcomes. We discuss findings and offer suggestions for court interventions.     

信用证欺诈例外原则研究--从加拿大一起案例看我国司法实践中应注意的问题

为抑制信用证欺诈、维护诚实信用的国际贸易环境 ,信用证欺诈例外原则的运用需突破信用证的独立性 ,将信用证交易与基础合同交易联系起来考查。这是对信用证独立原则的例外。加拿大最高法院于 1 987年审结一起有关信用证欺诈例外原则的著名案例BankofNovaScodiaappellantv .Angelica -WhitewearLTD .andAngelicaCorpo rationRespondents,成功地总结了英美法国家处理信用证欺诈问题的立法、判例。本文从介绍该案入手 ,结合国际公约和现有立法、判例、法学理论 ,分析信用证欺诈例外原则确立的必要性及适用条件 ,以期为我国在新形势下完善有关信用证欺诈的立法、司法作理论上的探讨     

村庄公共品供给中的“好混混”

1990年代以后,两湖平原村庄中出现了好混混。好混混的出现源于村庄公共品供给的困境。乡村组织难以抑制公共品供给中的搭便车行为,村庄公共品合作常常因此难以达成。好混混则可以依靠暴力和暴力威胁遏制搭便车行为,维系村庄公共品合作和供给,他们的好由此体现出来。取消农业税后,乡村组织的公共品供给能力更加弱化,农民因此对好混混的需求更甚。好混混这一怪异现象,反映了国家权力在基层社会存在局部不足。     

民法中诚信原则的立法旨意及其实现路径

民法中贯彻诚信原则是道德法律化以及弥补诚信在适用过程中不确定性的内在要求,也是限制法官自由裁量权的要求。其实现路径可从制度约束、审判监督、法官素质提升以及全民诚信意识的养成等方面着手。     

善治视角下的政府体制改革

善治作为一种全新的治理理念,已经逐步地打入中国市场,不断被学者及当局研究并予以尝试。从1949年建国之初开始至今,为适应新时代各个方面的发展,我国进行了多次政府体制改革。本文立意从政府治理的角度出发,把善治的理论运用于政府体制改革的研究过程中来,力图寻求一种基于善的视角下,更具有现实性、科学性和中国特色的政治体制。     

论申根协定对国际移民的影响

《申根协定》是欧洲若干国家通过政府问的合作而对跨国移民进行统一管理的国际条约,它集中体现了欧盟的移民政策。该协定基本实现了欧盟国家内部的个人自由流动,促进了欧盟一体化的进程,但其实施对国际移民也带来一些负面问题,笔者拟从《申根协定》出台的历史背景及其条款内容出发,深入探究欧盟的移民法律与政策,并就该协定对未来国际移民的影响趋势进行分析和研讨。     

论《服务贸易总协定》的投资协定性质

《服务贸易总协定》在性质上是各国签订的国际投资协定,并非贸易协定,这是由服务本身的性质造成的。从《服务贸易总协定》的性质和宗旨看,发达国家有意搭多边贸易体制的便车,以服务贸易之名行对外投资之实;从《服务贸易总协定》对服务的分类看,商业存在和自然人流动无疑要伴随着跨国投资;从《服务贸易总协定》对最惠国待遇和国民待遇的规定看,这里的待遇实际上是给予服务的提供者而不仅仅是给予作为商品的服务;从《服务贸易总协定》对市场准入的规定看,市场准入允许服务提供者在他国进行投资设业,这涉及东道国对外资的审批。《服务贸易总协定》的签订,不仅丰富了世界贸易组织的议题,也为世界贸易组织的运行带来了新的挑战。     

Buying treaties with cigarettes: Internal side‐payments in two level games

Two‐level games models predict that domestic division within a state can alter the extent to which that state is able to reach agreements with other states, and also alter the content of any agreement that is reached. I extend the model by introducing internal side‐payments composed of unrelated domestic issues. Domestic opposition to an international agreement will inhibit cooperation most when the executive and median legislators are in relative agreement about other salient domestic political issues. Domestic opposition to an international agreement will inhibit cooperation least when the executive and median legislators are in relative disagreement about other salient domestic political issues. U.S. ratifications of the NAFTA and the Chemical Weapons Convention illustrate that not all types of domestic division inhibit international cooperation—some can facilitate it