海牙《协议选择法院公约》对中国国际私法立法的启示

海牙《协议选择法院公约》作为国际范围内统一民事管辖权和外国判决的承认与执行的重要成果,建立了“排他性法院选择协议”的管辖权模式,采用了新的“国际性案件”划分标准,鼓励选择诉讼作为解决争议的方式,针对被请求国承认和执行惩罚性赔偿判决问题达成了妥协,为中国国际私法立法,特别是《民事诉讼法》的修订具有重大启示。     

National Security, Terrorism and Constitutional Balance

The 'war on terrorism' engages all the institutions of the state. A constitutional structure devoted to protection of liberty must place a paramount value on separation of powers, and a parliamentary democratic constitution should ensure that the ultimate locus of responsibility rests in the legislature, the only branch which has a direct connection to the citizens. However, in an ironic reversal of practice that prevailed before the coming of mass democracy, Parliament in the UK since the early twentieth century has largely accepted a supine role compared to the executive in matters of 'national security'. The judiciary, despite the enactment of legally enforceable human rights, has also manifestly failed to exercise its proper function of curbing abuses of state power. The result is an over-mighty executive, able to draw upon the deference of other branches of government in prosecuting the 'war on terrorism' on the battlefield and in the statute book, which has trampled on individual rights with virtually no check or counte-balance. Some principles by which the balance might be restored are suggested.     

论公民的劳动权

劳动权是国际人权公约确定的基本人权之一 ,是我国法律保护的公民的基本权利。明确国际公约和我国法律中劳动权的内涵 ,是保护公民享有这一国际普遍确认的人权的基础。     

论国家实施国际犯罪的责任

国家实施国际犯罪需要承担相应责任,在国家犯罪中起直接作用的具体人员必须承担个人责任。适用于个人的刑罚已由《国际刑事法院罗马规约》作出规定,而针对国家这一抽象实体的责任形式应是集法律、政治、道义和经济为一体的混合处罚措施。国际刑事法院在追究国家罪责的司法活动中需要加强与联合国安理会的合作,且得到世界各国的大力支持,这样才能对国家作出限制主权、罚金、经济制裁等处罚措施并实际执行。     

禁止核武器条约:接下来做什么？

核不扩散机制使得世界从1945年以后没有发生过核战争,而且帮助防止了核武器扩散至更多国家或流入恐怖组织手中。然而,当前围绕禁止核武器条约的态势,可能会分散国际社会对核不扩散机制的关注和努力,这是禁止核武器条约的反对者和怀疑者们所担心的。禁止核武器条约的讨论得到国际支持,主要是因为核武器国家未能在《不扩散核武器条约》框架下就核裁军显示出“诚意”。无核武器国家占据大多数,而其中的多数又不能接受核裁军没有进展的现状,也不愿意成为有核国家启动核战争决策的人质。此外,尽管促成禁核条约的种种关切合情合理,但令人担忧的是条约过于简单,从而缺少严格的核查以及强制遵约条款。因此,核武器国家可以单独或与其他核武器国家一道更加认真地履行核裁军义务,设计核裁军机制的范本需要解决禁核条约绕开的关键问题,并需要进行国际辩论,讨论何种条件下首先使用核武器是必要与正当的,才是消除禁核条约造成对立的出路所在。     

The necessity of the implementation of Privacy by Design in sectors where data protection concerns arise

This article examines the extent to which Privacy by Design can safeguard privacy and personal data within a rapidly evolving society. This paper will first briefly explain the theoretical concept and the general principles of Privacy by Design, as laid down in the General Data Protection Regulation. Then, by indicating specific examples of the implementation of the Privacy by Design approach, it will be demonstrated why the implementation of Privacy by Design is a necessity in a number of sectors where specific data protection concerns arise (biometrics, e-health and video-surveillance) and how it can be implemented.     

New Challenges for International Rules Against Cyber-Crime

In light of the borderless nature of cyber-crime, international legislation and action are essential to combat the phenomenon. Current legal instruments, as well as continuing efforts of international organizations, provide a significant basis in this area. However, important issues are still open, such as a uniform or harmonized definition of the crimes and of the sanctions to be imposed on perpetrators, which are a prerequisite for avoiding domestic legislation taking different approaches to the subject matter. The clarification of these issues is also a prerequisite for enhancing international cooperation and making it effective, if this has to be based on the respect for the principle of dual criminality. In this context, it must also be stressed that interstate cooperation may not be sufficient if the private sector, including companies producing hardware and software, are not involved. Finally, a harmonized approach to jurisdictional issues, including careful consideration of the universality principle, would also play a critical role in combating cyber-crime.     

CHILDREN,THE UNCRC,AND FAMILY LAW IN ENGLAND AND WALES

There is no doubt that, overall, there has been a great deal of activity in relation to children's rights under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) since it was ratified by the UK government in 1991. Of particular significance in the context of family law, however, are the provisions of Article 12, which have in many ways proved to be more problematic than other provisions, not least because, in the context of family law, children's participation rights are necessarily juxtaposed with the long‐standing and hitherto unchallenged rights of parents to make important decisions about family life. The reorganisation in 2001 of the family court welfare services in England and Wales with the creation of the Children and Family Courts Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS), generated a new impetus for the consideration of children's participation rights and, at an organizational level, considerable progress has been made in embracing the provisions of the UNCRC. More problematic, however, is the acceptance of children's participation in making decisions about their futures by adults using and working in the family justice system. At the level of the courts, judicial attitudes are slow to change and in England, as court judgments often demonstrate, these are firmly rooted in a view of children as being incompetent in such issues; at the level of parents using the system, it is arguable that new discourses about the best interests of the child serve as a proxy for continuing discourses about parents’ rights that have become evident, most recently, in the context of an increasingly influential fathers’ rights lobby; and at the level of welfare practitioners, recent research also demonstrates that, although the rhetoric of children's rights is widely accepted, the willingness and ability to make these real in the context of family proceedings is, for a variety of reasons, less in evidence.     

论免受酷刑权的国际标准

免受酷刑权,即保持身体和精神完整性的权利。免受酷刑权国际标准的确立,是人类道德进步的一种象征。充分及真正普遍地实施国际法律文件中所阐述的标准是世界大家庭面临的艰巨任务。禁止酷刑是世界性难题。中国是《禁止酷刑公约》的缔约国,但中国免受酷刑的保障现状与国际标准相比较有很大差距,尤其是在刑事司法领域刑讯逼供现象还很普遍。这与《禁止酷刑公约》所规定的国家禁止酷刑的义务不符合,也导致了大量的司法不公的存在。随着国际社会禁止酷刑的发展,中国依照免受酷刑权的国际标准在国内积极推进禁止酷刑,在国际上全面接受国际监督就尤为迫切。     

UNDERSTANDING CHILDREN'S RIGHTS: THEORY AND PRACTICE

This article discusses the meaning of children's rights in the context of the European Convention on Human Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Both place primary responsibility for the upbringing and education of children on their parents and families. The freedom of parents to bring up their children in their own way is an important component of a liberal democracy founded on respect for individual differences. So if parents believe in moderate corporal punishment as a means of educating their children in their own religious beliefs, is the state justified in banning such punishment either in school or in the home in order to protect the children's rights? This article discusses the children's rights which are protected by doing so.