Explaining South Africa's Bill of Rights: an interpretive approach

Ideational approaches to politics are frequently criticised for indeterminacy. In comparative constitutional politics, critics have alleged that the ‘human rights revolution’ cannot explain why bills of rights were adopted in different places and different times. Ideational scholars have not responded convincingly. Focusing on the famous South African case study, and drawing on theories of belief formation and legitimation in interpretive political science, this paper argues that new beliefs can be explained by historically specifiable dilemmas. It uses process-tracing to show how scholars have mistakenly assumed that key players in the post-apartheid transition only adopted beliefs in rights in order to rationalise interests.     

Debt,Development and Intervention in Africa: The Contours of a Sovereign Frontier

Abstract

This paper argues that the concept of the sovereign frontier can help us think about sovereignty and intervention in a way that moves beyond some of the limitations usually associated with the former concept. Focused on a zone of practice, embedded in a broader ‘movement’ of Western expansion, the sovereign frontier highlights political practices of subordination and incorporation that characterize the sway of intervention in contemporary African states. These concepts are sketched out with reference to more concrete practices of intervention in African states – especially ‘governance states’ – and critical commentary is drawn therefrom. The main argument here is that a series of ostensibly less intrusive forms of aid policy-making are enabled by a constitutive inequality within the sovereign frontier and work towards a more profound and effective projection of external power within it. The paper concludes by suggesting that the intrinsic expansiveness of the sovereign frontier offers few possibilities for the attainment of alternative sovereignties to those shaped by Western institutions.     

法律解释及其对我国法治建设的影响

如果法律是法治国家的上帝,那么法律解释就是法律生命化的过程.法律解释在法律实施中有举足轻重的作用,抽象的法律条文只有通过解释者的解释,才能与复杂多变的现实生活对接,才能变得实际有效.法律解释中的一个基本问题就是用什么样的理念来指导具体的解释活动,"徒法不足以自行",在理解和适用法律中必须妥善处理其稳定性和适宜性的关系....     

Beyond ‘kawaii’ pop culture: Japan’s normative soft power as global trouble-shooter

Abstract

Many studies of Japan’s soft power are premised on the ‘affective’ dimensions of its kawaii pop culture that generate liking or interest. While entirely warranted, emphasising cultural attraction does not do sufficient justice to the multi-faceted foundations of Japanese soft power. Neither does it recognise other components of Joseph Nye’s soft power framework stressing the ‘normative’ appeal of policies that reflect global norms. This article investigates the ‘normative’ dimensions of Japan’s soft power on climate change, and whether it translates into international influence, as Nye predicted. The first section examines the Cabinet’s 2010 New Growth Strategy, identifying a potential source of ‘normative’ soft power in its self-proclaimed desire to reinvent Japan as a ‘trouble-shooting nation on global issues’, specifically environmental challenges. Next, it analyses how Japanese entities (government, corporations, and NGOs) can transmit ‘normative’ soft power, and obstacles encountered. These transmission mechanisms include ‘Cool Earth Partnership’ programmes, the ‘Future City Initiative’ and the values-based Satoyama Initiative. The final section addresses conceptual implications that arise, and assesses whether Japan’s ‘normative’ soft power has paid dividends. Drawing from literature on pioneer states and external reviews of Japan’s alignment with key climate norms, the paper suggests that Japan’s normative soft power is lacking in driving agendas at global climate forums. At a pragmatic problem-solving level, however, Japan is increasingly perceived as an attractive source of transferable solutions, reflecting climate norms such as developing eco-friendly technologies and providing assistance to help vulnerable countries mitigate climate change     

形式解释论与实质解释论:事实与理念之展开

我国目前的刑事司法实践完全没有深深陷入法律形式主义的泥坑,因而需要采用实质解释论加以拯救,而恰恰是深深陷入了法律实质主义的泥坑,由此逾越了罪刑法定原则的樊篱,因而需要引入形式解释论加以纠正。在某种意义上,形式解释论与实质解释论之争不仅是构成要件论之争,甚至是刑法机能论之争、刑法观之争。在我国当下社会中,法治规则意识尚未完全建立。在这种前法治时代,我国应该大力弘扬规则功利主义。     

渎职犯罪主体法律适用的司法解释问题研究

在渎职犯罪案件的查办过程中,经常面临犯罪主体身份的确认问题。本文不期待从纷繁复杂的法学理论上进行探讨、论证和演绎,只期望能以现行刑法、司法解释、批复、答复出发,从法律适用的角度,提出如何遵照立法精神运用司法解释来对此问题予以处理,以解决司法实践中对渎职犯罪法律主体认定上的困难。     

规范法学的方法构成及适用范围

规范法学的地位是由其方法论即规范分析方法奠定的。规范分析方法由合法性分析、规范性分析和实效性分析构成。合法性分析用来评价被分析的对象是否符合实在法;规范性分析用来检视法律权利语句和法律义务语句的清晰性和逻辑性;实效性分析用来判断逻辑语义上的法律秩序在多大程度上转化为实践行动中的法律秩序。规范分析方法一方面可在纯粹的规范法学领域进一步完善,另一方面也可超越规范法学领域,为其他学科研究对象提供方法论。     

刑法学研究进路论略

刑法学研究进路 ,是指刑法学研究的具体路径与步骤的选择。了解刑法学研究的进路 ,对于掌握刑法学术一般规律 ,建立刑法学研究模式 ,优化刑法学学术成果 ,具有积极意义。根据研究对象和研究角度的不同 ,刑法学研究可以有不同的进路。     

商业贿赂的定性与定量：贿赂认定与数额计算

提供有商业风险的期待性盈利不是商业贿赂。根据干股获取分红的,以红利计算商业贿赂犯罪数额。市场价值明确的礼券,以其预充价格计算贿赂数额。资助等形式上不具有一般商业贿赂金钱或财产样态,但内容上仍无法摆脱金钱利益经中间环节周转而成型的变相贿赂本质。确实存在犯罪故意支配下的受财行为,可推定对财物价值的严重性具有认识。对于时间、市场变化因素引起贿赂价格变化的数额认定,应坚持以行为人收受贿赂的时间作为计算犯罪数额的时间基准。     

Lessons from Philosophy? Interdisciplinary Justice Research and Two Classes of Justice Judgments

More and more scholars of social justice have been calling for a closer collaboration between empirical and normative disciplines. Psychological and sociological research, as well as philosophical theories can, so they claim, learn from one another and work should be based on results obtained in the other fields of research. Some political philosophers do not share this view. They argue that, since most empirical research does not capture people's moral views on justice, its results cannot be of any value to their theories. Based on this critique I suggest in the first part of this paper that empirical research should distinguish between two classes of justice judgments: First, justice judgments in a narrow sense, which are made under conditions of impartiality and grounded in moral principles, and second, justice attitudes, which differ from other types of social attitudes only in their attitude objects. In the second part I present a quasi-experimental study that aimed at testing the two different classes of justice judgments empirically. The results show that justice judgments in the narrow sense can be obtained even under conditions in which complex experimental manipulations cannot be employed. In the third part of this paper I hypothesize that justice judgments which are based on the two formal criteria provided by political philosophy (impartiality and reference to moral principles) may serve as important intervening variables when trying to explain the impact of justice beliefs on different patterns of human behavior.