Not so Fair after All? Perceptions of Procedural Fairness and Satisfaction with Democracy in the Nordic Welfare States

The Nordic countries are known for their well-functioning public administrations. In indices measuring control of corruption and the quality of the rule of law, they frequently occupy top positions. However, as we demonstrate in this article, a country's top position in comparative indices does not automatically imply that citizens view the state of affairs in the same way as depicted by experts. The observation is in no way trivial: Drawing on theories of procedural fairness, we go on to show—statistically, using individual level data—that widespread public perceptions about the unfairness of civil servants may have a negative effect on the legitimacy of the political system even in so-called high-trust and “least corrupt” settings such as the Nordic ones.     

既判力的作用及其在我国顺畅运行的保障

如果说诉权论是关于诉讼出发的理论,那么既判力论可以说是诉讼终结点的理论。目前,德、日等国对既判力论的研究较为深刻、规范和精致,而我国不仅在立法上轻视,且在司法实践中也十分漠视,因此,对既判力论的探讨非常必要。     

Engaging the reluctant taxpayer

Abstract

A commitment to political neutrality means that citizens have a legitimate complaint when the coercive power of the state is used to advance some particular conception of how it is good to live. In this paper I investigate how to address this complaint in the case of public funding for the arts. There are two promising ways to justify public arts spending. First, as Thomas Nagel argues, the arts are a source of intrinsic values and so command our respect. I reject this argument because intrinsic values are not automatically political values. Second, Ronald Dworkin argues that access to the arts is required to fully participate in social life. This argument draws a connection between the arts and citizenship and so fares better in establishing a political justification for the arts. However, Dworkin relies on the special value of high art relative to popular art, which undermines the neutrality of his argument. I show that a justification can be given that does not depend on the high value of the arts. I develop an account that shows how the arts can support just relations between citizens. This account is in keeping with a liberal commitment to neutrality.     

Unequal but fair? Cultural recognition and self-government rights

This review of Patten’s Equal Recognition suggests that minority rights can be grounded either in cultural accommodation rights or collective self-government rights. I defend four propositions: (1) individuals’ interests in membership in political communities cannot be reduced to their interests in being able to pursue their own conceptions of the good; (2) liberal states do not have to extend neutrality as equal treatment to self-government claims that intersect with their own jurisdiction; (3) claims for the establishment of public languages and territorial autonomy need to be justified on the basis of self-government rights rather than on grounds of equal treatment of cultural identities; (4) as a condition for their admission, immigrants can be expected to waive collective self-government rights rather than cultural protection rights.     

Dispositional neutrality and minority rights

Alan Patten defends a novel principle of neutrality according to which the state must accommodate all conceptions of the good equally. This principle rests on the claim that the state must be equally responsive to the interests of all citizens. I introduce a competing principle – neutrality of disposition – according to which the state must be disposed to treat citizens with different conceptions of the good alike in relevantly similar situations. The requirement of the equal responsiveness of the state is neutral between these two conceptions of neutrality. Moreover, neutrality of disposition, unlike neutrality of treatment, is compatible with a plausible luck egalitarian view of cultural justice according to which justice requires the state to be more accommodating of some conceptions of the good than of others in situations where not being so will result in members of minority cultures being worse off than others through no responsibility of their own.     

Depolitization of Bureaucracy: The Case of Central and Eastern European Countries

Political parties worldwide seek to work with bureaucrats who are close to their programs, willing to cooperate, and concerted. On the other hand, there is a huge body of literature which argues that bureaucracy should be separate from politics and that it has to consist of public servants who are technically knowledgeable, expert, and also politically neutral. The countries of Central and Eastern Europe suffered from highly politicized public administrations under one-party regimes, and have struggled to separate their bureaucracies from politics since early 1990s. In view of the relation between politics and bureaucracy from the perspective of (de)politization, this paper looks into the changes that Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) have gone through after the institutionalization of multi-party regimes and tries to provide some generalizations.     

对取保候审功能传统界定的反思

从司法实践中取保候审的适用情况来看,我国法律及司法解释、部门规章中关于取保候审的规定存在的主要问题包括:取保候审适用标准不明确、期限规定不明确、保证金的收取数额弹性过大、缺乏制度性及程序性保障.立法上的缺失以及司法资源的匮乏直接导致我国取保候审制度在司法实践中的种种弊病.改革和完善我国的取保候审制度,应当从两个方面入手:一是取保候审的权利化;二是取保候审的程序化.权利属性和程序化的取保候审制度在应然层面上主要具有以下功能:人权保障功能、程序保障功能、诉讼效益功能.     

刑事涉案财物处置的监察调查制度构建与完善

我国《监察法》非常重视涉案财物调查程序之正当性,针对搜查、扣押等调查工作确立了强制录音录像制度。但是,目前刑事涉案财物调查体系制度定位仍存在偏差,如未能体现其财产保全价值;监察机关能否对刑事涉案财物进行实体处分,立法方面语焉不详;利害关系人之权利保障机制尚不健全。应当以人财并重理念及程序正义原则为指导,强调对物调查之财产保全价值;检察机关应成为财产保全及实体处分的决定主体,加强检察权对监察权的制衡与监督;细化和完善利害关系人之程序性权利,构建以检察机关为主体的程序救济机制。     

中国环境法律演化的可能路向——以西方法律演化理论为概念工具

西方转型社会时期形成了昂格尔的法律类型理论、诺内特和塞尔兹尼克的法律演化理论、哈贝马斯的法律范式理论以及托依布纳的反身型法理论。全球结构之中的中国转型社会意味着,重构上述西方法律演化理论进而据此分析和透视中国环境法律演化的前景是一项艰难的工作。本文以西方法律演化理论为概念工具,试图勾勒中国环境法律演化众多方向中的一条可能路向——程序技术法律模式。     

论民事诉讼立案审查制度

在民事诉讼中,对于当事人的起诉,国外大多数国家实行立案登记制度,我国实行程序审查和实体审查相结合的立案审查制度。这种制度存在很多弊端,有人主张废除该制度,实行立案登记制度。这种观点值得商榷,对现行程序审查和实体审查相结合的立案审查制度进行改良而不是全盘否定,似乎更符合我国的国情。