Who needs Daddy Warbucks: The Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program should apply to children of those who surrender their parental rights

Families who find themselves in the middle of child protective proceedings have three possible outcomes: (1) the family can reunify; (2) parents voluntarily surrender their parental rights; or (3) the parents have their rights terminated. While it seems we should support children in the second and third scenarios equally, having funding sources such as the Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KinGAP) only available to children of parents whose rights are terminated, does the opposite. This Note proposes amending the eligibility requirements of KinGAP to include children of parents who surrender their parental rights which would encourage positive safe placements for children.     

Market Darwinism vs. Market Creationism: Adaptability and Fairness in the Design of Greenhouse Gas Trading Mechanisms

International rule-making and compliance routines with respect to the Kyoto Protocol are evolving rapidly. This paper examines potential designs of emissions-trading programs by comparing the emissions credit trading (ECT) and cap-and-trade models for achieving cost-effective reductions in atmospheric greenhouse-gas (GHG) loading in terms of their adaptability and fairness. Adaptability is a valuable attribute when markets and their governing institutions are evolving rapidly or when regulated entities do not yet have well-established and predictable compliance routines. Fairness in both procedures and outcomes is central to efforts to establish and maintain institutions of international governance. The key difference concerns the awarding of tradable emission rights, which occurs at the launch of a cap-and-trade program but following when firms reduce emissions below baselines in an ECT scheme. Implications of this difference are explored in terms of institutional adaptability and fairness during program-design stages. By not locking in emission rights at the outset, and by being amenable to incremental roll-out, ECT appears to have superior adaptive and fairness qualities during periods of rapid institutional evolution.     

Use of an optimized 1,2-indanedione process for the development of latent prints*

1,2-Indanedione belongs to a class of compounds which have demonstrated great potential in the processing of latent prints, particularly in the area of fluorescence. However, variability in results achieved worldwide has precluded it from being used extensively. In order to isolate the cause of this variability, various components of the formulation were analyzed, including purity level of the indanedione, type of carrier solvent, and the use of ZnCl(2) both as a secondary application and incorporated into the reagent. Using a resultant optimized formulation (Ind-Zn), performance comparisons were then made in the areas of visible color development, fluorescence, and degree of substrate staining with those of 1,8-diazafluoren-9-one (DFO) for both fresh and aged prints. Moisture content of the paper substrates on which the prints had been deposited was measured and a correlation found with percentage ambient relative humidity (% RH). Determination of visible color and fluorescence as it corresponded to percentage moisture content allowed for defining critical threshold levels necessary for achieving optimal results. Correlating these values with % RH then allowed for the development of standard operating procedures for obtaining best possible print development. Through this work, it was determined that a 7.4% v/v formulation of Ind-Zn having petroleum ether as a carrier solvent yielded the most optimal results when processing methods optimized for % RH in the laboratory were utilized. Both initial color development and fluorescence were superior to that of DFO; prints developed with Ind-Zn were a minimum of 6.5 units dE* darker and more red than with DFO for all substrates tested. Processing with Ind-Zn on the majority of the substrates examined yielded fluorescence intensity values approximately four times greater than with DFO.     

碳排放与出口贸易竞争力关系的实证分析——以中美贸易为例

在过去的五年里,中国的碳排放量几乎双倍增加,目前已经成为世界最大的碳排放国。多数研究发现,出口是碳排放量增加的主要原因。本文以此为出发点,构建了衡量出口贸易竞争力和碳排放的相对指标,通过协整检验、因果关系检验等实证分析,考察1990—2007年间我国和美国的相对排放和相对市场占有率,发现我国出口贸易竞争力指标和碳排放之间存在稳定的线性关系,并且互为Granger原因。     

《刑法修正案七》影响力受贿主体的刑法界定

随着《刑法修正案七》的顺利通过,我国刑事法得到了进一步扩充与完善。刑法第388条之一的规定对传统贿赂犯罪的主体作了扩展。“近亲属”、“关系密切人”等概念用语因其规定的不统一、用语的模糊性,给刑事司法带来认定上的困惑。因此,对该新增罪主体作出较为明晰的刑法上的界定对于司法实践具有重要意义。     

推进中国碳排放交易的原则和思路

该文在广泛调研的基础上,提出在现有的经济发展水平和体制机制条件下,切实有效地推进中国的碳排放交易的主要原则和思路：价值引领,政府推动,市场运作和金融支持。     

车辆接触相对运动关系的判断

作者结合实际研究了交通事故或涉车案件中,如何判断两车是否接触、接触时的相对运动关系等问题,总结了两种较有效的判断方法。     

"相对剥夺"理论视角下的农村盗窃问题研究

当前新农村建设如火如荼,可愈演愈烈的农村盗窃问题却严重影响着新农村建设的全面协调发展。本文试运用“相对剥夺”理论对农村盗窃问题予以探讨,以揭示农村盗窃问题产生的深层根源,并据此提出解决农村盗窃问题的措施,从而有效遏制及防止农村盗窃问题的发生,最终保障社会主义新农村建设的顺利进行。     

法人依瑕疵决议所为行为之效力

决议不成立、无效或被撤销,无法完全适用民法总则第157条关于法律行为无效之后果规定。民法总则第85条、第94条以及“公司法解释四”第6条设定的善意相对人保护规则,过于简单和武断,需区分决议主体、决议内容、瑕疵事由而类型化地认定法人依瑕疵决议所为行为之效力。在法人内部,瑕疵决议溯及无效,但需依裁量驳回制度认定后续决议之效力,并适用法律行为相对无效理念保护第三人利益。就外部行为,决议无效导致行为违法,应依民法总则第153条认定行为效力。决议不成立或被撤销,则仅在法律设有强制决议规则之前提下方才导致行为欠缺法定要件,从而影响外部行为效力。因不同强制决议规则所欲保护的成员利益不同、所涉第三人利益不同,需区分营利法人与非营利法人、交易行为与组织行为,认定此种情形下外部行为之效力。有别于交易行为的相对性、独立性,组织行为具有涉他性、持续性之特征,需设立特别的公司组织行为效力诉讼规则,方可解决这一组织法问题。     

自首从宽处罚原则简论

自首从宽处罚是自首制度赖以存在的关键,当今世界各国(地区)大多在其有关自首制度的刑法规定中采纳了从宽处罚的原则。但理论界在从宽处罚的根据方面的认识并不一致;而且,对自首是采取绝对从宽原则还是相对从宽原则,世界各国(地区)也存在着不同的立法例。虽然我国现行刑法主要采用了相对从宽原则,但绝对从宽原则对我国刑法仍有重要意义。