The transnational protection regime and democratic breakthrough in Taiwan and South Korea

External state pressure is understood to have played a causally significant role in democratic breakthrough in Taiwan and South Korea during the 1980s. This article problematizes the international dimensions of democratization in Taiwan and South Korea by first providing a revisionist account of external agency which involved complex networks of transnational nonstate and substate actors. These included human rights activists, Christian churches and related ecumenical organizations, members of the Taiwanese and Korean diaspora communities in the US, academics and students, foreign journalists, and members of the US Congress. In forming a transnational “protection regime” during the 1970s and 1980s to protect the political opposition from repressive governments, they contributed to the development of effective democratic movements. The case studies provide us with a more comprehensive view of the international dimensions of democratization, speaking to both the country specific and general theoretical literatures on democratization at the same time.     

Opening up personal data protection: A conceptual controversy

The existence of a fundamental right to the protection of personal data in European Union (EU) law is nowadays undisputed. Established in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights in 2000, it is increasingly permeating EU secondary law, and is expected to play a key role in the future EU personal data protection landscape. The right's reinforced visibility has rendered manifest the co-existence of two possible and contrasting interpretations as to what it come to mean. If some envision it as a primarily permissive right, enabling the processing of such data under certain conditions, others picture it as having a prohibitive nature, implying that any processing of data is a limitation of the right, be it legitimate or illegitimate. This paper investigates existing tensions between different understandings of the right to the protection of personal data, and explores the assumptions and conceptual legacies underlying both approaches. It traces their historical lineages, and, focusing on the right to personal data protection as established by the EU Charter, analyses the different arguments that can ground contrasted readings of its Article 8. It also reviews the conceptualisations of personal data protection as present in the literature, and finally contrasts all these perspectives with the construal of the right by the EU Court of Justice.     

我国国有财产对私有财产优越权的法理省思

《物权法》颁行以来,我国公私财产平等保护原则的落实并不充分。现行宪法中"社会主义的公共财产"是指国有和集体财产中的公共财产;宪法所确认的国有经济在国民经济中的主导地位,主要体现在国家对某些自然资源和特定行业或领域的所有权或经营管理权的独占。完善我国公私财产平等保护的制度建设,需要从调整相关宪法规范的表述方式、区分国有财产中经营性财产与公共财产和建立政府对公私财产的平等保护机制等方面着手。     

Smuggling wildlife in the Americas: scale,methods, and links to other organised crimes

International wildlife trafficking has garnered increased attention in recent years with a focus on the illicit trade in ivory, rhinos, and other animals from Africa and Asia. Less is known about trafficking in the Americas. By conducting a systematic review of academic literature, popular accounts, and government reports, this case study attempts to identify the scope and methods of wildlife trafficking in the Americas and its connections to organised crime. Unlike arms or drug smuggling, individual operators with minimal connections to other criminal activities dominate the trade. Most perpetrators work independently and have expertise and interests in legitimate businesses involving animal products. Methods of concealment are frequently rudimentary and little appears to be known about primary trafficking routes. Overall, wildlife smuggling in the Western Hemisphere appears to be a small-scale activity, small in its aggregate amounts, and strongly linked to legitimate businesses operating in a low risk and technologically narrow environment.     

Reducing recurrent care proceedings: initial evidence from new interventions

The English family justice system faces a crisis of recurrence. As many as one in four birth mothers involved in public law care proceedings in English family courts are likely to reappear in a subsequent set of proceedings within seven years. These mothers are involved in up to one-third of total care applications, as they are – by definition – linked to more than one child . Few birth mothers experiencing the removal of a child to care are offered any follow-up support, despite often facing multiple challenges including poverty, addiction, domestic violence and mental health problems. Since 2011, however, a number of new services have been established to begin to address their unmet needs. This article summarises the findings of the first academic-led evaluation of two of these initiatives. Presenting evidence from a mixed-methods evaluative study, it concludes that the new services were able to foster relationships that ‘worked’ in reducing recurrent proceedings. None of the women engaging with the services went on to experience what could be described as a ‘rapid repeat pregnancy’ within the evaluation window. Just as significantly, a number of clients reported some improvement in their psychological functioning, and the practitioners involved reported positively on their experience of delivering and managing innovative services. The article closes with a discussion of the challenges of evaluating personalised, strengths-based interventions and the possibilities of evidencing empowerment in these cases.     

Do algorithms dream of ‘data’ without bodies?

ABSTRACT

The question whether algorithms dream of ‘data’ without bodies is asked with the intention of highlighting the material conditions created by wearables for fitness and health, reveal the underlying assumptions of the platform economy regarding individuals’ autonomy, identities and preferences and reflect on the justifications for intervention under the General Data Protection Regulation. The article begins by highlighting key features of platform infrastructures and wearables in the health and fitness landscape, explains the implications of algorithms automating, what can be described as ‘rituals of public and private life’ in the health and fitness domain, and proceeds to consider the strains they place on data protection law. It will be argued that technological innovation and data protection rules played a part in setting the conditions for the mediated construction of meaning from bodies of information in the platform economy.     

请求权在民事权利结构中的性质与地位

请求权的合理性根本上决定于权利实现与保护之现实诉求,其存在具有重要意义。作为基本权利实现与保护的技术性手段,请求权是从动态角度对权利作的观察,与基本权利相比较,是一种"工具性"概念。在民事权利体系中,作为物权的保护性权利,物权请求权与债权请求权在逻辑上是处于一个逻辑层面的以物权保护为使命的权利。     

我国知识产权保护的现状与问题

我国目前已经构建出包括宪法保护、民事法律保护、国际公约、协定保护等多种知识产权保护模式。但知识产权保护仍然存在一定的问题。完善知识产权的保护,要确立宪法在知识产权保护中的最高地位,平衡知识产权的各种利益冲突,构建出积极有效的知识产权法律冲突机制。     

关于驻津金融机构工会组织建设及工作开展情况的调研报告

大批外省市金融机构近年在津加速建立分支机构,其工会工作,呈现出注重员工利益诉求、注重提升员工综合素质、注重上质量见水平的较好态势。但也存在对双重领导关系认识尚未到位、与职工期望值尚未对称、干部队伍与组织建设尚未完全匹配、维权机制建设尚不够深化等问题。今后应从依法建会、强化维权,深化内涵、分类指导,讲求实效、理顺关系,加强协管诸方面,加强对各驻津金融机构工会工作的指导与管理。     

论我国个人信息权的刑法保护

《刑法修正案(七)》增设了关于侵犯公民个人信息权的新罪名,揭开了个人信息权刑法保护的序幕。我国个人信息权刑法保护立法方面不可避免地存在一些不足之处,需要从以下几个方面予以完善:犯罪主体范围需要进一步扩大;犯罪客观方面需要进一步完善;法定刑配置方面需要区别对待。