Sailors' families and the urban institutional framework in early modern Holland

This article points to a largely neglected theme in the maritime history: the important role of sailors' families in urban seafaring communities during the Early Modern Period. At the end of the seventeenth century and during the first decades of the eighteenth century, about 20% of the crewmembers of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) were married. Accordingly, in the towns in Holland where the VOC was present, many women had to run a household by themselves for a long period of time. The sailors' families were often confronted by emotional and financial distress, which to some extent affected the financial expenses of VOC towns as well. Many of these families were however able to cope because they received material support from various urban institutions. The Company created a system that encouraged sailors to send their money home during voyages, while urban poor relief often temporarily complemented the family's budget. Contrary to other married women, wives of sailors could obtain the legal power to engage in financial transactions, or to have access to inheritances. Town councils, civil courts, church councils, charity institutions and the East India Company were all willing to help the seamen's families. Their motives were twofold: while urban communities benefited from financially stable families, and the VOC compensated for their low pay by offering their employees fringe benefits, the attitudes towards seamen's wives also indicate that the urban elites genuinely wanted to provide some assistance to these needy families.     

中国紧急状态法的立法状况及特征

本文侧重对我国目前紧急状态法的立法现状、内容和特征进行了比较全面地分析 ,并在结合国外法治国家紧急状态法律制度建设的经验基础之上 ,提出要统一我国的紧急状态法律制度 ,特别是应当制定统一的紧急状态法来代替目前分散立法的状况 ,此外 ,还应当建立统一的应急机构来保证政府在紧急状态时期能够依法行使行政紧急权力 ,防止公民的宪法和法律权利因为实施紧急状态而受到政府紧急权力不必要的侵犯。     

The new architects: Brazil,China, and innovation in multilateral development lending

Recent academic works have shed light upon the motives and negotiation dynamics leading to the creation of the New Development Bank (NDB) and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). We know less about their day‐to‐day activities and if (and if so why) they are being innovative in the field of multilateral development lending. This article evaluates novelty in the two banks. It uncovers and suggests an explanation to the puzzle of why the NDB appears more innovative (in terms of institutional design, staffing, and lending policy guidelines) than the AIIB by exploring the cases of China and Brazil. The two countries played central roles in the set‐up of each the AIIB and NDB. Drawing on extensive field research, the article proposes that their preferences and capability to engage in institutional innovation depend on interests, status, economic power, and regulatory capacity.     

Brazil and South Africa: the ‘odd couple’ of the South Atlantic?

Exploring the complexity of South Africa's and Brazil's ‘like-mindedness’ at the regional, multilateral, and bilateral levels, this article argues that shared middle power roles traceable to the pre-Cold War era and beyond set the scene for a great deal of political complementarity and cooperation at the multilateral level where Brazil and South Africa's shared identities drive an interest in reforming global governance processes. This complementarity does not, however, always spill over to the bilateral level, where trans-societal linkages are still relatively limited compared with state-to-state interactions.     

试析中日韩三国合作秘书处的功能性定位

中日韩合作进程中面临着诸多障碍和不确定性因素，刚成立不久的中日韩三国合作秘书处因此也就面临着诸多挑战，如何进行准确的功能性定位是秘书处工作能否取得实效的关键。作者认为秘书处现阶段的工作重点和立足点应该以低敏感性非传统安全合作议题为突破口，从经贸合作、减灾救灾协调、突发事件应对、警务合作、文化交流等低敏感性领域入手，并逐步完善秘书处内部的各项机构建设，设立各专门-＇k-员会，循序渐进地为推进中日韩合作全局服务。     

人民法院内部审判运行机制的构建

法院如何恰当配置内部各主体、各层级的职权，合理确定各主体、各层级在审判活动中的地位和作用，建立符合审判客观规律和现实条件的审判运行机制，是我国人民法院改革与发展中的重大现实任务。C市人民法院在审判职权的配置与界定、审判流程的建立与控制、审判动态的监督与把控、审判绩效的评价和考核、信息技术的植入和运用等五个方面的探索，正逐步接近其构建“权力关系清晰、主体职责明确、监督制约到位、资源配置优化、审判活动透明、内部流程顺畅、指标导向合理、科技全面支撑”的法院内部审判运行机制之目标。鉴于构建法院审判运行机制在中国特色司法制度微观基础的塑造、我国法院规范化发展、法院改革创新等方面的意义，C市人民法院的实践能为其他司法机构的改革与发展提供有益的启示。     

国家权力与人的尊严

国家权力也有尊严,但不能高于人的尊严,更不能建立在侵犯人的尊严基础之上。侵犯人的尊严有私人间的个体侵犯、当权者的侵犯、"上位者"的侵犯、多数人的侵犯等等。国家权力直接侵犯或参与侵犯人格尊严往往危害更大,而最严重的侵犯人格尊严多发生在国家权力与民间联手之时。宪法保障人格尊严意味着国家权力不仅不能侵犯人的尊严,还有保障人的尊严之义务。     

Ethnic Profiling: A Rising Challenge for European Human Rights Law

Ethnic profiling, defined as the use of racial, ethnic or religious background as a determining criterion for the adoption of law enforcement decisions, has been rising significantly in Europe, in particular in the wake of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. This article examines whether European human rights law is well equipped to deal with this challenge, and if not, how it should be reformed. Against the widely held assumption that personal data protection legislation is insufficiently protective of 'sensitive' data relating to race or ethnicity, it explains instead why combating ethnic profiling has been made more difficult, rather than less, by an overly protective reading of the requirements of data protection laws. It then discusses the additional measures that European states could take to address more effectively the human rights concerns prompted by the development of ethnic profiling.     

从政治层面看演变中的中俄关系

20世纪80年代末90年代初苏联解体、冷战结束后,国际形势发生了新的变化。大国关系也处于全新的构筑之中。其显著的标志是美、俄、中、日、欧盟世界五大力量的相互关系带有根本性的调整。在这种国际环境背景下．中俄两国关系在以往中苏关系的基础上继续发展。逐步确立了中俄两国的战略协作伙伴关系。冷战后的两国关系呈现出三大特点两国关系稳定迅速发展;政治关系重于经济关系;变与不变同时存在。对于中俄关系。在发展趋势上我们要在努力争取长期稳定的睦邻友好合作关系的同时．关注两国关系中的不稳定因素,做到有备无患、未雨绸缪、趋利避害。     

村民自治推进中存在的问题与对策探讨

村民自治是中国农村基层民主的重要形式。当前在推进村民自治的进程中还存在乡镇政府干部制约村民自治的正常进展、村委会干部的权力难以受到有效制约和村民自治权利的保障与救济不完善等问题。因此,要完善村民自治,首先要从战略高度重视农村文化教育事业,使之成为村民自治的重中之重;其次要完善村民自治的监督机制,保障自治权不被异化,完善村委会选举制度,真正实行民主选举。