Watchdogs as Satellites of Parliament

Australian legislation indicates a special relationship between Parliament and independent watchdogs such as the Auditor General and Ombudsman. These statutory provisions are reviewed and a new model conceptualizing watchdogs as satellites of Parliament is presented and assessed in the context of the debate about where these watchdogs fit in our system of government. The model assists consideration of the interdependence of Parliaments and watchdogs and tensions in the relationship. It is identified that giving primacy to the relationship with Parliament mitigates some risks and creates others, and that it provides a democratic legitimacy to the watchdogs. The article concludes that there can be benefits to the community where primacy of the role of Parliament is embedded in legislation.     

The 2015 Catalan election: a de facto referendum on independence?

The 2015 Catalan regional election, held on 27 September, was framed as a proxy for an independence referendum by the pro-independence parties. This was meant to bypass the PP-led central government's opposition to permit an official referendum. After an election campaign clearly dominated by the independence issue, the results delivered a majority of seats but not of votes for the pro-independence camp. However, the reading of the results as a de facto referendum is not straightforward. Growing polarization around the independence issue resulted in the emergence of two main blocs, for and against independence; in the polarization of stances within the blocs; and in substantial changes in the Catalan party system. The lack of agreement between the secessionist parties over the reappointment of Artur Mas as president almost triggered a new election but, in a last-minute move, Mas stepped aside. The new government aims to declare independence in 18 months.     

论董事“善意”规则的演进及其对我国的借鉴意义

从我国公司法的规定来看,勤勉义务和忠实义务不能完全涵盖董事对公司和股东造成损害的不当行为,亟待突破公司法关于董事勤勉义务和忠实义务的框架。在此方面,美国特拉华州公司法中的"善意"规则的演进对我国具有借鉴意义。在特拉华州,确认"善意义务"的独立性有其客观价值,但也存在逻辑困境,故存在巨大争议。我国学者对于引入董事的"善意"规则存在两种截然不同的观点。为应对实践中纷繁复杂的董事责任纠纷,我国应立足于实践需求,通过理论创新,将董事"善意"规则确定为董事信义义务制度的内涵,甚至将"善意义务"定位为独立的董事义务也未尝不可,但暂时不宜将公司合规确立为独立的董事义务。     

论国家承认与当代国家身份的建构——以科索沃“独立”为例

在当代国际法中,对以分离方式产生的新国家,母国和广泛的国际社会的承认具有构成性,国家承认是建构国家身份的决定因素。科索沃的"独立"实质上是一种分离行为。由于科索沃缺少母国和国际社会的广泛承认,其目前并不具有国际法中的主权国家身份。     

Texas Population Substructure and Its Impact on Estimating the Rarity of Y STR Haplotypes from DNA Evidence*

Abstract: Three sampled populations of unrelated males—African American, Caucasian, and Hispanic, all from Texas—were typed for 16 Y short tandem repeat (STR) markers using the AmpFlSTR^® Yfiler^TM kit. These samples also were typed previously for the 13 core CODIS autosomal STR loci. Most of the 16 marker haplotypes (2478 out of 2551 distinct haplotypes) were observed only once in the data sets. Haplotype diversities were 99.88%, 99.89%, and 99.87% for the African American, Caucasian, and Hispanic sample populations, respectively. F_ST values were very small when a haplotype comprised 10–16 markers. This suggests that inclusion of substructure correction is not required. However, haplotypes consisting of fewer loci may require the inclusion of F_ST corrections. The testing of independence of autosomal and Y STRs supports the proposition that the frequencies of autosomal and Y STR profiles can be combined using the product rule.     

析仲裁协议独立性理论及其在实践中的应用

认为仲裁机构 (或仲裁庭 )有权就仲裁协议的主体根据具体案件进行解释 ,并且就仲裁协议当事人主体资格在适当时机扩展到未签约方应掌握的客观标准作了概述     

论我国政府审计体制改革

政府审计体制必须与其所处的政治经济环境相适应,我国现有的政府审计体制曾经发挥了巨大的作用,但随着我国经济、政治体制改革的深入,其不足也逐渐凸现出来。立法模式以及与之适应的分级管理体制是我国政府审计体制改革的方向。作为过渡,在目前仍采用行政模式的情况下,我国审计机关的领导体制宜采用垂直管理体制。     

Sticking to the Union? Nationalism,inequality and political disaffection and the geography of Scotland’s 2014 independence referendum

Scotland’s 2014 Independence Referendum affords a rare opportunity to examine public support for the break-up of a long-established, stable democracy. Analyses of support for Scottish independence reveal that while issues of national identity loomed large in the vote, they were not the only factors involved. Questions around the economic and political direction of the state, and around uneven development, ideology and trust in established politicians also influenced voters’ decisions. Partisanship also mattered, as voters were more likely than not to follow the lead of their party in what had become a highly partisan contest. But some parties – especially Labour – saw large minorities of their supporters vote against the party’s line to support independence.     

A tale of two independence movements: how do citizens encounter issues of international law and democratic theory?

Foreign policy events, including secessionism and independence movements, become objectified for most citizens through media coverage. Accordingly, I look at the coverage of Kosovo’s and Scotland’s bids for independence in the two top national newspapers, The New York Times and The Washington Post. Scholarship in international law, democratic theory, and comparative politics might have valuable insights on independence processes, but it is the media frames inspired by these strands of theoretical literature that shape public opinion and/or reflect policy-makers’ preferences (and biases) in the foreign policy arena. I find that print media can engage in theoretically sophisticated coverage of secessionist movements, which often echoes scholarly insights derived from the relevant academic literature. The two European case studies show consistent application of tropes and frames that one would find in the academic publications on the subject. Yet these cases also illustrate profound differences in media framing not reducible to objective legal and political differences between the two events. US foreign policy considerations also appear to play a role in explaining variance in media frames.     

廉政公署肃贪倡廉的经验与启示

香港经济的腾飞与廉政公署的廉洁、高效是密切相关的,廉政公署（ICAC）的成功之处在于其高度的独立性、三管齐下的措施、法律的保障以及其自身的高效廉洁。文章通过对香港廉政公署各部门的具体运作情况加以分析,以资借鉴廉署的成功经验,并为我国内地反腐败工作提出一些建议。