Shall the law set them free? The formal and actual independence of regulatory agencies

Regulation by independent agencies, rather than ministries, is believed to result in better policy outcomes. Yet this belief requires one to accept a complex causal chain leading from formal independence to actual independence from politics, to policy decisions, and, ultimately, to policy outcomes. In this study, we analyze the link between the formal and actual independence of regulatory agencies in Western Europe. New data on the appointment of chief executives of these agencies is used to create a proxy for the actual independence of agencies from politics. The analysis demonstrates that formal independence is an important determinant of actual independence, but the rule of law and the number of veto players matter as well.     

联合国国际公约对死刑的规定及中国的应对

联合国自成立以来一直关注死刑的问题,先后通过了一系列国际公约与会议决议,尤其2007年“暂停死刑执行”决议的通过,对世界死刑废止进程产生了实质性的影响。中国作为联合国常任理事国之一,仍然在法律中保留着死刑以及实际执行死刑。如何应对死刑废止全球化的趋势,是刑法学界与司法界共同面临的问题。应从联合国公约决议关于死刑规定的流变入手,在解读相关条约决议的内容基础上,结合中国实际提出刑事立法与司法上应对策略。     

Voices heard and unheard – A Scandinavian perspective

Children's rights to participate in legal processes concerning them have been a key policy issue for the Scandinavian legislators during recent decades. From the 1980s, there have been frequent amendments to the law to secure the position of the child. Despite numerous provisions stating the right of the child to express his or her views and for these to be considered before decisions are taken, there are continuing obstacles to full recognition of children as legal subjects. Too often children's voices are not heard or not heeded. This article explores the reasons for this and argues that the ambition to promote equal parenthood is one reason for the failure to give the child's views real impact on decision-making in matters concerning children.     

Women's Substantive Representation: Defending Feminist Interests or Women's Electoral Preferences?

To what extent does the inclusion of marginalised groups in policymaking institutions influence policy outcomes? This article examines whether and under which conditions female legislators are more likely to represent women's interests compared with male legislators. Building on the literature on women's substantive representation, it is argued that the advocacy of women's interests by female representatives depends on a number of factors, namely party affiliation, contact with women's organisations, electoral district, and seniority. This argument is evaluated using vote-level fixed-effect models based on a unique data set from a direct democratic context that combines representatives' voting behaviour, women's voting preferences, and recommendations from feminist groups. The findings show that female legislators defend feminist interests more than their male colleagues but that they only marginally respond to women's electoral preferences. Moreover, gender has its most visible effect within the populist party.