The 2015 Catalan Election: The Independence Bid at the Polls

This paper examines the context, campaign and main determinants of how Catalans voted in the 2015 regional election. The elections were exceptional because the incumbent and the remaining Catalan nationalist parties framed the contest as a de facto referendum on secession. In this paper we scrutinise whether attitudes towards independence affected vote choice and whether they eclipsed other traditional significant vote-driving factors such as the state of the economy or government performance. Results show that, although the independence issue became a major determinant of vote choice, the elections did not become a pure plebiscite on secession, since voters also used their vote to hold the regional government accountable for its past performance.     

简析20世纪巴基斯坦与伊朗的关系

巴基斯坦和伊朗分别是南亚和西亚地区有着重要影响的国家。从巴基斯坦独立至20世纪结束,巴伊两国保持一种较为紧密的战略合作关系。尽管两国关系发展并非一帆风顺,也存在不少有争议的问题,但是,大部分时段内,共同的战略利益使得巴基斯坦与伊朗都致力于弥合他们之间的分歧,并努力加固联系彼此之间关系的纽带。考察巴基斯坦与伊朗两国关系的历史发展可以看出,保持一种密切的战略合作关系符合这两国的国家利益。     

英国法下仲裁员独立与公正行事的责任——最新发展（节选）

从最近几年英国的判例来看 ,法官和仲裁员的独立性和公正性已引起人们充分的关注。本文分别分析了法官独立、公正行事的责任与仲裁领域的独立性和公正性。通过讨论大量的案例 ,说明过去几年仲裁领域出现的一些新发展 ,并且总结了一些有益经验。     

检察官相对独立论

法学界一般认为,"人民检察院依照法律规定独立行使检察权"中的"独立"是指检察院作为整体的独立,而非检察官独立.但实际上,检察官相对独立具有检察制度内在的必然性和现实的必要性:它是检察院整体独立的基础,是"检察一体"的前提和防止"检察一体"弊端的重要措施,是检察官法律地位、活动原则、司法规律和深化司法体制改革的必然要求.检察官相对独立是依法独立,是党的领导、人大监督和"检察一体"下的独立,是"独立"与"受制"的有机统一.     

CRITICAL THINKING ABOUT THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE IN CHINA’S FOOD SAFETY LAW

We are living in a risk society where people devised the Precautionary Principle in order to minimize the harm caused by risk ex ante. Compared to the previous Food Hygiene Law (FHL) and the 2009 Food Safety Law, the 2015 revised Chinese Food Safety Law (FSL) made a real breakthrough in the sense that it legitimates an important principle in food safety governance. Apart from laying down the fundamental importance of this principle in food safety regulations, the FSL 2015 also invented arrangements from different aspects in order to implement this principle. In other words, the FSL 2015’s incorporation of the Precautionary Principle in a very real sense marked a transition from a demonstrative preventive food safety management regime to a more effective precautionary regime. However, the Precautionary Principle needs to be adopted in a “precautionary” way since this principle has its own limitations and defects. Incautious application of the principle may create new risks. This article compares the European approach in implementing the Precautionary Principle, and examines China’s legal arrangements against negative impacts brought by the Precautionary Principle. Three perspectives are discussed: independence of scientific institutes; proportionality in risk management measures, and the shift of burden of proof for market authorization.     

试论我国行政监察的法治化途径

行政监察工作法治化是依法行政的必然要求,纵观我国现行行政监察体制和运行机制,存在着明显的缺陷和不足。探索一条科学有效的社会主义行政监察之路,需要在马列主义、毛泽东思想、邓小平理论以及“三个代表”重要思想指导下,弘扬民主理念,完善行政监察立法,深化体制改革,建立专职的行政监察队伍,实现国际社会联合协调行动。     

信用证欺诈例外原则研究--从加拿大一起案例看我国司法实践中应注意的问题

为抑制信用证欺诈、维护诚实信用的国际贸易环境 ,信用证欺诈例外原则的运用需突破信用证的独立性 ,将信用证交易与基础合同交易联系起来考查。这是对信用证独立原则的例外。加拿大最高法院于 1 987年审结一起有关信用证欺诈例外原则的著名案例BankofNovaScodiaappellantv .Angelica -WhitewearLTD .andAngelicaCorpo rationRespondents,成功地总结了英美法国家处理信用证欺诈问题的立法、判例。本文从介绍该案入手 ,结合国际公约和现有立法、判例、法学理论 ,分析信用证欺诈例外原则确立的必要性及适用条件 ,以期为我国在新形势下完善有关信用证欺诈的立法、司法作理论上的探讨     

关于刑事证明标准的三点新认识

证明存在于诉讼角色独立的两方之间。证明标准是一方说服另一方的最低限度要求,因此证明标准存在于司法审查程序中。同时,由于有罪或无罪的判决结果对控辩双方都有重要意义,所以控诉方为了自己的利益往往设立内部标准来把握案件。当然,由于司法审查程序在整个刑事诉讼程序可能有多种,为了更好地实现公正,保护诉讼参与人的权利,真正做到在每个诉讼阶段更为严格地对案件进行把关,立法应当确立不同层次的证明标准由不同的司法人员来把握与适用。     

被告人与律师之间的辩护冲突及其解决机制

被告人与其辩护律师之间的辩护冲突是我国辩护实践中的一个突出问题,这一问题无论在理论上还是在实践中都没有得到很好的解决。域外处理辩护冲突有两种模式：一种是以美国为代表的“当事人主导辩护”模式,另一种是大陆法系国家的“律师独立辩护”模式,两种模式分别有其形成的内在机理和运行逻辑,且各有利弊。我国辩护冲突的解决应当借鉴“律师独立辩护”模式之所长,实现从“绝对独立”向“相对独立”的转型,并通过“辩护协商”的工作机制预防和化解辩护冲突。     

Conflicts of Interest and Governance Mechanisms in Italian Local Public Utilities

Stemming from different theoretical perspectives the article examines the conflicts of interest arising among the actors (citizens, local governments, private shareholders, service providers) that at various levels are involved in local public utilities governance systems. The main results of a multiple case study analysis on 10 Italian listed local public utilities are summarized. Different and coexisting situations of conflicts of interest among multiple principals and agents are identified. In this context, governance mechanisms (e.g., the board of directors) have different roles and functions and may prevent and mitigate such conflicts. However, our findings suggest that the ownership structure influences board composition and functioning and that higher numbers of independent directors do not necessarily mean “actual” board independence. The article contributes to the debate on conflicts of interest and governance mechanisms in local public utilities.