财产纠纷的若干问题

近年来非婚同居的现象越来越普遍,由非婚同居引发的各种纠纷也越发凸显,尤其是财产纠纷更为突出.对于我国非婚同居的财产问题,我国的现行规定则是少而又少,缺乏实际意义上的操作性,且过于原则化,不足以应对在实践中产生的各种各样的纠纷.法律应当做出必要的规范,以统一司法认识,对于同居予以立法规制,可以更好地保护公民个人的合法权益,特别是保护弱者的权利不受侵害.     

房产税改革面临的法律困境与出路——以沪渝两市房产税试点为例

房产税改革伴随着中国房地产宏观调控应运而生,对于国家收入分配制度和税收制度改革亦具有重大意义.该文以当下沪渝两试点地区的房产税改革现状为切入点,阐释了中国房产税改革所面临的困境,提出制定统一的房产税法、建立房屋产权登记制度、明确房产税税收要素、健全税收征管机制并合理配合保障房建设等解决问题的思路,旨在为房产税的良性运行提供持续稳定的长效保障.     

加强文化产业领域的知识产权保护

知识产权保护是推动文化产业发展的重要保障。目前,我国文化产业领域知识产权保护现状不容乐观,著作权保护进程缓慢,商标保护和品牌意识落后,地理标志保护严重滞后,专利权保护的瓶颈有待突破,商业秘密保护意识缺乏,民族传统文化保护遭遇海外挑战。因此,我国文化产业领域知识产权法律保护必须加强版权立法与执法,重视商标保护,实施品牌战略,创新地理标志保护,强化申请资格审查,全方位保护商业秘密,不断加强传统文化的源头保护,唯此,才能不断推进社会主义文化强国建设。     

Social contract theory and the semiotics of guns in America

We present a semiotic model of gun possession in America based upon the social contract theories put forward by Locke, Rousseau, and Rawls. Our central focus is upon the rights of self-preservation and the protection of property. The model proposes that American political history has cycled between two sets of symbolic threats to the social contract: tyranny imposed by a despotic central government and chaos represented by outsiders designated as savages. We propose that the two central semiotic images presented in the origin myth of the USA – that of pioneers living on a savage frontier and citizens rebelling against tyrannical government – endorse the individual possession of firearms. The specific models of guns chosen by private citizens are found to be closely intertwined with military patterns of usage; thus, the US military seems to serve as a rhetorical vessel from which cultural ideals of appropriate weaponry are derived. Examples of American autobiographical writings, contemporary gun advertising, and popular culture fictional narratives are presented to ground the arguments. We conclude that individual access to the use of deadly force for self-defense and the defense of property is the semiological basis of the American social contract and that US government efforts to reduce civilian possession of firearms are unlikely to succeed.     

Comment on Harvey Jacobs' “Social conflict over property rights: the end,a new beginning,or a continuing debate?”

Jacobs draws on history, law, politics, and policy to examine the development and response of the private property movement and the social conflict over property rights and public planning. This comment suggests that the debate be broadened beyond the advocates of property rights and planning to include the interests of other members of the community, including minority and low-income households who are often affected by the outcomes. Otherwise, property will continue to be used to exclude people from democracy, rather than include them.     

The accumulation of lender-owned homes during the US mortgage crisis: examining metropolitan REO inventories

A key concern among policymakers and community developers in recent years has been the extent to which lender-owned homes, often called real estate owned or “REO” properties, accumulate in different local housing markets during the mortgage crisis. This paper describes the accumulation of REO properties in 356 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) from August 2006 to August 2008. It examines differences in both changes and static levels of REO activity across MSAs and compares changes in REO levels to changes in home values over the same period. Special attention is paid to 12 large MSAs with substantial levels of REO as of August 2008. A model of REO volume at the metropolitan level is estimated that includes differences in state foreclosure legal processes and timing among the independent variables. Finally, cluster analysis is used to identify a simple typology of MSAs based on REO levels and home price changes.     

业主拖欠物业服务费的法律问题研究

目前,物业服务行业的发展存在一种问题,业主由于各种原因对物业服务企业存在不满,进而拖欠物业服务费,而业主认为这是一种维护自己权利的行为。于是就出现了实践中物业服务企业继续降低服务质量、业主继续拖欠物业服务费的恶性循环。因此,了解业主拖欠物业服务费相关法律原理,对于促进物业服务行业的良性发展能起到促进作用。     

Political institutions and FDI inflows in autocratic countries*

ABSTRACT

Why do some autocratic countries attract more foreign direct investment (FDI) than others? Surprisingly, few studies have explored the considerable variation in FDI inflows to non-democratic countries. In this article, I argue that non-democratic countries with seemingly democratic political institutions, such as elected legislatures, attract more FDI inflow than others. This is because these institutions can (1) reduce the transaction costs of investment activities due to the relative transparency of the policy-making process, and (2) act as veto players, making the existing market-friendly policy changes difficult, and thus, promising a more stable investment environment. My empirical results support the main expectation that autocratic countries with legislatures attract more FDI than other autocratic countries, and the institutions’ effects are conditionally modified by the quality of market protecting institutions.     

Property as Governance: Time,Space and Belonging in Australia's Northern Territory Intervention

This article analyses two cases brought by aboriginal Australians against the Australian government acquisition of long leases of their land under the Northern Territory National Emergency Response Act 2007. These leases are conspicuous, particularly in that the government always made it clear that it would not take up its right to exclusive possession of the leased land, and has not done so. The leases have not been used to evict residents, as some feared; nor to pursue mining or agricultural activity. Socio‐legal theories centered on the right to exclusive possession cannot account for these leases. The article explores the use of property under the 2007 Act, the legal geographies of the areas subject to the leases and the political potency of property beyond exclusive possession, and suggests an understanding of property as a spatially contingent relation of belonging. Specifically, the article argues that property is productive of temporal and spatial order and so can function as a tool of governance.     

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。