Defending coase against false charges: A comment on block

This note suggests that Coase's The Problem of Social Cost has been read and interpreted too broadly to apply to all aspects of law. Drawing from Coase's own work, I show that Coase was narrowly focused on the economic analysis of negative externalities. This understanding of the paper precludes it from being used as a justification for the broad redistribution of property rights for the purpose of wealth maximization. This understanding of Coase's paper also defends his work against charges from those who object to making the determination of property rights secondary to the maximization of wealth.     

Coercive capacity,land reform and political order in Afghanistan

This article compares four historical periods in Afghanistan to better understand whether land reform in the post-2001 context will improve prospects for political order. Its central finding is that political order can be established without land reform provided that the state is able to establish and maintain coercive capacity. However, the cost of establishing political order mainly through coercion is very low levels of economic development. We also find that when land reform was implemented in periods of weak or declining coercive capacity, political disorder resulted from grievances unrelated to land issues. In addition, land reforms implemented in the context of highly centralized political institutions increased property insecurity. This suggests the importance of investing in coercive capacity alongside land reform in the current context but also that establishing inclusive political institutions prior to land reform will increase its chances of success.     

Peace agreements in a near-permanent civil war: Learning from Sudan and South Sudan

The conflicts in the formerly united Sudan have led to millions of deaths since the country's independence. The Naivasha Agreement was meant to end these wars. The January 2005 agreement foresaw a future where the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement and the Sudanese government would coexist within the framework of a united country. Subsequently, in 2011, however, the country was partitioned and the conflicts in Sudan and South Sudan have continued unabated. Interrogating the treaty texts and employing a case study approach and analysis of the economic and power dynamics within the region, this paper addresses the reason behind the failure of the comprehensive peace agreement and subsequent agreements intended to bring peace after partition. It becomes evident that the same dynamics that fed the partition of the country have helped bring conflict within its two successor states. In short, agreements are not sufficient to build peace.     

State-backed discrimination against Shia Muslims in Malaysia

This article traces the origins of legalized discrimination, religious hatred, and systematic marginalization of a community of Malaysian Muslims – the Shias – perpetuated in the name of Islam. It demonstrates how a central government-derived fatwa (religious legal opinion) banning Shi’ism and the propagation of Shia teachings in the country since 1996 has been used to justify a range of human rights violations, not limited to the religious freedom of this minority group. Apart from Syariah legislation, the state has utilized this fatwa alongside other tools, including the religious bureaucracy and the media, to persecute Shia in Malaysia. Anti-Shia efforts are also supported and propagated by non-state Islamists who often work hand-in-hand with state actors.     

Black is Beautiful: cuerpos negros en Triunfo

Spaniards and African-Americans share significant cultural memories forged by the profound impact that various artistic and historical events had on each other during the twentieth century. To contribute to an exploration and understanding of these shared memories – which have received relatively little scholarly attention – this essay focuses on the presence of Black America in the 1960s, that is, the period of Late Francoist Spain. More specifically, it intends to initiate the study of the impact of the Black Civil Rights and Black Power movements on Spain’s progressive press. Focusing on a selection of articles published in the iconic leftist magazine Triunfo, it examines how the traditional European fascination with blackness manifests itself during the 1960s. In Triunfo’s articles we encounter suffering, violent, and degraded bodies, as well as revolutionary, political, and eroticized bodies. This combination reveals the problematic coexistence of solidarity and inspiration with an ethnographic and voyeuristic gaze that perpetuates the spectacularity of black bodies for global consumption. While foregrounding the challenges posed by writing and representing the Other, this study is also an attempt to reconstruct more fully the 1960s cultural and intellectual history of Spain and to approach the black liberation struggle from a transnational perspective.     

澳大利亚对城市弱势群体权利贫困的治理及对我国的启示

澳大利亚政府对城市弱势群依权利贫困的治理可以概括为两个方面：把提供社会保障看作政府的重要职能,用完善的社会福利网保护弱势群体权利免于贫困;用健全的法律法规保障公民各种权利。澳大利亚治理城市弱势群体权利贫困的经验对我国有着重要的启示。     

论刑事被害人补偿——以刑法人权保障机能为视角

刑事被害人补偿问题在当前是一个热点问题。刑法人权保障机能指刑法规范具有的限制国家刑罚权的发动,保障个人自由的机能。将被害人纳入刑法保护的范围,对于保障刑事被害人的权益有重要意义。     

试论我国刑事侦查阶段犯罪嫌疑人的人权保障

刑事司法保障是人权保障的重要机制,在刑事司法领域,从国家追究犯罪的效果这个角度来看,侦查程序可以看作是整个刑事诉讼的基础。从人权保障的角度来看,刑事被追诉者的各种权利保障在侦查阶段是最薄弱的,所以侦查程序也可以看作是刑事司法人权保障关键。而我国的侦查程序尚未完善,还存在许多不利于人权保障的问题,因此,加强司法监控,完善侦查监督机制,扩大律师在侦查阶段的参与范围和参与权,强化刑事被追诉人的权利保障,明确其真正法律意义上的诉讼地位,切实深入贯彻无罪推定原则,将侦查法制化,从而实现刑事司法领域人权的有效保障。     

罪犯权利保护现状及其发展趋势

罪犯权利是罪犯法律地位的重要内容,切实保障罪犯权利的实现,是国际人权保护与国家社会稳定发展的需要。转变观念,完善立法和执法,唤起全社会的广泛重视,是实现罪犯权利的重要途径。     

非法持有毒品罪与相关毒品犯罪的界分

非法持有毒品罪是查获毒品而不能证明实施其他毒品犯罪时兜底适用的罪名。刑事推定是在无法直接证明案件事实前提下,根据已查明事实以经验法则做出合乎常理的推论,刑事推定必须达到排除合理怀疑、结论唯一的标准。