Globalization and legal change: The “Americanization” of European law?

Intensified global economic competition, economic liberalization, and the rise of EU governance have led some observers to argue that there has been a trend toward the “Americanization” of the European “way of law.” This article addresses that contention, focusing on legal change in European member states. It first describes ways in which the American legal tradition has differed most sharply from the national legal systems of Western Europe (including Great Britain) and the political and economic factors that account for this “American legal distinctiveness.” Similar political and economic factors currently are at work in Europe, the article acknowledges, creating incentives for legal convergence. But it also argues that European legal culture and the political organization of European national states generate path‐dependent forces that impede European movement toward American ways of law, and it discusses six important differences between European and American law that remain entrenched and are unlikely to disappear.     

The economic significance of “insignificant” rules

We know relatively little about the economic effects of “insignificant” rules because they are not typically analyzed. Yet, these rules could be cumulatively important. We provide an economic analysis of one proposed rule to control hazardous air pollutants, which is not considered to be economically significant. This rule is of particular interest because it is one of the first in a long series of rules that Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will consider for limiting hazardous air pollutant emissions. Our analysis suggests that the proposed controls that EPA has considered are not likely to pass a benefit–cost test. We recommend that an agency base its decision to allocate additional resources to benefit–cost analysis on the expected value of the improved information. In addition, agencies should consider applying a rule of thumb that would specify a threshold level of risk reduction that needs to be achieved before some kinds of regulation are considered.     

Regulating Lobbyists: A Comparative Analysis of the United States, Canada, Germany and the European Union

Lobbying is central to the democratic process. Yet, only four political systems have lobbying regulations: the United States, Canada, Germany and the EU (most particularly, the European Parliament). Despite the many works offering individual country analysis of lobbying legislation, a twofold void exists in the literature. Firstly, no study has offered a comparative analysis classifying the laws in these four political systems, which would improve understanding of the different regulatory environments. Secondly, few studies have analysed the views of key agents—politicians, lobbyists and regulators—and how these compare and contrast across regulatory environments.
We firstly utilise an index measuring how strong the regulations are in each of the systems, and develop a classification scheme for the different 'ideal' types of regulatory environment. Secondly, we measure the opinions of political actors, interest groups and regulators in all four systems (through questionnaires and elite interviews) and see what correlations, if any, exist between the different ideal types of system and their opinions. The conclusion highlights our findings, and the lessons that can be used by policy-makers in systems without lobbying legislation.     

我国诱惑侦查之现状及法律规制

诱惑侦查是指侦查人员设置圈套或诱饵,暗示或诱使侦查对象暴露其犯罪意图并实施犯罪行为,待犯罪行为实施时或结果发生后,拘捕被诱惑者。作为一种特殊的侦查形式,因其成功侦破特殊类型的犯罪案件的高效性而在我国得到越来越多的运用。但这一侦查手段在实践运用中存在许多问题。我们可借鉴国外的法理和实践,从侦查目的、侦查模式及法治化要求的角度对诱惑侦查全面分析,并对其有效规范和制约,以更好地发挥其作用,规避其危险性。     

关于制定《国有企业企业家奖罚条例》的构想

缺乏一支高素质的企业家队伍是当前我国国有企业中遇到的一个严重问题,制定《国有企业企业家奖罚条例》,建立奖罚机制是培育优秀企业家的有效途径之一。《条例》的有效实行还具有推动现代企业制度建设,促进国有资产保值增值和企业技术进步,防止社会不正之风等意义。初步构想的《条例》应该由两两部分内容组成,即确定考核企业家业绩的客观准确的经济指标和具体的奖罚条款。     

论持有型犯罪的罪过形式

本文把持有型犯罪分为“拒不说明”型和单纯持有型两种 ,并指出单纯持有型犯罪的罪过设置在我国刑事立法上的缺陷 :由于罪过设置不明朗 ,容易使人把单纯持有型犯罪作为无罪过形式的犯罪来对待 ,以致有悖于主、客观要件相统一的定罪原则使司法运作陷入尴尬境地。因此作者建议 :立法上对于单纯持有型犯罪的罪过设计可参照拒不说明型犯罪的规定完善之。     

对监听措施的法律建构

监听措施是世界各国为应付犯罪形势的变化而发展起来的一种高技术化、高隐密性的强制侦查措施,其出现对于侦查机关打击和惩罚犯罪发挥了极其重要的作用。作为一种重要的技术侦查手段,我国刑事诉讼法也应对其进行必要的规制,以确保在惩治犯罪的同时兼顾保护公民的基本权利。     

论法规批准制度

法规批准制度是指有关主体制定的法规范性文件需经特定主体的批准才能生效的法律制度。现行法规批准制度存在批准范围小、批准程序缺少操作性等不足。完善法规批准制度需合理设置批准范围、完善批准程序等,并对经批准的法规性质进行了法理考察。     

我国信用制度的确立与完善

不完善的信用制度已经成为影响我国经济发展和市场化进程的重要制约因素。我国信用制度完善的主要措施应当是:树立信用观念和信用意识;加强企业信用的构建;强化信用立法和执法,建立有效的信用规范体系;重建政府信用,树立行政权威;规范和加强政府对信用和信用管理行业的监督和管理;建立信用管理的民间机构,发展信用管理教育和理论研究等。     

征地补偿法律问题研究

随着社会生产力的发展,工业化进程的推进,我国的城市化和城镇化的进程也已经开始加速。城镇化遇到的首要问题就是征地问题。然而,失地农民在征地过程中却得不到相应合理的补偿,自身合法利益经常遭受侵害。文章在研究现阶段征地补偿的现状基础上,从法律视角分析了征地补偿诸多问题产生的原因,并提出了相应的立法建议。