The Spanish Parliament and EU Affairs in the Post Lisbon Treaty Era: All Change?

The new provisions on national parliaments in the Lisbon Treaty were welcomed with scepticism by some scholars and with hope by others. Sometime after the new provisions came into force, their impact on the role of national parliaments in the EU can already be examined. This article looks into the effect of the implementation of the Early Warning Mechanism and the other provisions on the parliamentary scrutiny of EU affairs in Spain. It also reflects on the possible implications for the EU political system. Although the scope and actual effect of the new measures have been quite modest, the new regulations allow for a better scrutiny of EU law, a tighter control of the executive on EU affairs and closer cooperation with EU institutions.     

关于我国所得税制度若干问题的思考

总机构的标准 ,要考虑法人资格和企业的管理控制中心两个要件 ,而企业管理控制中心要件形同虚设 :以独立核算作为企业所得税纳税人的划分标准 ,不规范 ,不公平 ;对个人所得实行按月征税模式 ,其最主要的弊端在于它们影响纳税人生活水平的稳定 ,不能体现纳税人的真正纳税能力 ,违反税负公平原则 ,因此 ,建议在立法上加以完善。     

MANDATED CUSTODY EVALUATIONS AND THE LIMITS OF JUDICIAL POWER

Kelly and Ramsey are clearly correct that a shift from a “how to” approach to custody evaluations to one that asks the more fundamental question “why” is long overdue. However, in addition to assessing the efficacy of custody evaluations (which Kelly and Ramsey propose), the legal system must also clarify the justification for imposing this extensive—and often expensive—intrusion into the privacy of parents. Three possible justifications for these intrusions are examined in this article: privilege, harm, and voluntariness. Is divorce a privilege, rather than a right, and can qualifications (including intrusive and expensive ones) be attached to requesting that privilege? Are custody evaluations instead justified as a means of avoiding harm to children? If a harm justification is asserted, exactly what harm do evaluations prevent, and how do they accomplish this harm avoidance? Finally, given the high value placed on parental cooperation by the family courts, is it simply too perilous for a parent to oppose a custody evaluation if one is suggested, either by the other parent or by the court? If so, are consents to custody evaluations truly voluntary?     

A NEW LOOK AT THE EMPLOYMENT AND RECIDIVISM RELATIONSHIP THROUGH THE LENS OF A CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK*

Criminal background checks are increasingly being incorporated into hiring decisions by employers. Although originally uncompromising—almost anyone with a criminal record could be denied employment—court rulings and policy changes have forced criminal background checks to become more nuanced. One motivation for allowing more individuals with criminal records to work is to decrease recidivism and encourage desistance. In this article, we estimate the causal impact of receiving a clearance to work on subsequent arrests for individuals with criminal records who have been provisionally hired to work in certain nonlicensed health‐care jobs in New York State (N = 6,648). We employ an instrumental variable approach based on a substantive understanding of the state‐mandated criminal background check process. We examine age‐graded effects within this group of motivated individuals and differential effects by sex in the rapidly growing health‐care industry, which is typically dominated by women. Our estimated local average treatment effect indicates a 2.2‐percentage‐point decrease in the likelihood of a subsequent arrest in 1 year and a 4.2‐percentage‐point decrease over 3 years. We find meaningful variations by sex; men are 8.4 percentage points less likely to be arrested over the 3‐year period when cleared compared with a 2.4‐percentage‐point (and nonsignificant) effect for women. Older women in particular are driving the nonsignificant results for women.