行政强制行为之非独立性思考

行政强制措施具有手段性、附随性和保障性,与行政管理或行政调查密不可分,不具有法律价值的独立性。行政强制执行从本质上讲是独立的执行行为,而不是强制行为,其核心特征是执行性而不是强制性。即时性行政强制是对特定违法、危险状态的独立处置行为,其个性特征是结果性与即时性,而不是手段性与临时性。在剥离了以上三种行为后,行政强制行为已经没有任何实质内容,失去了独立存在的必要性,不应再作为独立的一类行政行为。     

网络舆论对法治的影响以及解决方法之探究

在互联网对我们生活影响日益深刻的同时,网络逐渐成为网民表达思想和言论的新渠道和新平台.作为一种新兴起的舆论监督力量,凭借其特性,网络舆论相对其他平面媒体有着不可比拟的强大优势.积极的一面是网络舆论在成为一种监督力量的同时也加速了案件的进展和审理,在一定意义上促进了司法公正.当然在缺乏法律监督的前提下,毫无束缚的网络舆论必然会对司法公正产生强势干预,对我国的法制进程产生消极的影响.由此,应当从重视道德规范、出台相关立法、加快权利救济渠道、话语权四个方面解决网络舆论和司法公正进程的冲突.     

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.     

Shall the law set them free? The formal and actual independence of regulatory agencies

Regulation by independent agencies, rather than ministries, is believed to result in better policy outcomes. Yet this belief requires one to accept a complex causal chain leading from formal independence to actual independence from politics, to policy decisions, and, ultimately, to policy outcomes. In this study, we analyze the link between the formal and actual independence of regulatory agencies in Western Europe. New data on the appointment of chief executives of these agencies is used to create a proxy for the actual independence of agencies from politics. The analysis demonstrates that formal independence is an important determinant of actual independence, but the rule of law and the number of veto players matter as well.     

Religion and the Scottish Independence Referendum

The Scottish independence referendum debate, like the Act of Union of 1707, has significant religious dimensions. The Act gave special recognition through the monarch to the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. The Church, a national church, has not yet declared a position on independence, but is seeking to protect its existing privileges whatever the result. The Roman Catholic Church, recognised by the Scottish Parliament, unlike its formal rejection by the UK Parliament and monarchy, symbolically associates itself with the case for independence. Paradoxically, Catholics supporting independence subject themselves, in their religious lives, to an authoritarian foreign power. The SNP Scottish Government attempts to draw Roman Catholic support for independence from its traditional support base in the Labour Party by cultivating a sense of religious grievance that is not justified by the evidence. Old religious divisions are still relevant but non‐religion is growing fast and resulting in new perspectives on the independence debate.