The Law and Incapacity Determinations: A Conflict of Governance?

This article will consider the highly charged questions raised by two major sets of law reforms in England and Wales, the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Mental Health Act 2007, which, although applying to closely related clinical populations, proceeded along entirely separate legislative paths. By justifying its proposals for reform of mental health legislation on the grounds of 'risk', the Government failed to take into account the implications of enforced treatment on patients who may retain decision-making capacity.     

Compatibility Between Mental Disorder and Mental Capacity: Analysis of a Particular Case of Group Sexual Homicide

Abstract: On the night of August 19, 2000, at the foot of Castel del Monte, an 8‐year‐old girl was brutally murdered. The perpetrators were identified as five young men who captured their victim and sexually abused her. The policemen found the cadaver by following “Mario,” one of the five, who had been discovered lying on the ground, near the castle. Investigation led to demonstrate that the murder was not premeditated. The only desire of the group was to sexually molest the little girl. Mario showed signs of psychiatric pathology and for that he underwent psychiatric evaluation by judicial authorities. Analysis of this case, combined with a criminological and medical‐legal perspective led to conclusions very much different from the expectations of Mario’s defense attorneys. Mario, a marginal figure and seemingly the least intelligent, played the role of group instigator, both in the initiation of sexually abusing the child, as well as in the elimination of an inconvenient witness. However, the group was able to activate Mario’s sadistic fantasies and his sexual perversions, and he ended up in a catalyzing role influencing the behavior of others and realizing what would otherwise remain only fantasies. The circularity of the group allows people like Mario, who are apparently subordinate, to influence the behavior of others. Mario was found to have a mental disorder but it was not sufficient to diminish his personal responsibility related to the crime. In fact, according to Italian judicial code, it is necessary that the motivation for the crime was psychopathological. It was for this reason that, according to Italian law, all of the members of the group were considered to be responsible for the crimes committed and were condemned.     

论未成年人民事行为能力及其所为民事行为之效力

未成年人尚未成年，对自己的行为缺乏全面的认识能力及预判能力，为了保护其利益，世界各国的民事法律制度，无不对其行为能力及其所为行为的效力进行必要的限制，我国亦同。我国现行的未成年人民事行为能力制度，存在着过于简单、笼统；缺乏对未成年人意思能力的应有尊重；与现实生活的实际状况相背离等缺陷不利于对相对人的权益保护，亟需完善。     

高等教育转型中的政府与高校关系重塑

我国高等教育发展面临着从计划体制向市场体制以及从精英化向大众化的转型。高等教育转型既对政府与高校关系调整提出了要求,也提供了空间和现实可能性。政府与高校关系的文本逻辑不等于实践逻辑,基于实践建立政府与高校的良性互动机制,就要重塑政府与高校的关系。其具体路径包括:合理界定政府在高等教育发展中的角色,提高政府服务于高校发展的能力;积极建立与完善高校法人制度,培育高校自我治理能力;大力发展高等教育中介机构,由其充当政府与高校之间的调节机制。     

党的执政环境和执政能力良性互动的透视

新形势下,全面提高党的建设科学化水平,就必须切实提高党的执政能力,改善党的执政环境.执政环境的优化和执政能力的增强是辩证统一、相互促进的统一体.党在执政过程中面临着严峻复杂的执政环境,而优化党的执政环境是提高执政能力的基石,同时执政能力对执政环境也有着重要的能动作用.面对党加强自身执政能力建设的任务,就必须对党的执政环境进行有效的优化和改善.     

论碳排放权的法律属性

《联合国气候变化框架公约》和《联合气候变化框架公约的京都议定书》所创设的碳交易在形式上为碳排放量交易,其背后的理论基础为碳排放权。科斯的环境产权理论要求我们应对环境容量资源进行产权界定。从法律视角考察的碳排放权一方面具有环境权的属性,另一方面又具有财产权的属性。碳排放权的这两种属性在实现环境资源可持续发展的终极目标方面是辩证统一的。     

民主巩固与国家能力——基于国家能力对于民主化进程影响的分析

在近代以来的多次民主化浪潮中,除少数国家之外,多数国家的民主转型和民主化进程都是一波三折,民主巩固艰难.其原因固然众多,但缺少应对和解决民主化进程中所面对的一系列问题的国家能力显然是其中非常关键的因素.本文认为,新民主政权只有有效解决转型问题、控制转型秩序、提升民主质量、促进民主文化形成,才能保障民主转型,走向民主巩固.     

Uneven institutional configurations and sectoral variation in China's socialist market economy: a comparative study of three pillar industries

By comparing three Chinese pillar industries, automobile, petroleum, and machinery, this paper analyzes how the development of uneven institutional configurations bred sectoral variation in transitional China. In 1994, at the dawn of the Chinese socialist market economy, the State Council issued guidelines for national industrial policy and proposed the enactment of similar growth-promoting policies for all pillar industries. The level of policy enactment and the resulting outcomes, however, vary significantly across the industries. Previous literature on China's rapid industrialization has sought to build a single model encompassing China as a whole, and has emphasized either the state's institutional capacity or China's unique governance mechanisms. This study investigates China's industrialization by taking account of the uneven development of institutional capacity amid macro institutional reforms. Every idea and institution evolved at a different pace in these reforms, and the incremental nature of the reforms further deepened the gaps between sectors. This paper argues that, due to this uneven development, the Chinese state was not strong enough to be considered a developmental state until at least the early 2000s.