The Quest for a United Nations Specialised Agency for the Environment

Abstract

Recent years have seen intense intergovernmental deliberations on issues concerning governance in the field of environment. Their aim has been to address the role of the institutions that provide platforms for international environmental cooperation. There are two main lines of enquiry: the role of regime-specific institutions that cater to sectoral regulatory frameworks (popularly known as multilateral environmental agreements, or MEAs); and the role of institutions that are established to follow up on global environmental conferences or a specific environmental task. Most of these institutions reflect intergovernmental consensual process. However, there are concerns about their proliferation and there is a growing cacophony of calls to ‘bring coherence to the fragmented landscape of MEAs, intergovernmental bodies, UN system entities and other international organizations’ (Sha Zukang (2011) ‘Legal and policy dimensions of sustainable development: expected contribution of Rio + 20’, Environmental Policy and Law, 41(6), pp. 244–246, at p. 245). In fact the need to bring order to environmental governance has assumed great importance and urgency if environmental cooperation is to be achieved. This paper explores, in particular, the role of the United Nations Environment Programme and its potential for conversion to a specialised agency of the UN.     

Fractured International Environmental Governance and the Potential Role of the Commonwealth in Biodiversity and Climate Change

Abstract

This paper begins by examining the reasons behind most failures of governance, including fault lines in institutional and professional specialisation, and in ideology. These three, forever competing within and between themselves, frustrate attempts to find solutions to some of the world's most pressing challenges. Not least among these are environmental challenges, where preferences and priorities that are geographically, professionally or ideologically narrow inevitably fail to achieve solutions for the greater good. What role can the Commonwealth play in addressing the fracture lines that bedevil solutions for climate change and biodiversity? It may help to stimulate global action on these issues if it can encourage agreement across multidimensional global boundaries. We know the Commonwealth is not a leading global force for controlling climate change or biodiversity loss; but if it had the political will it could be an exemplar of how, between a group of vastly diverse countries across the globe—and on the global political stage—binding agreement and positive action on climate change and biodiversity could be promoted and perhaps achieved. One of the strongest features of the Commonwealth is the generation of long-standing legal and ethical norms whose appeal is obvious even if their implementation is lacking. These norms should not be limited to the rule of law, democracy and human rights, but should include environmental norms because these too are fundamental to a satisfactory human condition.     

食品安全视域下政府监管存在的矛盾及改进策略

目前,突出的食品安全问题与政府管理机制的运行缺陷、内在矛盾有着密切关系。政府在管理职能、管理手段、治理过程、信息传播、法规执行上存在着诸多的问题。因此,厘清矛盾关系,找出监管"失灵"的根源,转变监管理念,调整监管行为,提升监管效能,这样,才能提高政府对食品安全监管的公信力。     

民族地区生态文明建设法治保障之路径

民族地区作为我国生态环境的屏障区,经过多年的努力,局部生态环境有所改善,但与生态文明建设的目标相去甚远。分析现实中阻却这一目标实现的制约因素及原因,并提出法治保障之举措,是实现该地区与全国同步建成小康社会的应有之义。     

论独立监管机构的经济法主体地位——以马克思主义社会权力机构学说为视角

早在19世纪中叶,马克思、恩格斯就已经预见到社会权力机构的兴起,这一预见已被中西方主要国家独立监管机构的产生与发展实践所证明。作为日益重要的经济管理主体,独立监管机构的公益代表性与权力合一性完全契合经济法主体特征的基本要求,亟需在经济法主体理论上对此作出回应。纳入独立监管机构考量后的经济法主体理论更加完善,可以明晰国家与政府在经济法主体类型上的差别,解释政府作为经济法主体和行政法主体在性质上的不同,并在一定程度上回答了社会中间层的经济法主体地位问题。基于独立监管机构的发展现状与趋势,经济法主体将呈现出"政府——独立监管机构——市场主体"互动模式。     

我国金融监管制度供给过剩的法经济学分析

中国金融监管存在显著的制度供给过剩。金融监管制度供给过剩会增加交易成本,不符合效率原则。从法经济学的角度分析,中国金融监管制度供给过剩的原因在于金融监管供给与需求不匹配、权力监管模式下监管机关的粗放型制度供给以及金融监管的行政化。改变金融监管制度供给过剩的状况,应当引入金融监管的成本收益理念和问责机制,将金融监管由权力监管向市场化监管转变,并合理处理金融创新与金融监管的关系。     

宅基地管理与物权法的适用限度

对土地管理制度的既有讨论,通常是从宪法第10条出发,没有考虑宪法第6条对"生产资料的社会主义公有制"的规定,将"国家所有"与"集体所有"片面理解为民法所有权而忽视其所有制内涵。物权制度是所有制关系的法律反映,"生产资料的社会主义公有制"是超越新中国历部宪法和其它具体法律的基本宪法原则,运用物权规则完善宅基地管理制度,需以公有制为大前提。忽视公有制前提的物权化改革建议,陷入"私法‘宪法中立",的认识误区,加上对宅基地经济社会属性的误会,所提出的改革方案缺乏法理与现实依据。现有制度在实现社会财富公平分配、公共资源有效管理和农民权利保护等方面基本有效,下一步改革只需做局部调整而无需全盘重建。     

公司交叉持股监管模式比较研究

交叉持股作为一种资本运作和企业联合的方式,在发展过程中不仅展示了其突出的优越性,也衍生了不能忽视的消极影响.为了兴利除弊,各国法律纷纷予以监管.由于各国在政治、经济、文化等诸多方面的差异,使得它们对于交叉持股的监管大相径庭.我国现行的《公司法》尚未设置直接规范交叉持股的有关制度.本文旨在借鉴国外立法及立足本国国情的基础上,探讨构建一套能够引导交叉持股健康发展的法律制度.     

The EU approach to net neutrality: Network operators and over-the-top players,friends or foes?

This paper will mainly focus on the EU approach to net neutrality, notably the adequacy of existing and future EU rules to tackle the issue and the ongoing policy debate. It will also consider whether the market has effectively worked around the regulatory lacunae by looking into the relationships between the telecoms industry, as a regulated sector, and the over-the-top (OTT) players. In this regard, it will explore to what extent there is a real battle between telcos and OTTs or if both parties are already finding their own ways to overcome their (apparent) disputes.     

针对进程用户空间的电子数据取证方法研究

进程用户空间中的信息往往与特定用户的特定操作行为直接关联,对于证据链的建立意义重大.从数目繁多的用户空间数据结构中筛选出最重要的三种：进程环境块、线程环境块与虚拟地址描述符,说明其定位方法,并重点讨论其结构格式的电子数据取证特性,为内存空间电子数据取证提供了新的思路与方法.实例分析部分,则以目前广泛使用的Windows 7操作系统为应用背景,说明了所述方法的具体应用.