Abolishing Marriage: Can Civil Partnership Cover it?

This paper argues that all adult intimate relationships should be regulated under one single statute. This statute should be the Civil Partnership Act 2004 (which currently applies to same sex couples). The Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (which applies to opposite sex couples), should be repealed; it should not be amended to include same sex couples. There would, as a consequence, be no such thing as (legal) marriage. Marriage as a legal construct is a heterosexual and patriarchal institution and is therefore so fundamentally flawed it is beyond the possibility of successful reform or repair. The present system of having two distinct legal means of relationship recognition is akin to sexual apartheid and is therefore unsustainable in the long term. Having a legal system which recognises only one form of legal partnership would therefore formally end a discriminatory system. Despite its drawbacks, Civil Partnership does not have the same extent of symbolic and practical degree of flaws as Marriage.

Australian climate policy and the Asia Pacific partnership on clean development and climate (APP). From Howard to Rudd: continuity or change?

This article explains, first, why Australia’s government under John Howard, together with the United States Bush administration initiated the Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate (APP) and, second, why the succeeding Rudd government continued to support this initiative. Climate policy under the conservative Howard government (1995–2007) in Australia was largely dictated by fossil fuel and mineral sector interests, and reflected a close alliance with the Bush administration. The Howard government shunned the Kyoto Protocol, refused to set national binding greenhouse gas reduction targets and preferred voluntary cooperative measures with industry. The APP was part of the Howard government’s strategy to demonstrate some policy movement on climate change while postponing serious action. Climate change was a key issue in the election of the Rudd Labor government in Australia in December 2007. The Rudd government quickly ratified Kyoto, adopted emission reduction targets, and moved to introduce emissions trading. The Rudd government’s decision to continue involvement with the APP, albeit with diminished funding, was a pragmatic one. The APP was supported by industry and provided bridges to China and India—both key countries in the post-2012 UNFCCC negotiations. Finally, in order to assess the long-term outlook of the APP, the article provides a preliminary assessment as to whether the APP advances technology transfer.

论表见合伙制度

表见合伙,是指相对于特定的第三人而言,在非合伙人之间或者非普通合伙人之间产生的一种类似于普通合伙人的责任承担关系.我国《民法通则》对表见合伙未作规定,最新修订的《合伙企业法》对有限合伙人的表见合伙作有明确规定.但总体而言,我国现行法对表见合伙制度的规定不够系统全面,还有待进一步构建和完善.     

俄罗斯工会改革的历史与现实：基于社会统合主义的分析

俄罗斯工会在苏联解体之后经历了由计划经济到市场经济的转变,最终形成了社会统合主义的 模式。本研究在梳理俄罗斯工会改革历史的基础上,根据统合主义理论分析了俄罗斯工会在与政府的关系、对 工人利益的代表性和自身行动能力 3 个方面的现实情况。研究认为,俄罗斯工会在改革初期复杂、动荡的政治 经济背景下所追求的自由主义模式受历史因素影响并不成功。改革的转机出现在统一俄罗斯党成立之后,俄罗 斯工会与政府关系迅速改善,并在执政党的同情和支持下提升了自身对工人利益的代表性和行动能力,特别是 运用法律武器的能力。但俄罗斯工会也面临着新就业形式和移民劳工增长的挑战,还需要进一步的改革以适应 劳动力市场的复杂变化。     

In search of international criminal justice in Africa: What role for the United Nations?

The International Criminal Court (ICC) ran into considerable controversy almost immediately after its creation. More than 10 years later, the tension between the court and the AU is palpable. The court’s perceived political prosecutions as well as procedural flaws in light of the power bestowed on the UN Security Council under Article 13(b) of the Rome Statute are some of the areas of contention. However, despite the obvious flaws of the ICC, there is also widespread scepticism that the AU can be trusted to mobilise sufficient political will to deliver justice on the continent, more so in cases where the perpetrators are sitting heads of state or government. In lieu of cooperation with the ICC and the UN, can the AU deliver justice to victims of gross human rights abuses? Are extraordinary African Chambers such as the one created in Senegal to try the former Chadian dictator Hissene Habre an alternative to the ICC? This article argues that it is only through a partnership of convenience between the AU and the UN that victims of human rights abuses on the continent can access justice. Furthermore, the article opines that calls for African states to withdraw from the ICC en mass must be vigorously opposed.     

The EU–South Africa Strategic Partnership and global environmental governance: Towards effective multilateralism after Copenhagen?

ABSTRACT

This paper uses an analytical framework drawn from organisational studies to unpack and evaluate climate change relations under the EU–South Africa Strategic Partnership. The article finds that, while the EU and South Africa share a common purpose and high-level climate goals, many of the formal organisational structures set up under the partnership to tackle climate change and the environment are weak and have fallen into disuse. At the same time several factors outside of the strategic partnership, such as South Africa's hosting of the Durban climate change meeting, have played a significant role in promoting climate cooperation between the two partners. Therefore, while the strategic partnership creates an additional opportunity for climate cooperation, it is by no means the only or even the most important instrument in the EU's foreign policy tool box for negotiation and dialogue.     

The EU–South Africa Strategic Partnership: From bilateral to multilateral forums and the strategic value for South Africa

ABSTRACT

Strategic partnerships are seen as a means of elevating bilateral relations between two countries, or in the case of the European Union (EU), relations between an intergovernmental organisation and its 10 identified strategic partners. There is a growing body of analysis on the value of these strategic partnerships for the two partner states, yet just what role this partnership has within wider multilateral forums is an area for further discussion. This article explores the role that the EU–South Africa Strategic Partnership plays in shaping engagement between the bilateral partners in multilateral contexts. In reviewing the partnership over the course of its first decade, the article argues that South Africa has increasingly acknowledged its potential value. However, further interrogation on how to manage the complex intersection between bilateral and multilateral relations is called for if the strategic partnership is to be used to optimal effect as a tool of foreign policy.     

英美刑法共谋罪属性述评

共谋罪是一种抽象危险犯、继续犯和合伙型犯罪,这种观念和制度设计对共谋罪的刑事司法运作产生了重大的影响。法益保护的早期化,犯罪认定的宽松化,责任范围的宽泛化,外化行为要件的形式化,追诉时效的延长化,脱离共谋的困难化,传闻证据例外规则的虚置化,管辖地选择的任意化等是共谋罪独特属性在刑事司法运作上的深刻反映。共谋罪的运用,在对付有组织犯罪、恐怖犯罪等严重犯罪,提前保护法益方面具有重大的现实意义,但同时也具有易被滥用、侵犯人权的潜在风险,值得引起我们的高度警惕。     

论有限合伙制的应用障碍及其立法对策——以推动风险投资行业发展为视角

有限合伙这种企业组织形式被具有成熟风险投资业的国家的实践证明,是风险投资企业最有效的法律组织形式,对促进风险投资的发展发挥着积极的作用。我国法律明确承认了有限合伙制度,为风险投资初步扫清了制度障碍。但是,目前在我国风险投资企业中,大多数仍以公司制而非有限合伙制作为企业的内部治理结构形式。究竟是哪些因素构成了有限合伙制在我国风险投资行业领域的应用障碍,文章从风险管理人、机构投资者、上市机制三个方面进行了探讨,并提出了一些立法建议和对策。     

公私伙伴关系:匹兹堡的治理之道

匹兹堡地区是美国采用公私伙伴关系治理公共事务的成功典范。1943年,匹兹堡地区在政治家劳伦斯和银行家梅隆主导下成立了阿莱格尼社区发展会议(ACCD),建立起公私伙伴关系的制度平台。通过这种公私伙伴关系治理模式,匹兹堡在20世纪40-60年代解决了环境污染和基础设施落后的问题,在20世纪80年代成功实现了产业转型,20世纪90年代以来,促进了经济发展和就业。匹兹堡的公私伙伴关系治理模式植根于美国政治、经济和社会体制之中,具有制度化与机会主义的双重特点。