EU Cohesion Policy Implementation and Administrative Capacities: Insights from Italian Regions

In this article we explain Italy’s partial persisting difficulties in EU cohesion policy implementation by focusing on one specific variable: regional administrative capacity. In line with research findings based on the national level (Tosun, 2014 Tosun, J. (2014), Absorption of regional funds. A comparative analysis, Journal of Common Market Studies, Vol.52, No.2, pp.371–387. doi: 10.1111/jcms.12088[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), our working hypothesis is that administrative capacity is the most important explanatory factor of EU cohesion policy implementation also at the regional level. In the article, by adopting a ‘most similar research cases’ design approach, we test the hypothesis with reference to two Italian regions: Campania and Puglia. In addition, we seek to adequately define the concept of ‘administrative capacity’ and operationalize it properly. In the concluding section, we consider the competitive advantage of our definition and operationalization of the notion of administrative capacity also with reference to other policy sectors beyond cohesion policy.     

Defining Environmental Justice Communities for Regulatory Enforcement: Implications from a Block‐Group‐Level Analysis of New York State

The absence of a clear definition of environmental justice areas has been cited as one of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's major deficiencies in managing federal environmental justice programs. Several states have explicitly defined potential environmental justice areas and integrated targeted efforts into the policy‐making process. At the block‐group level, this study evaluates the effects of New York State's environmental justice policy, which defines communities of concern in terms of demographic and socioeconomic characteristics as well as mandates supplemental regulatory enforcement activities for these neighborhoods, on the agency's policy implementation practices under the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act. The empirical findings suggest that there is inconclusive evidence regarding race/ethnicity‐ and class‐based environmental inequity. Also, the state's policy intervention is not universally effective. Moreover, task environments of a given community are a consistent determinant of the agency's regulatory compliance monitoring and assurance activities. This study then derives broader implications regarding the adoption of a policy instrument that defines and screens potential environmental justice communities.     

Command without control: The case of China's environmental target system

In the existing literature there is general agreement that the effectiveness and efficiency of command and control instruments versus market‐based instruments is highly context specific. A country's particular regulatory environment and state capacity, as well as the features of given environmental problems, play an important role in ascertaining what the “right” set of policy instruments for environmental management might be. This article examines how command and control instruments are used as an environmental enforcement mechanism in China's authoritarian state. Based on extensive fieldwork, this paper shows that the reliance on binding environmental targets as the main domestic policy instrument in China has generated numerous undesirable consequences. While China's target‐based approach to implementation has incentivized local officials to strictly enforce environmental mandates, there are numerous shortcomings in the system. In particular, target rigidity, cyclical behaviour, poor data quality, and the absence of an independent monitoring agency have generated adverse effects and contribute to a yawning gap between regulatory goals and outcomes. The paper concludes that binding environmental targets as the main command–control instrument in China can be more accurately described as “command without control” as the target‐setting central government does not exercise a high degree of control over implementation and monitoring processes. But command and control instruments can be suited for managing “first‐generation” environmental problems and addressing environmental issues that have easily identifiable pollution sources and which are easy to verify.     

Participatory constitution-making and why it matters: A review of the Egyptian experience

This article considers the making of Egypt's post-Mubarak constitution after considering the fact that participatory constitution-making is accepted as a democratic norm allowing citizens to be involved in the creation of their constitution and their future. The author argues that the process by which a constitution is made is crucial for the framing and legitimising of that constitution. Therefore, political elites and state institutions should not wholly control the process. The views of two schools of thought – idealism and realism – are considered. These views, together with the influence of the state and the concept of participation of the citizenry in the constitution-making process, are measured against international law requirements and further applied in a critical evaluation of Egypt's constitution-making process from 2011 to 2014.     

我国法医临床学鉴定标准现状与展望

技术标准是一个行业发展的技术支撑,也是质量控制现代化的基础性手段。我国的法医临床学经过近四十年的发展,目前已有各类规范性技术文件23部,案件量逾100万件/年。本文从标准级别、颁布部门、实施时间等方面系统复习了这些标准,可以看出:相关技术标准制订过程中大量吸纳了国际先进理念,同时也吸纳了法医临床学鉴定实践经验;目前,标准体系已初步形成。当然,目前实施的标准也存在诸多问题,如:彼此间矛盾突出、部分标准不符合技术标准的形式要件、对国际标准的研究不够深入、部分标准欠缺等等,标准化建设任务依然艰巨。未来,法医学工作者仍需加强标准与法律法规衔接的配套研究;加强国际标准跟踪、评价的研究,以形成更多的具有国际先进水平的适合我国国情的国家标准。     

宪法诉讼的宪政价值初探

宪法诉讼制度是近代宪政理念及其制度建构发展到一定阶段的产物,并且自其产生以来就在整个宪法监督体系中发挥了不可取代的作用。宪法诉讼的价值是多元的,在宪法诉讼的价值体系中,宪政价值无疑具有最为重要的地位。宪法诉讼作为宪法的免疫器和宪政的守护神,对一国的宪政建设无疑具有首要的意义,即"无诉讼则无宪政"。     

邓小平社会主义宪政思想的逻辑体系

中国正处于实现依法治国和建设社会主义政治文明过程中,有必要对邓小平社会主义宪政思想的逻辑体系做一个系统的归纳和总结,这是中国政治体制改革的内在要求。邓小平的社会主义宪政思想是在坚持四项基本原则的基础上,立足于中国国情,同社会主义经济发展状况相匹配的有中国特色的社会主义宪政思想,为中国政治体制改革提供理论借鉴。     

广西实施民族区域自治法的思考

新时期,广西实施《中华人民共和国民族区域自治法》必须突破传统的争取民族自治权、建立自治区经济体系的狭隘观念．转移到健康、有序、高效地实施北部湾经济区发展规划,努力建立健全旨在全面加快自治区城镇化、工业化、国际化、现代化发展的法律制度和管理机制的战略高度上来．使广西真正成为推动中国-东盟一体化发展的国际舞台。     

Power of the law or power of the sword: the conflictive relationship between the executive and the legislative in nineteenth-century Peru

ABSTRACT

The Peruvian parliament was a central institution in the early republic, but so far very little has been written on its history. This is due to the fact that military leaders took control of power for most of the nineteenth century. This article reflects on three main questions: what was the role of the legislative in nineteenth-century Peru? What was its relationship with the executive power? And what part did conflict play in these relationships? Most initial congresses were tasked with writing up constitutions, because institutions had to be created, and there was a strong belief that having a written charter mattered. The strongmen who took power felt the need to obtain legitimacy from both constitutions, and elections, but often did not see eye to eye with congress. This led congress to be closed, particularly when legislators refused to bow down to presidential power.     

对基层检察院贯彻宽严相济刑事政策的调查与思考

宽严相济是我国的一项重要刑事司法政策,正确、充分运用这一政策,对于充分发挥《刑法》保护与惩罚功能,减少社会矛盾,打击预防犯罪,促进和谐社会具有重要意义。结合宏伟区检察院近几年来的工作实践,笔者对基层院贯彻宽严相济刑事政策这一问题进行了深入研究,并在此基础上就贯彻宽严相济刑事政策的监督问题提出建议。