Administrative reform assistance and democracy promotion: exploring the democratic substance of the EU’s public administration reform principles for the neighbourhood countries

International donors, particularly the European Union (EU), vehemently endorse institution-building and public administration reform (PAR) in their work on democracy support. Still, the linkages between externally sponsored reform and advancement of democratic governance in beneficiary countries constitute a blind spot in our understanding of democratization. This article contributes to examining this relationship by exploring the democratic substance of the EU’s PAR portfolio for the neighbourhood countries. The aim of the article is to focus attention on the PA–democracy interface in the study of democracy promotion by elaborating a conceptual framework for exploring the nature of externally supported administrative reforms and the substantive content of democracy being advanced. By using the OECD/SIGMA’s (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development/Support for Improvement in Governance and Management) PAR framework for the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) countries as a case study, this article demonstrates how the EU’s approach to programming PAR accommodates elements from several formats of democratic governance while the conceptualization of the democratic effects of the PAR principles remains vague. The article concludes by highlighting the need for closer examination of the potentials and limits of external PAR strategies in democracy support, and for attuning the EU’s PAR design to its democratic implications.     

Domestic elites and external actors in post-conflict democratisation: mapping interactions and their impact

Abstract

Following the end of the Cold War, post-conflict democratisation has rarely occurred without a significant international involvement. This contribution argues that an explanation of the outcomes of post-conflict democratisation requires more than an examination of external actors, their mission mandates or their capabilities and deficiencies. In addition, there is a need to study domestic elites, their preferences and motivations, as well as their perceptions of and their reactions to external interference. Moreover, the patterns of external–internal interactions may explain the trajectory of state-building and democracy promotion efforts. These issues deserve more attention from both scholars and practitioners in the fields of peace- and state-building, democracy promotion, regime transition and elite research. Analyses of external actors and domestic elites in post-conflict democratisation should therefore address three principal issues: (1) the identification of relevant domestic elites in externally induced or monitored state-building and democratisation processes, (2) the dynamics of external–domestic interactions and (3) the impact of these interactions on the outcomes of post-conflict democratisation.     

Explaining variation and change in supervisory confidentiality in the European Union

Abstract

Some European Union member states’ financial regulators choose to make some of the data they routinely collect on individual banks publicly available. Others treat this data as confidential. What explains this difference? This paper considers the possible effects of crises, path-dependent legal institutions, and the design of deposit insurance schemes. At the national level, the paper focuses on contrasting German and Dutch cases. After the recent economic crisis, the Dutch released more data while the German authorities maintained strict confidentiality rules. The design of deposit insurance schemes provides a key reason why the level of secrecy varies, with the Dutch move from an ex post to an ex ante scheme where the government served as the ultimate backstop leading to questions about the accounts of individual banks while the German system favoured continued secrecy. The paper also describes the level of transparency at the EU level. Multilevel legal restrictions and bureaucratic capacity tilt EU banking union practices towards member states that treat financial supervisory data as confidential.     

民事抗诉制度探析

随着审判制度改革的不断深入,民事诉讼领域中审判权与检察抗诉权之间的冲突已日益彰显,影响了法治目标的实现,因民事抗诉制度的改革势在必行。本文拟在分析和评价当前民事抗诉制度的几种主要说法的基础上．从理论和实践两个方面探讨我国抗诉制度的应有品格,以期为今后民事抗诉制度之立法完善提供认识论基础．     

构造我国多元化的金融监管体系

我国金融监管的历史与发达国家相比还较短,在监管信息的采集、监管法规的建设、监管人才的培养和业务知识的更新等方面都亟待加强和完善.借鉴发达国家金融监管的成功经验,最重要的是构筑立体多元化的金融监管体系,而目前要抓好银行监管观念创新,健全金融监管机制,设置防范金融风险,建立银行内部控制体系,加强国际金融业监管的交流与合作.     

贺氏火针温通法治疗肱骨外上髁炎临床观察

目的 观察贺氏火针温通法对肱骨外上髁炎的疗效。方法 收集2014年1月至2014年12月首都医科大学附属北京中医医院针灸科肱骨外上髁炎患者60例,按就诊顺序将患者分为治疗组和对照组,每组30例。对照组每日毫针刺肘髎、曲池、手三里、合谷穴,治疗组加用贺氏火针隔日点刺阿是穴,两组均连续治疗10 d。以疼痛视觉模拟量表（visual analogue scale,VAS）、Mayo肘关节功能评分表（mayo elbow performance score,MEPS）为观察指标,判定临床疗效。结果 与治疗前比较,治疗后两组VAS评分均显著降低（P<0.05）,MEPS评分均显著升高（P<0.05）,治疗组VAS评分降低值和MEPS评分升高值均显著大于对照组（P<0.05）。结论 贺氏火针温通法可有效缓解肱骨外上髁炎的疼痛程度,改善肘关节功能。     

资源环境监管视角下的行政检察监督

2013年6月，最高人民法院和最高人民检察院颁布实施的《关于办理环境污染刑事案件适用法律若干问题的解释》，再次将人们的视线引向政府对资源环境监管职责的落实：环境监管失职将受到严惩。在资源环境监管领域，目前我国立法只规定了行政监管责任，对有关行政监管权力行使的行政检察监督却缺乏相应的立法。加强行政检察监督，有助于促进政府依法严格履行保护资源环境、防止有关权力滥用的监管职责。     

试论刑事诉讼法律监督工作机制的完善

刑事诉讼监督权是检察机关诉讼监督权的核心,包括侦查监督权、刑事审判监督权、刑罚执行监督权,其中,侦查监督权包含刑事立案监督权.诉讼监督机制是实现诉讼监督权,达到诉讼监督效果的途径.为解决影响司法公正的突出问题,应在现有法律框架内,对刑事诉讼监督机制予以完善与创新.     

公诉案件刑事和解的司法处置与检察监督

2012年修订后的刑事诉讼法将刑事和解制度正式纳入规范条款内,在一定程度上改变了刑事和解无法可依的局面。文章认为其所规定的适用范围仍有拓展空间,检察机关在刑事和解程序中对检察职权的运用尚需规范和完善。文章结合刑诉法的有关规定及检察机关的职权对刑事和解适用范围及依检察职权进行的司法处置进行了探讨。     

紧密结合三项重点工作促进民行工作新发展

人民检察院作为国家法律的监督机关,所担负的职责与中央政法委提出的＂深入推进社会矛盾化解、社会管理创新、公正廉洁执法＂三项重点工作的内容密切相关,从三项重点工作出发,履行好检察监督职能,是构建社会主义和谐社会,维护改革发展稳定大局、保障人民群众安居乐业的必然要求。因此,在中央提出深入推进三项重点工作的背景下,更加需要不断的提高思想认识,创新工作机制,完善工作制度,把发挥民行法律监督职能作用作为推进三项重点工作的重要着力点。