Towards a democracy-centred ethics

Abstract

The core idea of this paper is that we can use the differences between democratic and undemocratic governments to illuminate ethical problems. Democratic values, rights and institutions lie between the most abstract considerations of ethics and meta-ethics and the most particularised decisions, outcomes and contexts. Hence, this paper argues, we can use the differences between democratic and undemocratic governments, as we best understand them, to structure our theoretical investigations, to test and organise our intuitions and ideas, and to explain and justify our philosophical conclusions. Specifically, as we will see, a democracy-centred approach to ethics can help us to distinguish liberal and democratic approaches to political morality in ways that reflect the varieties of democratic theory, and the importance of distinguishing democratic from undemocratic forms of liberalism.     

社会保障权责配置：一种规范分析视角

社会保障权责配置有政府与市场和政府间之横纵两个层级。滞后的社会保障法制导致权责横纵配置的失衡-政府与市场之间配置的偏倚,政府之间配置的粗疏,这严重制约该制度功效的彰显。横向配置矫正的关键在于寻求政府责任的确定性与实现方式的多样性之间的平衡,并在发挥政府基础性作用时,倡导个人责任的回归、市场机制的引进及民间力量的渗透。纵向关系的细化要求以宪法层面原则性规定与法律层面具体性条款相结合的方式进一步规范各级政府的事权及其支出责任;从责任分担上做出更具操作性的制度安排,完善政府间社会保障支出责任分担法律机制。     

America First? Trump,Crime, and Justice Internationally

ABSTRACT

“America First,” as presented by President Trump, argues for an international strategy that persistently places America’s interests above those of anyone or anything else. Consequently, Trump has reshaped the international perceptions of the United States and has created more difficulties for the U.S. in coordinating of global leaders in resolving complex issues in the world. This essay reflects on how Trump and the United States are viewed internationally, the impacts of Trump’s anti-immigrant and pro-White nationalist rhetoric, Trump’s responses to humanitarian crises around the globe, and the potential impact of Trump’s stance on global climate change. Given these considerations, it is questionable whether “America First” policy has made “America Great Again” in the eyes of the world.     

A Positive,Communitarian Right to Security in the Age of Super-Terrorism

Post-9/11, and especially with the dramatic rise of Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the author advocates a collective right to security. Plotting a course through state absolutism and liberalism, one finds communitarianism as a philosophy to support this right to security. The communitarian right to security is based on an interpretation of European human rights law, particularly positive duties of the state, to protect the rights to life of individuals from violations by non-state actors such as suspected terrorists. But for reasons of practical enforcement, limitations to the exercise of the right are also articulated.     

关于生态发展区的土地发展权转移

土地发展权是经济法意义上之权，具有公权和私权的二重属性，其所保护的法益为社会公共利益，它有利于实现社会资源配置的帕累托最优。在构建生态发展区土地发展权转移机制时应坚持经济法的理念和原则，调制的实体内容和程序规范要有法可依，调制行为要符合生态和经济发展的客观规律，调制的绩效要兼顾效率和公平；在推进生态发展区土地发展权转移时必须定位实施主体，明确职责，建立高效、透明的开发区管理制度，科学合理地设立招商引资门槛，以保障生态发展区的发展机会与发展权利。     

保障当事人诉讼权利的基本课题

在司法文明指数报告中,考察当事人诉讼权利的基本思路,包括设计二级指标和测试题目两方面内容。通过分析指数报告,可以发现当事人诉讼权利的保障情况总体不佳。保障当事人诉讼权利,应当强调发挥法院的作用;而未来改革的基本课题,包括如何防止权力主体滥用自由裁量权,以及如何为权力主体依法行使职权提供必要的外部保障。     

中国古代关于穆斯林的法律制度及其变 迁

穆斯林在中国的历史，最早可以追溯到唐代中期。自唐代以来，在不同历史时期古代中国都制定了相应的法律制度，穆斯林也在中国古代法律的变迁中逐步融入中华民族。     

释“干照”——从“唐宋变革”视野下的宋代田宅诉讼说起

宋代社会，契约文书伴随着土地私有制的深化及土地权利的分离，广泛地应用于百姓的日常生活中。与此同时，“干照”作为“田宅诉讼”中各类契约文书的通称，也因其具有示信、客观真实的证据作用而成为宋代司法判词的常用语。“干照”是宋代社会及司法活动中的固有词汇，它真实地反映着唐宋的社会变革，把它作为一个有意义的语言符号置于宋代社会结构的网络中，其背后反映的是宋代司法结构的变化与司法传统的转型。     

信用的权利化及其民法保护

在我国，信用权利化的提出有着特定的立法背景。通过对信用法律调整历史沿革的考察可以发现，信用的内涵是不断发展变化的，从最初关注主体在伦理道德方面信守承诺的情况，扩展到主体的综合经济能力。现代民法对信用的调整以社会对主体的信用评价为核心，信用作为社会对主体综合经济能力的评价，已非主体性要素，且已从“内在化的伦理价值”外化为“客体化的人格要素”，成为一种具有典型性、独立性的人格要素。因此，有必要也能够将信用权利化为具体的人格权，以确保民事主体获得客观公正的信用评价。     

Digital Wiretap Warrant: Improving the security of ETSI Lawful Interception

Lawful Interception (LI) of data communications is an essential tool for Law Enforcement Agencies (LEA) in order to investigate criminal activities carried out or coordinated by means of Internet. However, the ability to secretly monitor the activities of citizens also has a great impact on civil rights. Therefore, democratic societies must prevent abuse and ensure that LI is only employed in specific cases with justifiable grounds or a probable cause. Nowadays, in many countries each interception must be authorized by a wiretap warrant, usually issued by a judge. However, this wiretap warrant is merely an administrative document that should be checked by the network or service operator before enabling the monitoring of its customers, whose communications are later handed over to a LEA in plaintext. This paper proposes the idea of employing a Digital Wiretap Warrant (DWW), which further protects the civil liberties, security and privacy of LI by ensuring that monitoring devices can only be enabled with a valid DWW, and by encrypting the captured data so only the authorized LEA is able to decrypt those communications. Moreover, in the proposed DWW framework all digital evidence is securely time-stamped and signed, thus guaranteeing that it has not been tampered with, and that a proper chain of custody has been met. In particular this paper proposes how to apply the DWW concept to the lawful interception framework defined by the ETSI LI Technical Committee, and evaluates how the additional security mechanisms could impact the performance and storage costs of a LI platform.