Toward a Feminist State: What Does ‘Effective’ Prosecution of Domestic Violence Mean?

This article examines domestic violence criminal prosecutions and addresses what 'effective' prosecutorial action means in such cases. The argument elaborates on a point recently articulated by the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, which links effective prosecution of violence against women to the creation of a less patriarchal society. The article concludes that 'effective' prosecution of domestic violence means prosecution which constitutes the State as less patriarchal ceteris paribus .     

Challenges for China's Reform of Government Procurement

China's reform of government procurement aims to promote greater prudence in expenditure management through introducing transparency, accountability, and competition into the procurement process. The reform can also be construed as China's effort to fulfill its commitment to the WTO. This paper examines the evolution of the reform and measures the success of the reform against three indicators: the amount of cost reduction, the coverage of procurement activities, and the degree of harmonization with the WTO Agreement of Government Procurement. This paper argues that the success of the reform has been limited by an array of factors, including the misconceptions of certain procurement officials and their malpractices in procurement processes, the poor capacities of some local governments in enforcing reform, structural deficiencies in the budget management system, and the lack of political will of both central and local authorities in spurring trade liberalization.