Mobilising the Periphery: Brazil's My House My Life Programme and the Homeless Workers' Movement

Brazil's Movimento de Trabalhadores Sem Teto (MTST, Homeless Workers' Movement) has grown dramatically in recent years. This growth was partly provided for by the use of a large government housing programme, Minha Casa Minha Vida (MCMV, My House My Life), which allowed the MTST to construct housing for its members and swell its ranks with thousands of new members. Yet some have argued that the MCMV programme used by the MTST may compromise the autonomy of civil society organisations. This article, by contrast, argues that while the MCMV programme encouraged bureaucratic practices, it also helped to promote the cultural politics of the MTST.     

Managing commercial risks in open source software licensing

Legal context: The article reviews the commercial risk allocation clauses intypical open source licence terms and discusses their enforceabilityand implications. Key points: The enforceability of warranty disclaimers and limitation ofliability clauses in common open source licence terms is questionable,particularly in a cross-border context, and commercial licensorsshould take additional steps to protect themselves from down-streamrisks. Practical significance: Open source software presents a number of unusual commercialissues, because it is available free of charge and the providerstry to disclaim warranties and liabilities. End users and resellershave to adjust their own in- and out-licensing models to accommodatethis situation.     

劳动教养制度的存废与解决途径

劳动教养制度是极具中国特色的法律制度 ,自上世纪五十年代出现至今 ,为维护国家社会治安秩序作出了重要贡献。但是随着人们法治观念的增强和国家依法治国进程的推进 ,劳动教养制度存在的合法性、合理性和正当性根基均受到了质疑 ,废除劳动教养制度 ,针对不同的劳教对象重新构建新的法律制度取而代之已是势在必行。     

小城镇发展与农村剩余劳动力转移

21世纪 ,中国面临着数以亿计剩余劳动力的转移问题 ,如何实现农村剩余劳动力向非农产业的转移 ,进而由非农化向城镇化发展 ,是我们亟待解决的课题。     

我国劳动争议的法律处理及立法完善

随着新世纪国家社会经济的发展,劳动争议的冲突呈现出了多样化、群体化等许多新的内容与特点,劳动法律滞后的问题已成为亟待解决的问题,劳动争议的妥善解决已成为构建和谐社会的一个关键环节。     

Unclogging Courts by Targeting Litigant Incentives: The Case of the Brazilian Labour Justice Reform

Overburdened courts hinder economic and social progress, yet successful court reforms are rare. Instead of boosting judicial resources or adapting procedure, Brazil tackled persistent backlogs and delays in its labour courts by replacing the pre-existing each-pays-their-own-costs (American) rule for allocation of litigation expenses with an alternative loser-pays-all (English) rule. Using a newly assembled court-level panel dataset and difference-in-differences approach, we show that the reform alleviated the courts' demand pressures and, most importantly, increased court efficacy in both adjudication and enforcement. The Brazilian experience offers valuable policy lessons about viable court reforms for other jurisdictions.     

德宏州全面建设小康社会面临的难题及对策

农民人均收入低、增长慢,城乡收入差距逐年扩大,是德宏州全面建设小康社会面临的突出问题.为此,一要抓农村剩余劳动力转移,二要抓城镇化建设,提高城市化水平.     

Remortgaging Women's Lives: The World Bank'sLand Agenda in Africa

In recent months, the World Bank has issued a series of draft policy reports on land relations. This is the first time in over two decades that the Bank has sought to review its policy on lending in the land sector. Access to the draft reports and participation in the consultation process has, however, been severely limited. Nonetheless, the World Bank expects to issue the final Report by the end of this year. This paper presents a gender analysis of the two draft documents that have been made available to date. It assesses their implications for gender relations in Africa. It explores the World Bank's promotion of formal rural credit and challenges the assumption of the availability of women's unpaid agricultural labour. The paper argues that, far from being over, the struggle over land relations which has characterised the last decade in Africa, must continue. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

劳动仲裁时效制度若干问题思考

劳动仲裁时效是督促权利人及时行使权利的一种法律制度。仲裁时效从当事人知道或应当知道其权利被侵害之日起计算。权利人不及时行使权利超过仲裁时效的 ,失去仲裁胜诉权 ,但不必然失去胜诉权。当事人因不可抗力或者其他正当理由超过规定的申请仲裁期限应视为时效中止 ;如果在时效进行当中出现了当事人行使权利的事实 ,就必须停止时效的进行并使已经过的时效期间归于无效。     

山西劳动力资源、就业与失业人口现状及发展预测

劳动力资源是社会再生产的必要条件,其变化特点和被利用状况对经济社会发展产生着直接影响。20世纪80年代以来,山西劳动力资源比重持续增长,就业增长率显著下降,失业率明显上升。预计2000年~2010年,劳动力供给和就业还将面临就业容量有限、经济结构不合理、就业渠道狭窄、城镇化建设滞后等严峻挑战。2020年后,全省劳动力供需矛盾将有所缓解。