Law clerks as an instrument of court–government accommodation under autocracy: the case of the Russian Constitutional Court

There is a normative expectation that constitutionalism does not co-exist well with autocracy. How do constitutional courts then uphold their integrity under authoritarianism? In this paper, I answer this question by taking the case of the Russian Constitutional Court (RCC) and showing how court–government accommodation in the new post-third wave autocracies can be achieved by limiting the amount of information the court receives from its secretariat. It follows from a detailed analysis of case selection in the RCC that the secretariat can function as an “insulator,” protecting the Court from political and reputational risks. The two features that make this possible are its invisibility to the judges and the clerks’ specific professional culture. The research is informed by an extensive series of in-depth interviews in the RCC, and benefits from the relocation of the RCC to St. Petersburg in 2008.     

Select committees in the UK House of Lords: the economic affairs committee

ABSTRACT

The Select Committees of the House of Lords enjoy a high reputation. But is this merited? In particular, do their reports have any effect on real-world policy? A detailed analysis of the work of the Economic Affairs Committee from 2010 to 2014 by Lord Lipsey, a member of the committee, reveals a patchy record though with some striking results, for example, with regard to reform of the ‘Big 4’ auditors. It shows that obtaining press coverage of the committee's reports was central to their subsequent effect on policy-making.     

渎职罪的若干问题研究

我国刑法典专章规定了渎职罪,但是我国刑法典对于渎职罪的规定有一些不甚明了的地方,加之近年来渎职犯罪案件出现了一些新动向,为了能更好地遏制渎职犯罪,理论界一直在对渎职犯罪进行研究。然而,渎职罪中却一直存在着这样一些共性问题,如：渎职罪的主体认定问题、渎职罪中的一罪数罪问题、渎职罪的法定刑问题及徇私舞弊中的＂前案＂认定问题。这些问题一直困扰着司法实务界相关活动的展开,为使司法实务界能顺利进行反渎工作,本文拟对这些共性问题进行探讨,期望通过讨论能使相关问题得以解决,进而对司法实务界有所帮助。     

破产法利益制衡机制论——兼论职工利益保护

破产的直接作用是以国家强制力保障决定市场经济能否正常运转的信用关系的法律制度形式——债,在债务人丧失清偿能力时的最终公平实现,维护全体债权人、债务人的合法权益,维护社会利益,保障正常的经济秩序。可见,破产法的主要价值目标,就是对债权人、债务人、社会利益进行平衡,以维护社会正义。而我国现行破产法体系,却对债权人利益保护不利,社会利益也因行政手段干预而歪曲与异化,债务人利益被弱化,国有资产流失严重,破产利益制衡机制的操作性与透明性被破坏。法律制度的缺陷,导致社会秩序的受损,该破产的不能破产,该保护的不能保护,三角链条的锈化,引起连锁反应的多米诺骨牌效应。可见,在制定新《破产法》的前夕,用破产利益制衡机制重新构架我国破产法体系是必要的。本文对此略作探索,以抛砖引玉。     

书记员制度改革的反思与展望

书记员制度改革是法院分类管理的重要步骤，但学界几乎没有人对这项改革进行反思，本文基于调查分析的基础上，对书记员制度的改革进行了全面反思。本文概述了书记员制度改革的背景，对具体的改革举措逐项进行评论，进而反思书记员制度改革存在的问题，并试图探寻其原因，最后对这项改革进行展望，指出其未来的发展方向。本文主张，对新进书记员实行单独序列管理，不再过渡为法官，并采用聘任制管理模式是不可能成功的，书记员制度改革应当符合中国国情，立足中国司法实践     

论银行工作人员违规行为民事责任的认定

银行工作人员违规行为导致银行被诉案件日益增多 ,而我国立法上对个人行为和职务行为未作明确规定 ,司法实践中对银行工作人员的行为性质也存在争议 ,难以明确法律责任。本文从银行工作人员违规行为的表现形式出发 ,分析两种不同观点 ,提出区分个人行为和职务行为的原则标准 ,对司法实践中如何具体认定行为性质提出明确的建议