土地改革是一场伟大的历史性变革——纪念《中华人民共和国土地改革法》颁布50周年

本文对新中国土地改革所实行的农民的土地所有制及其法律依据《中华人民共和国土地改革法》进行再思考 ,并分析这次土地改革成功的原因、经验及历史地位 ,以纪念《中华人民共和国土地改革法》颁布 50周年。     

《张家山汉墓竹简·二年律令》中诸律的制作年代试探

对《二年律令》中《户律》、《赐律》、《秩律》、《置后律》及《收律》等的制作年代进行考证,证明《二年律令》中的诸律并非制作于同一时期,从而为正确运用《二年律令》提供了可供参考之处。     

Can we share an us-feeling with a digital machine? Emotional sharing and the recognition of one as another*

ABSTRACT

To share an us-feeling means to acknowledge one another. Can we share such a feeling with an extreme form of the other, for instance with a digital machine? The answer that is given in this article is ‘no’. Relevant tests like the Turing Test are based on a third-person perspective, whereas a second-person perspective would be needed.     

Governing Civil Society in Cambodia: Implications of the NGO Law for the “Rule of Law”

Abstract

This article reviews the introduction of the 2015 Law on Associations and Non-governmental Organisations in Cambodia (“NGO Law”) from 2011–17 and explores its connection to the rule of law. After outlining the content, definitions and regulatory environment related to the NGO Law, it provides a commentary on its initial application, and examines its potential articulation with other legislation (such as defamation and libel, telecommunications law and land law). I argue that the NGO Law should be characterised as a carefully crafted piece of legislation, developed and defended over time by the ruling political party to increase control and intimidation by invoking adherence to the “rule of law”. Narratives of national security, terrorism, neutrality and cultural cohesion have been interwoven with new regulatory requirements to obfuscate overt political interference. The article argues that the NGO Law intersects with, and consolidates, the recent trend of the government’s use of legislation as a political tool to control and manipulate political opponents and government critics. This is not to deny that there are areas of civil society action and service provision that require greater government control via regulatory compliance. Nevertheless, the state’s attempts to tighten civil space are being met with resistance and “work around” strategies from the plethora of diverse organisations functioning in Cambodia.     

The Life of the Law in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Beyond the esoteric deliberations of Islamic jurists and their exegesis of criminal and private law doctrines, Iranian law lives a life of its own. It is a life of routine practices of judges, court clerks, lawyers and clients, each of whom is striving to turn the law to their own advantage. It is also a life of contested legality, a relentless struggle over the right to determine the law in a juridical field which is infused with strife and hostility. These conflicts are reproduced daily as two competing conceptions of law, and their corresponding perceptions of legality clash in pursuit of justice. The Iranian judiciary’s concept of law, its reconstruction of Islamic jurisprudence and methods of dispensing justice, which on the surface are reminiscent of Max Weber’s “qādi-justice,” collide with the legal profession’s formal rational understanding thereof. However, Iranian judges are not Weberian qādis, and the legal profession is not a homogenous group of attorneys driven by a collective commitment to the rule of law. To understand their conflict, we need to explore the mundane workings of the legal system in the context of the transformation of Iranian society and the unresolved disputes over the direction of its modernity.     

Maps and the assessment of parish rates in nineteenth‐century England and Wales

Abstract

This paper reviews the role of maps in the assessment of rates levied for the relief of poverty in nineteenth‐century England and Wales and examines the relationships between tithe maps and parochial assessment maps both in general terms and with specific reference to Poor Law unions in the county of Kent. An appendix lists 207 parochial assessment maps made in connection with the levy of poor rates which are extant in the public archives and libraries of England and Wales. Other ‘lost’ examples of this genre awaiting discovery in parish churches and vestries will undoubtedly add to this small but important constituent of the corpus of English and Welsh cadastral maps.     

Islam without Fuqahāʾ: Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ and His Perso-Islamic Solution to the Caliphate's Crisis of Legitimacy (70–142 AH/690–760 CE)

This paper seeks to advance the existing scholarship on Persian secretary and belles-lettrist, ?Abd Allāh Ibn al-Muqaffa? (d. 139/757) and his Risāla fī ’l-?a?āba (Epistle Concerning the Entourage). It argues that the Risāla, addressed to the second Abbasid caliph al-Man?ūr, set out to tackle the political ills of the caliphate, especially the crisis of political legitimacy. As the first documented articulation of the Islamic polity, the Risāla made a series of recommendations, including a proposal for legal codification that attempted to reinvent the caliphate by reuniting the institution's political and legal authority at the expense of private jurists (fuqahā?). The paper illustrates how Ibn Muqaffa?’s solution relied on a creative integration of Iranian and Islamic ideas of statecraft and legitimate rule. Ironically, this creative integration may have played a part in the Risāla’s failure to garner necessary support to effect change.     

华侨华人与《反分裂国家法》的酝酿、立法和颁行

在《反分裂国家法》酝酿、立法、颁行的过程中,华侨华人做出了突出的贡献,如华侨华人早就有以立法遏制"台独"的倡议,并向温家宝总理提议,成为酝酿《反分裂国家法》的重要来源;《反分裂国家法》立法程序启动后,华侨华人统一认识,积极献言献策,力正视听,并见证了此法通过的历史时刻;《反分裂国家法》颁行后,华侨华人广泛拥护,对"台独"等各种分裂分子的行径进行了抨击,对华社①的不同意见进行交流,促进了国际社会和华社对此法的认同。     

关于法律信仰问题的思考

公众对法律的信仰是法治化实现过程中的精神动力。然而,当前困扰我国法治化进程的深层次问题就是民众法律信仰的缺失。对此,本文分析了民众法律信仰缺失的原因,提出了强化公民法律信仰的必要途径。     

The South China Sea dispute and the Philippines Arbitration Tribunal: China's policy options

The Philippines Arbitration Tribunal separately dealing with the jurisdiction over the South China Sea dispute is the continuance of the set practice by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea's Annex VII arbitral tribunals of bifurcation of proceedings, and was the best option for it to deal with China's objections to its jurisdiction in the circumstance of China's non-acceptance of and non-participation in the arbitral proceedings. Such a measure has potentially important implications for the tribunal itself and for China. The tribunal's decision to have jurisdiction over some parts of the Philippines’ submissions resumed the merits proceedings of the dispute. This development of the proceedings would force China to reconsider its current policy of non-participation. Participation in the subsequent merits proceedings might be the right choice for China.