清代刑案律例与地方性法规关系探析

在法律多元的视角下,清代刑事性地方性法规具有不同于现代法理的内涵及特点.在创制、引用等实践环节中,此类法规极大程度脱离了地域特点的影响而成为审断经验的载体,其特点的变换亦足以体现清代中央与地方政府间立法、司法的权限纠葛及相关的法律施用精神.     

论宋代纸币发行的缘起

宋代是人类历史上首次大规模发行纸币的时代,对后世产生了深远的影响,本文从商品交换、铸币能力、财政需求等几个方面探讨宋朝纸币产生和广泛使用的原因.     

中西历史比较研究是否可行?--由刑罚的宽免说到"专制主义中央集权"的可疑

对中西历史进行比较研究是一项极其困难的学术工作,学者们对其可行性和方法论尚未给出清楚系统的说明。比较史学是否可以成为像比较文学和比较法学这样为学界所公认的成熟学科还有待学者们的研究实践来证明。以中西法制史上刑罚的宽免为例,历史研究的对观或对照方法在某些个案研究中会有拓宽视野和思路的作用;而通过对中国古代历史研究中流行的“专制主义中央集权”概念的质疑性分析,我们发现,另一种可行的同时又是宏观的历史比较研究可以是超越时间和空间局限的社会科学研究。至少,这样一种宏观的思维将会帮助我们突破一些陈旧和可能错误的思维框架。     

中国国家起源研究的思考

中国国家起源研究应当深刻了解当代科学理论的最新进展和国际同类研究的丰硕成果,从史籍和编年学导向的学术定位转向科学的探索与阐释,揭示中国早期国家起源的动因和演变过程,充分重视和发挥理论研究对文献探索和考古学研究的指导和科学阐释作用,将中国的国家起源研究融入社会科学的世界体系。     

楚秦洞庭苍梧及源流演变

从里耶简文出发,结合相关材料分析秦简牍所见洞庭、苍梧两郡,将传世文献所见楚洞庭、苍梧,汉苍梧郡与两秦郡相比较,另将楚秦黔中郡、秦汉长沙郡、汉武陵郡等一并考虑,以考察楚秦洞庭、苍梧之源流演变。认为最早楚洞庭应指山名或一较小水泽名,后泛指沅湘下游洞庭湖平原,亦指楚邑名,战国晚期因楚秦战争,楚国才在此设郡,其范围当与"洞庭五渚江南"(楚邑)及包山楚简所见楚县邑有关,含湘资沅澧下游通道;而秦洞庭郡含沅澧中下游(包括酉水流域),郡治应在临沅或索。楚苍梧腹地在九疑山区,而秦苍梧郡更重视五岭关口,二者范围、南界应有不同;汉苍梧郡仅设于五岭以南,与秦越(西瓯骆越)战争、秦朝平定南越后分设桂林等郡、楚秦移民及其后裔对岭南"封中"等地的开发、秦苍梧郡分划以及汉初南越国设苍梧王属地(或以桂林监守之)等过程、因素有关。     

经济交换中心与中国早期城市的起源

运用赛维斯理论中的一个酋邦兴起模式,详细解剖了位于澧阳平原的城头山城址及其所属聚落群,认为城头山城址作为当地的经济交换中心,其形成标志着中国早期雏形城市的产生。这种由经济交换中心进而发展成为早期城市的模式是中国早期城市起源的典型模式之一。     

Toxic torts as compensation: Legal geographies of environmental contamination litigation

Residents living in close proximity to contaminated sites may experience adverse effects from financial losses and property devaluation, leading to poor mental health and physical illnesses—effects that may require compensation. The most common legal process of seeking compensation is the toxic tort—litigation pressed on the basis that contamination has harmed the victims. Several recent toxic tort class actions in Australia brought by residents living in areas affected by contamination from per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exemplify that process. Two such actions, those at Williamtown and Richmond, provide an opportunity to explore how toxic torts currently function as a means to secure compensation, whether they mitigate the harms of the contamination and considering how spatio-legal manoeuvres may shape the litigation. In this article, we use a legal geography approach to analyse how plaintiffs’ bodies, litigants’ properties, and the state are constructed and represented by parties involved in these toxic torts. Legal geographers contend that examining the spatio-legal manoeuvres made via litigation can make visible the effects of legal action on those involved and draw out how the law and its instruments may shape places and communities. Toxic tort class actions have allowed those affected by the contamination to be heard and receive some compensation. However, we argue that they do little to alleviate plaintiffs’ concerns about the effects of contamination on their health, properties, and the environment. The findings have significance given that torts will likely play an increasingly prominent role in dealing with such challenges.     

The Woodland and Mississippian traditions in the prehistory of Midwestern North America

Cultural developments in Midwestern North America between 5000 and 400 B.P. are reviewed and related to two overlapping, but contrasting, cultural traditions: Woodland and Mississippian. Significant changes in prehistoric subsistence systems, settlement patterns, and sociopolitical organization are reviewed within a three-division framework, beginning with a Transitional period (5000–2000 B.P.) when Late Archaic and Early Woodland societies settled into different regions, constructed regional markers (cemeteries, mounds, earthworks), and established economic and social relations with both neighboring and more distant groups. This was followed by the Middle Woodland period (2000–1500 B.P.) that is associated with the Hopewell climax of long-distance exchange of exotic materials, mound building, and ceremonial activities, although all Middle Woodland groups did not participate in this Hopewell interaction sphere. In the Late Prehistoric period (1500–400 B.P.), the Woodland tradition persisted in some areas, while the Mississippian tradition developed from local Late Woodland societies elsewhere. Finally, the patterns of interaction between the two traditions are discussed.