Breaking with the past? The politics of land restitution and the limits to restitutive justice in Myanmar

Land reforms, which include restitution and redistribution of land, often accompany political transitions, as new regimes attempt to break with the past by establishing new modes of governance. The political transition that began in Myanmar in 2011 provides one such example. In Myanmar’s ‘rice bowl’, the Ayeyarwady Delta, widespread land confiscations during the 1990s and 2000s facilitated the establishment of large fish farms, often at the expense of smallholder cultivators who worked agricultural lands without formal use rights. Reforms initiated in 2011 appeared to offer the prospect of restitutive land justice for rural households affected by land confiscation, but this promise has been slow to materialize. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in the Delta, this paper analyzes the narratives and strategies deployed by different groups of state and societal actors advocating for and against land restitution, focusing on the competing uses of two concepts: legality and legitimacy. In doing so, we explore how state-society relations in Myanmar have been reworked through these processes of contestation, and examine possibilities for, and limits to, progressive land reform during political transition.     

New legal pitfalls surrounding wellness programs and their implications for financial risk

In a 2013 Business Horizons article, we described the serious legal problems that can arise when companies develop corporate wellness programs, and outlined ways in which companies can minimize their financial risk. Recently, the landscape changed: For the first time, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission asserted that several wellness programs violate the Americans with Disabilities Act. In this installment of Organizational Performance, we explain the battles that are taking place along this new legal front and suggest steps companies can take to best ensure that their financial positions are not undermined by their wellness programs. In particular, we recommend (1) ensuring that wellness programs actually improve employee health; (2) revisiting whether programs are truly voluntary; (3) being cautious about including dependents in wellness programs; (4) collaborating with disabled employees to meet their needs; (5) providing clear, written explanations when asking for medical information; and (6) taking extra precautions to ensure that medical information is confidential.     

论私人刑事调查法制化的宪法基础

私人刑事调查作为古老的自我保护与私力救济的重要手段,其实现法制化在现代社会具备着浓重的宪法基础。首先,宪法赋予了私人刑事调查活动的基本原动力;其次,宪法给予了私人刑事调查活动应受制约的根本法基石;最后,宪法对私人刑事调查应进行法制化制约进行了根本设计。     

更新思想观念 树立法治意识

在分析研究中国的法治化进程的问题中,发现存在着思想意识上的根源问题.要加快中国社会的法治化进程,只有更新思想观念,树立法治意识.     

法治水平、地方政府干预行为与金融发展

本文从法治约束地方政府对财产权保护和契约维护干预的角度论述了我国转轨过程中投资者保护和最终决定的金融发展水平。首先从分权改革制度设计的分析入手,论证分权后一定程度上成为独立行为主体的地方政府在约束缺失的情况下,为缓解财政压力向辖区内经济体伸出了掠夺之手。并且政府的权力边界在分权后的扩张干预了契约维护质量。本文利用1987-2004年的省级面板数据证实了伴随改革进程,法治水平的提高有力地约束了地方政府的干预行为,促进了金融的发展。最后文章提出随着改革的推进,尤其是进入市场经济制度日益完善的后改革时期,要继续大力推进规范政府行为的法治建设,更好地保护私人投资,金融才能健康发展。     

社会资本、法治水平对金融发展的影响分析

利用实证数据研究社会资本与法治水平对地区金融发展的影响。结果表明,在不考虑社会资本这一因素时,法治水平的提高对地区金融发展具有一定的促进效应,但这个效应有限,而转型期的社会资本对金融发展具有显著影响:(1)社会资本对地区金融发展具有显著的正效应;(2)社会资本还是对法治水平低下的一种有效替代机制。     

Impact of legal institutions on IPO survival: A global perspective

Around the world, investors, practitioners, regulators and policy makers seek to understand whether, when and why recently listed stocks, initial public offerings (IPOs) are delisted rather than continue trading (survive). Using data on 7,627 IPOs issued during 2000–2008 across 32 countries, we explore the impact of the legal system on IPO survival. We find that IPOs in countries with better investor protections remain listed for longer. This suggests that better legal systems increase the net benefits companies derive from staying listed. We also provide evidence that better legal systems increase the effectiveness of IPO certification by venture capitalists, underwriters and auditors.     

Professionals' Use of Direct Mail Advertising

No abstract available for this article.     

也论“合法性”不是民事诉讼证据的基本特性

“合法性”究竟是不是民事诉讼证据的基本特性，诉讼法学界一直争论不休。本文立足于证据的基本含义、民事诉讼法的有关规定和我国司法实践的具体情况，对此进行了认真检讨，并就证据合法性独立存在的价值给予了客观的、实事求是的评判。     

Urban Informality and the State: Geographical Translations and Conceptual Alliances

Understandings of informality commonly derive from research undertaken in states perceived as lacking the capacity to regulate the practices of their populations. This Interventions forum aims to expand the geographical parameters of empirical research on urban informality. A more global approach, we argue, also necessitates questioning assumptions that undergird this concept—in particular the underlying conception of the state. In this vein, this collection of papers aims to rethink theories of the state through the lens of informality, and vice versa, to inform and refine the concept of informality through a more thorough understanding of states. In so doing, the contributions engage with concepts that have been central both to theories of the state and to the study of informality, namely governance, agency, legitimacy, sovereignty and legality. Following this introduction setting out our theoretical approach, the Interventions forum unites five empirical studies that discuss the nexus of informality and states in contexts that have been researched less extensively from this perspective, each tackling one of the above‐mentioned concepts. Based on these different entry points, the papers provide novel angles on a state‐theoretical understanding of informality. A concluding essay brings these approaches together, reflecting on the possibilities of translating concepts to different sites.