Human Rights-based Argumentation in Climate Change Lawsuits

Climate change lawsuits represented by strategic litigation have become a new force to promote global climate governance. Among them, using the norms and theories of human rights law to present litigation claims, conduct legal reasoning, and form human rights-based argumentation has been one of the most successful strategies for climate change lawsuits. The Paris Agreement marked a major watershed for human rights-based argumentation in climate change lawsuits: Before the signing of the Agreement, human rights-based argumentation in climate change lawsuits remained in its trial stage;since the signing of the Paris Agreement, as a litigation strategy, it has become more flexible and diversified, as its relationship with climate governance is becoming increasingly complicated. The uncertainty of climate legal obligation and the process of legalization of climate targets have fostered new dimensions for human rights-based argumentation: Shifting from an accountability logic to a litigation strategy, from international law to domestic law, from holding governments accountable to holding enterprises accountable. There are micro, medium, and macro paths to clarify the human rights-based argumentation, all leading to truly integrating human rights perspectives and ideas into a nation’s specific process of climate governance and valuing and leveraging the value of human rights-based argumentation as a tool, so as to achieve the goal of climate governance.

Constitutional Environmental Rights: An Investigation and Analysis Based on Constitutional Texts of All Countries

Although the academic community still has some theoretical divergences on whether environmental rights should be a basic human right or a basic constitutional one, there are an increasing number of countries including this right in their constitution. Based on the constitutions in 193 countries, this paper aims to examine the fundamental situation of incorporating environmental rights into a constitution. It has been concluded that environmental protection as a right is written into a constitution in three aspects, namely, as a constitutional right, a civic duty, and a national policy, principle or social goal. Through summarizing these, this paper argues that including environmental rights in a country’s constitution is the means by which all citizens shall enjoy a good, healthy, sustainable and harmonious environment suitable for their development, have timely and comprehensive access to reliable information about environment, participate in making public decisions related to the environment, and ask for legal remedies and compensation for any infringement on their environmental rights, or injury or damage to their environmental property. But even after environmental rights are incorporated into a constitution, there may be theoretical and practical difficulties in their implementation.

Characteristics,Indicators,and Methods of Chinese Modernization of the Rule of Law

Chinese modernization of the rule of law is an important dimension of Chinese modernization;it has some commonalities with the rule of law modernization of all countries but it is more characterized by features that are unique to the Chinese context.The prominent feature that constitutes the Chinese characteristics,Chinese style,and Chinese model,is the adherence to the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics.It is this feature that determines the difference with Western rule of law modernization.Representingg a new form of human rule of law civilization,the Chinesestyle primarily features the building of a socialist law-based country,government,andSsociety,including centralized,unified,authoritative,andefficient Chinese-style national supervision,as well as the dual existence of constitutional review by the Communist Party of China(CPC)and by the state.Chinese modernization cannot be made possible without the rule of law being modernized and serving as a safeguard.Comprehensive promotion of the rule of law is an overriding approach,and two methods have to be followed specifically:firstly,construction of a modern socialist country in all aspects under the rule of law,and secondly,performance of all work of the state under the rule of law.

US“Minilateralism”and Its Effort to Reshape the Global Economic and Trade System

In recent years, the US has sought to foster a “minilateral” economic and trade system to have a firm grip on the power of rules-making in global economic competition. With the gradual expansion of American minilateralism, China is facing institutional challenges arising from the reshaping of global rules. While critically learning from some US practices, China needs to create international rules in line with its own interests and put itself at the forefront of global economic development trends.

欧盟航运绿色壁垒演进逻辑与中国因应

在全球气候治理的背景下,欧盟通过以碳交易机制为核心,以数据监测报告认证机制、海运燃料机制和碳边境调整机制为辅助的区域单边立法,对国际航运进行规制,形成了绿色壁垒。这些举措旨在提升欧盟规则的国际效力,推动国际航运向绿色转型。尽管这有助于加速国际航运的脱碳进程,但也对现有国际航运减排规则造成了冲击,同时挑战了国际海事组织在航运治理方面的权威。欧盟区域合规增加了中国航运企业的市场准入成本、船舶数据安全风险和环境关税成本,对国际秩序和中国市场准入产生了影响。鉴于此,在国际层面,应坚持推进国际法治,追求国际航运碳治理的公平效率,并积极参与国际海事组织主导的全球一体化航运碳排放交易机制的构建。在国内层面,应构建符合国家航运业整体利益的中国航运碳交易机制,重视欧盟区域合规与国家利益的平衡,推动中国航运绿色转型的整体能力建设。

Sentencing Recommendations,Anchoring Effect and Fairness in Criminal Justice——An Empirical Study Based on a Sample of 520 Sentences in K City

The anchoring effect is a powerful and widespread cognitive phenomenon in the decision-making field.Our quantitative analysis of a sample of 520 sentences indicates that the sentencing recommendation of the public procuratorate has a marked influence upon the court＇s sentencing judgment.That is,whether we are investigating the freedom penalty,the fine penalty or the term of probation imposed by the judge,we find that the anchoring effect does exist.In addition,a change in the court conviction or in the trial sentencing circumstances and the availability of a defense lawyer may weaken the anchoring effect of the procuratorate＇s sentencing recommendations.As a form of cognitive bias,the presence of the anchoring effect in the area of sentencing further highlights the necessity of applying analyses based on legal realism to the field of criminal justice in China;and at the institutional level,it demands that judges adopt corresponding arrangements to ensure the impartial exercise of discretion.

Legal Coordination of Conflicts of Interests among Stakeholders in the Processing of Personal Data

The processing of personal data involves various stakeholders,such as natural persons,personal data processors,and supervisors.These stakeholders process or supervise personal data based on their respective interests or duties.However,because several interests are involved,conflicts may occur due to the value of the data in question.This paper builds a theoretical framework based on the methodology of interest measurement to alleviate conflicts of interest concerning data.It explores,from the perspectives of rights,obligations,and liabilities,the supervisors’duty of protecting the public interest.Regarding personal data of natural persons,corresponding rights are allocated according to the relevant provisions of the Civil Code and the Personal Information Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China.For personal data processors in superior positions,obligations and liabilities are allocated according to the relevant provisions of the above laws,and in light of the core of reasonable restrictions on individual standards against society’s standards,the duties of supervisors and protection of public interests are clearly defined.

STUDY ON LEGAL ISSUES OF THE URBAN AND RURAL CONSTRUCTION LAND REPLACEMENT:FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF NEW-TYPE RIGHTS

Faced with the needs of farmland protection and urbanization, many areas have carried out urban and rural construction land replacement under the existing land system, which gives birth to land exploitation rights and land development rights. Land exploitation rights belong to landowners and they are sources of changes of land use. Based on that, land development rights determine the attribution of relevant appreciation. Appreciation of homestead where indicators are delivered belongs to homestead users while appreciation of other construction land is shared by local government, collective and all members. In areas where indicators are received, collective members have priority in homestead exploitation rights. The local government can enjoy the appreciation. Appreciation from other rural construction land should be shared by the collective, collective members and local government. Asset gains from collective resources belong to the collective. After replacement, homestead users ' rights on land remain constant or turn into rights to use urban construction land which can renew automatically and freely. Non-collective members can only be assignees of superficies whose term is shorter than construction lands for urban housing.

Fintech,Digital Financial Inclusion,and National Financial Competitiveness

With the rapid development of fintech as represented by the internet,artificial intelligence,blockchain,cloud computing and big data,especially the evolution of big data and deep learning,and the major changes in financial service models and products in recent years,the development of global inclusive finance has undergone different stages,from“micro finance,”through“inclusive finance,”to“digital financial inclusion.”In the context of growing global competition in the financial sector,many countries are promoting digital financial inclusion and formulating applicable national development strategies.Therefore,it is suggested that China should further strengthen support policies,increase its influence on global financial governance,construct a long-term regulatory mechanism for digital financial inclusion,and build digital inclusive financial infrastructure in order to improve the international competitiveness of China’s financial industry.