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This book constitutes revised selected papers from the two International Workshops on Artificial Intelligence Approaches to the Complexity of Legal Systems, AICOL IV and AICOL V, held in 2013. The first took place as part of the 26th IVR Congress in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, during July 21-27, 2013; the second was held in Bologna as a joint special workshop of JURIX 2013 on December 11, 2013. The 19 papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected for inclusion in this book. They are organized in topical sections named: social intelligence and legal conceptual models; legal theory, normative systems and software agents; semantic Web technologies, legal ontologies and argumentation; and crowdsourcing and online dispute resolution (ODR).

The inspiring idea of this workshop series, Artificial Intelligence Approaches to the Complexity of Legal Systems (AICOL), is to develop models of legal knowledge concerning organization, structure, and content in order to promote mutual understanding and communication between different systems and cultures. Complexity and complex systems describe recent developments in AI and law, legal theory, argumentation, the Semantic Web, and multi-agent systems. Multisystem and multilingual ontologies provide an important opportunity to integrate different trends of research in AI and law, including comparative legal studies. Complexity theory, graph theory, game theory, and any other contributions from the mathematical disciplines can help both to formalize the dynamics of legal systems and to capture relations among norms. Cognitive science can help the modeling of legal ontology by taking into account not only the formal features of law but also social behaviour, psychology, and cultural factors. This book is thus meant to support scholars in different areas of science in sharing knowledge and methodological approaches. This volume collects the contributions to the workshop's third edition, which took place as part of the 25th IVR congress of Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy, held in Frankfurt, Germany, in August 2011. This volume comprises six main parts devoted to the each of the six topics addressed in the workshop, namely: models for the legal system ethics and the regulation of ICT, legal knowledge management, legal information for open access, software agent systems in the legal domain, as well as legal language and legal ontology.

This open access book provides the first comprehensive collection of papers that provide an integrative view on cybersecurity. It discusses theories, problems and solutions on the relevant ethical issues involved. This work is sorely needed in a world where cybersecurity has become indispensable to protect trust and confidence in the digital infrastructure whilst respecting fundamental values like equality, fairness, freedom, or privacy. The book has a strong practical focus as it includes case studies outlining ethical issues in cybersecurity and presenting guidelines and other measures to tackle those issues. It is thus not only relevant for academics but also for practitioners in cybersecurity such as providers of security software, governmental CERTs or Chief Security Officers in companies.

Ob Diesel-Skandal oder Panama-Papers – immer wieder umgehen große Unternehmen oder führende Persönlichkeiten aus Politik und Wirtschaft das Gesetz. Und immer wieder staunt die Öffentlichkeit, warum das so oft kaum spürbare Konsequenzen für die Beteiligten hat. Jochen Theurer erklärt anhand aktueller Fälle, wann und warum der Rechtsstaat an seine Grenzen stößt: Warum entscheiden Richter nicht immer nur nach Recht und Gesetz? Warum helfen Rechtsanwälte auch den bösen Buben? Warum gibt es Gesetzeslücken? Warum haben es Menschen mit Geld leichter vor Gericht? Warum wird nicht jeder Gesetzesverstoß bestraft? Warum hört der Kampf ums Recht nie auf? Spannend, unterhaltsam und informativ beantwortet der frühere Insider diese Fragen und gibt dem Leser wertvolle Einsichten in den operativen Alltag des Rechtswesens. Das Buch schließt mit nützlichen Tipps zum Umgangmit Anwälten und Richtern.

This book is designed to introduce law students, legal actors and human rights activists, particularly participants in human rights dialogues with China, to the process and reality of a newly confident China's participation in the international human rights system, albeit with inherent challenges. From an international and comparative perspective, one of the key findings of the author's research is that progress towards human rights depends more on judges than on legislators. Chinese legislators have enacted a series of reforms in order to better protect human rights. Unfortunately, these reforms have not led to greater adherence to China's international human rights obligations in practice. The reforms failed because they have generally been misunderstood by Chinese judges, who often have a limited understanding of international human rights norms. Specifically, this book will examine how judicial misunderstandings have blocked reforms in one specific area, the use of severe punishments, based on international human rights theory and case studies and data analyses. This examination has several purposes. The first is to suggest that China ratify the ICCPR as the next step for its substantive progress in human rights and as a good preparation for its re-applying to be a member of the UN Human Right Council in the future. The second is to explain how judges could be better educated in international human rights norms so as to greatly reduce the use of severe punishments and better comply with China's human rights obligations. The third is to demonstrate how the international community could better engage with China in a manner that is more conducive to human rights improvements. The author's ultimate goal is to enhance dialogue on human rights in China between judges and the Chinese government, between Chinese judges and their foreign counterparts and between China's government and the international community.Another significant aim ofthis book is to clarify the controversial question of what obligations China should undertake before its ratification of the ICCPR and to re-examine trends in its developing human rights policy after standing down from the Council in late 2012. The tortuous progress of China's criminal law and criminal justice reforms has confirmed that Chinese judges need further instruction on how to apply severe punishments in a manner consistent with international standards. Judges should be encouraged to exercise more discretion when sentencing so that penalties reflect the intent of relevant domestic laws as well as the international human rights standards enumerated in the ICCPR. In order to better educate and train judges, this book contains introductory chapters that examine the severe punishments currently available to Chinese judges from an international human rights perspective. To illustrate how Chinese justice currently falls short of international norms, this paper also examines several cases that are considered to be indicative of China's progress towards greater respect for human rights and the rule of law. These cases demonstrate that China still has a long way to go to achieve its goals, at least before abolishing the death penalty, forced labor and torture.

Information technology has now pervaded the legal sector, and the very modern concepts of e-law and e-justice show that automation processes are ubiquitous. European policies on transparency and information society, in particular, require the use of technology and its steady improvement. Some of the revised papers presented in this book originate from a workshop held at the European University Institute of Florence, Italy, in December 2006. The workshop was devoted to the discussion of the different ways of understanding and explaining contemporary law, for the purpose of building computable models of it -- especially models enabling the development of computer applications for the legal domain. During the course of the following year, several new contributions, provided by a number of ongoing (or recently finished) European projects on computation and law, were received, discussed and reviewed to complete the survey. This book presents 20 thoroughly refereed revised papers on the hot topics under research in different EU projects: legislative XML, legal ontologies, semantic web, search and meta-search engines, web services, system architecture, dialectic systems, dialogue games, multi-agent systems (MAS), legal argumentation, legal reasoning, e-justice, and online dispute resolution. The papers are organized in topical sections on knowledge representation, ontologies and XML legislative drafting; knowledge representation, legal ontologies and information retrieval; argumentation and legal reasoning; normative and multi-agent systems; and online dispute resolution.

The present volume has been planned and prepared in meetings of the Research Committee for the Sociology of Law of the International Sociological Association at the initiative of its chairman, Renato Treves, who also took upon himself editorial responsibility. The first edition of the volume appeared in Italian under the title La socioZogia deZ diritto. ProbZemi e ricerche. It was published in Milano, August I966. The present English edition has the same contents as the Italian volume with the addition of a concluding chapter by J an Glastra van Loon. This publication was undertaken with the purpose of presenting a survey of recent trends in sociology of law in various countries of the world. We hope that the growing interest in the discipline, as evidenced by the large number of publications issued since the Italian edition of this volume, • may be considered as justification for this undertaking. J. v. L. R. T. • We should like to refer to the Law and Society Review published in the United States, to the issue of Acta Sociologica, September 1966, devoted to sociology of law, and finally to the many papers submitted to and discussed at the meetings of the Research Committee for the Sociology of Law during the VIth World Congress of Sociology at Evian. INTRODUCTION by RENATO TREVES I. The sociology 0/ law in its traditional sense and in its more recent developments. Origin and obfects 0/ this work.

The rapid advances made in genetic research and technology over the last few decades have led to a host of important discoveries that have allowed for the detection (and hopefully soon the treatment) of a number of genetic conditions and diseases. Not surprisingly, these advances have also raised numerous ethical concerns about how result­ ing technologies will be implemented, and the impact they will have on different com­ munities. One particular concern is the enormous costs involved in conducting genetic research and the fact that the private sector has become heavily involved; the desire to commercialize the results and technology derived from genetic research is considered problematic. In September 1998, the Second International Conference on DNA Sampling, titled'The Commercialization of Genetic Research: Ethical, Legal and Policy Issues,'was held of the conference, and of this book, was to in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The goal facilitate an interdisciplinary discussion of the legal, ethical, and policy implications arising from the commercialization of genetic research. We solicited contributions for the book from authors in fields as diverse as ethics, law, medicine, health policy, and the social sciences. The papers included, while based on presentations given at the conference, have been substantially expanded and enhanced by the commentary received and discussions held at the conference.

ation'and'Conciliation Terms,'with further supplementary notes on'Methods of Conciliation of Domestic Matters.'Inasmuch as the practice of domestic matters conciliation is a most important job, it is very difficult to describe it adequately. Feeling a great responsibility imposed upon my shoulder, I have to confess that I prepared this little pointer with great toil and application. I am afraid, however, that due to my mediocrity and immaturity I may have committed some inadvertent errors or dogmatic assertions. I am glad to say that after having shown this paper to my seniors I have obtained their approval on its publication. Just full three years have elapsed since I engaged myself in the conciliation of domestic matters. But that holy mysterious land of treasure lies still unconquered beyond many rivers and, mountains far in the distance. So we pilgrims must devote ourselves heart and soul to the steady progress of study. If this small work proves a mile­ stone towards our destination, I shall be happier than I expected. Relying on good walkers in our party, I sincerely pray that they will before long reach the summit of the sacred mountain where they can command a grand view of the vast field of legislation. (Jan. 1951) CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 2. A men d men t tot h e C i viI Cod e and D 0 m est i c ReI a t ion s Law and the F ami 1 y C 0 u r t.

This book proposes a holistic transdisciplinary approach to sustainability and post-fossil societies as a subject of social sciences - at a time when post-fossilisation is becoming a core political concern due to the aggressive foreign policy of autocracies, also for reasons beyond sustainability. Furthermore, the book shows new ways, as perspectives of philosophy, political science, law, economics, sociology, cultural studies and others are here no longer regarded separately. Instead, integrated perspectives on the key issues are carved out: Perspectives on conditions of transformation to sustainability, on key instruments and the normative questions. This allows for a concise answer to urgent and controversial questions such as the following: Is the EU an environmental pioneer? Is it possible to achieve sustainability by purely technical means? If not: will that mean to end of the growth society? How to deal with the follow-up problems? How will societal change be successful? Are political power and capitalism the main barriers to sustainability? What is the role of emotions and conceptions of normality in the transformation process? To which degree are rebound and shifting effects the reason why sustainability politics fail? How much climate protection can be claimed ethically and legally e.g. on grounds of human rights? And what is freedom? Despite all rhetoric, the weak transition in energy, climate, agriculture and conservation serves as key example in this book. It is shown how the Paris Agreement is weak with regard to details and at the same time overrules the growth society by means of a radical 1,5 degrees temperature limit. It is shown how emissions trading must – and can – be reformed radically. It is shown why CSR, education, cooperation and happiness research are overrated. And we will see what an integrated politics on climate, biodiversity, nitrogen and soil might look like. This book deals with conditions of transformation, governance instruments, ethics and law of sustainability. The relevance of the humanities to sustainability has never before been demonstrated so vividly and broadly as here. And in every area it opens up some completely new perspectives.

This book, centered on the theme of Comparative Law, offers an unparalleled journey through various legal landscapes, aiming to enhance readers'comprehension by juxtaposing laws from diverse fields and countries. Encompassing areas such as constitutional law, transformative constitution, environmental law, family law, child rights, and artificial intelligence, the book invites readers to navigate the global legal tapestry. What sets this work apart is its meticulous approach, encouraging readers to draw comparisons, fostering a nuanced understanding of legal concepts. Beyond a mere exploration of legal systems, the book delves into the philosophies that underpin them, offering insights into cultural and historical influences. By showcasing best practices from different legal traditions, the book aspires to contribute to the advancement of humanity, promoting the adoption of progressive legal approaches worldwide. This is not just a book; it's a gateway to a world where legal traditions converge, providing readers with a profound and informed perspective on the multifaceted nature of law in our interconnected global society.

Nach Einschätzung der Sicherheitsbehörden ist Deutschland seit Jahren mit einer latenten Bedrohung durch den islamistischen Terrorismus konfrontiert. Um den damit verbundenen Gefahren vorzubeugen, werden erhebliche finanzielle Mittel in die Radikalisierungs- und Extremismusprävention investiert. Die verschiedenen Akteure der Islamismusprävention bewegen sich dabei in einem hochkomplexen Spannungsfeld zwischen der grundrechtlich verbürgten Religionsfreiheit, der Pflicht des Staates zu religiös-weltanschaulicher Neutralität sowie einer möglichst effektiven Gefahrenvorsorge. Zwar ist sich die Präventionspraxis der Grundrechtsrelevanz ihrer Arbeit grundsätzlich bewusst, jedoch mangelt es bisher an Transparenz und konkreten Lösungen zum Umgang mit diesem Spannungskomplex. Der Autor beleuchtet in diesem Buch den verfassungsrechtlichen Rahmen der Islamismusprävention und gibt Aufschluss darüber, auf welche Weise Islamismusprävention verfassungskonform gestaltet werden kann.

This book offers an interdisciplinary approach that covers linguistics and jurisprudence, shows the interconnectedness of law and language, singles out major theories related to the emergence of the concept of trust and discusses them from the perspective of legal linguistics. Contemporary globalizing processes change the contours of different spheres of life. Against the backdrop of ongoing changes, an overall tendency emerges of the unifying and harmonizing legal systems. The dominance of American and English law firms fuels a broader worldwide circulation of Anglo-American legal concepts and instruments. Increasing contacts of non-trust jurisdictions with trustees and trust assets promote the use of trusts and trust-like devices in civil law jurisdictions. As a result, the interest towards the entrusting relationships increases. The research in this book is based on the methods of descriptive and structural-semantic analyses. Emphasis is put on the interinfluence of the West Germanic languages and the laws of the Germanic tribes, the Salian Franks and the Anglo-Saxons. The book consults selected Franconian manuscripts, lex salica and lex ripuaria, and dictionaries for the study and interpretation of the trust-related lexical units. The results of the research shed a new light on the origin of the common law trust and its predecessor use. The book is intended for legal linguists, lawyers, legal practitioners, legal historians and for researchers and students in the fields of trust law, legal linguistics, and legal history.

This book not only equips the readers with the essential knowledge to gain a nuanced understanding of the present cyber threat landscape but also offers strategic foresight to navigate the challenges looming on our digital horizon. In the ever-evolving realm of cyberspace, this meticulously crafted book reveals the escalating cyber threats challenging the foundations of global security and governance. Unprecedented in its synthesis of academic rigour and practical insight, “Sentinels of Cyberspace: Navigating the Intersection of AI, Security, and Ethical Governance in Western Democracies” demystifies the complex relationship between cybersecurity and AI. Rich with comprehensive literature reviews, insightful case studies, and forward-looking perspectives, this book serves as an indispensable guide for scholars, policymakers, practitioners, researchers, and all those concerned with the security fabric of Western democracies. Its unique blend of theoretical frameworks and real-world scenarios creates a transformative bridge between academic discourse and practical application. From foundational explorations of AI to in-depth analyses of its applications in decision-making, crime analysis, counter-terrorism, and predictive modelling, each chapter weaves a narrative that not only articulates contemporary challenges but also lays the groundwork for practical solutions. This transformative work actively engages with ethical dimensions, ensuring a delicate balance between theoretical insights and actionable considerations. More than just informative, “Sentinels of Cyberspace: Navigating the Intersection of Artificial Intelligence, Security, and Ethical Governance in Western Democracies” is a roadmap to navigate the intricate landscape of cybersecurity and AI integration, propelling the discourse towards innovative solutions. For those intrigued by the evolving dynamics of our digital era, this book is an essential companion, offering strategic foresight to understand and address the pressing issues at the intersection of technology, security, and governance.

This book focuses on the stratification of the Japanese legal profession and its impact on legal practice, drawing upon findings from two national surveys, one on Japanese lawyers (2018-19) and the other on Japanese people (2021), as well as qualitative data from interviews. Our research data clearly shows the increase of the lawyer population changed their whole world. Pressure from the lawyer population increase has not only made the stratification more visible but also diversified lawyers'career and their strategies of cultivating their legal service market. Legal practice is moving from professionalism to consumerism. Relying on retrospective data of individual lawyers'careers, this research shows how individual lawyers navigated their work and career and what have been major factors that affected their career paths. The research also shows a huge variety of lawyer's office management policies related with their market strategies. It is the first time that a national survey of lawyers was designed to obtain retrospective data of individual lawyers in Japan. This book gives a latest landscape of the Japanese legal profession in flux and the public view of changing legal practice.

The concept of global governance, which first emerged in the social s- ences, has triggered different responses in the discipline of law. This volume contains our proposal. It approaches global governance from a public law perspective which is centered around the concept of inter- tional public authority and relies on international institutional law for the legal conceptualization of global governance phenomena. This proposal results from a larger project which started in 2007. The project is a collaborative effort of the directors of the Max Planck Ins- tute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, research f- lows and friends of the Institute, as well as eminent members of the Law Faculty of the University of Heidelberg. Most of the materials contained in this volume were first published in the November 2008 - sue of the German Law Journal (http://www.germanlawjournal.com). We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the journal's editors in chief, Professors Russell Miller (Washington and Lee University School of Law) and Peer Zumbansen (Osgoode Hall Law School, York U- versity, Toronto), for the opportunity to publish our papers as a special issue of their journal. The 2008-2009 University of Idaho College of Law German Law Journal student editors deserve special recognition for their hard and diligent work during the publication process. At the Institute, Eva Richter, Michael Riegner and the editorial staff of this publication series were instrumental in bringing this publication to fr- tion.

Das Buch enthält Beiträge von 18 Autoren aus verschiedenen Ländern und analysiert die jüngste Rechtsprechung des EuGH zu den Außenkompetenzen der Europäischen Union. Es befasst sich mit den Auswirkungen der EU-Werte auf ihre Beziehungen zu den östlichen Nachbarländern. Der erste Teil konzentriert sich auf die Entwicklung und die aktuellen Herausforderungen des außenpolitischen Handelns der Europäischen Union, während der zweite Teil die Zusammenarbeit der EU mit ihren östlichen Nachbarn und Eurasien darstellt. Das Buch befasst sich mit den Assoziierungsabkommen mit den Ländern der Östlichen Partnerschaft mit den östlichen Nachbarländern und Eurasien, den erweiterten Partnerschaftsabkommen in den östlichen Nachbarländern und im postsowjetischen Raum sowie den derzeitigen und künftigen vertraglichen Beziehungen zur Eurasischen Wirtschaftsunion und ihren Mitgliedstaaten.

Dieses Buch bietet einen gezielten und umfassenden Überblick über die Kriminalpsychologie in verschiedenen sozioökonomischen und psychosozialen Kontexten. Es informiert die Leser über die Rolle der Psychologie in den verschiedenen Aspekten des Strafrechtsprozesses, angefangen von der Untersuchung einer Straftat bis hin zur Rehabilitation oder Wiedereingliederung des Straftäters. Aktuelle Forschungsergebnisse aus Kriminologie und Psychologie werden erörtert, um die Psyche verschiedener Straftäter zu verstehen, wie man mit ihnen während der Ermittlungen und der Verurteilung effektiv interagieren kann und wie man positive Veränderungen in den verschiedenen Phasen des Strafrechtsprozesses - Ermittlungen, Strafverfolgung, Inhaftierung, Rehabilitation - herbeiführen kann, um die Effizienz des Strafvollzugs zu erhöhen und das Vertrauen der Öffentlichkeit in das Justizsystem zu stärken. Das Buch befasst sich eingehend mit den größeren Problemen einer ganzheitlichen Reduzierung des Anstiegsder Kriminalitätsrate und der Anfälligkeit der Gesellschaft. Jedes Kapitel stützt sich auf führende wissenschaftliche Arbeiten westlicher Wissenschaftler auf diesem Gebiet und ergänzt diese Theorien mit Forschungsergebnissen aus südasiatischer Sicht, insbesondere aus dem indischen Strafrechtssystem. Dieses Buch fasst erfolgreich die Grundlagen der kriminalpsychologischen Literatur zusammen, während es gleichzeitig interdisziplinäre Studien über kriminelles Verhalten und Rechtspsychologie einbezieht und die Lücken des Justizsystems sowie Möglichkeiten für alternative Strafvollzugs- und Rehabilitationsprogramme in den provinziellen Diskurs einbringt.

This book reviews and assesses the status quo concerning the rule of law in China in 2017 and predicts its future development in such fields as legislation, judicial reform, civil, commercial and economic law, social law, safeguarding of human rights, criminality, Internet finance, the securities market, pilot free trade zones, administrative public interest litigation, regulation of investment management business, and AI. The book consists of a series of reports on the assessment of rule of law carried out by the Innovation Project Team on the Rule of Law Index at the Institute of Law, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Drawing on data from web portals and using the methods of browsing websites and verifying results through phone calls, the book includes assessment reports on the government transparency of 54 departments under the State Council and the governments of 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government), 49 larger cities, and 100 counties (cities and districts). In addition, reports are provided on the judicial transparency of the Supreme People's Court, 31 higher people's courts, and the intermediate people's courts of 49 larger cities, the procuratorial transparency of the Supreme People's Procuratorate and people's procuratorates of 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government) and 49 larger cities, as well as the maritime judicial transparency of 10 maritime courts in the country. The book also includes reports on disclosure of information and transparency in the public security organs of four municipalities directly under the Central Government and 27 provincial (autonomous regional) capitals. Given its scope, the book offers a valuable asset for legal scholars, lawyers, judges, prosecutors, graduate and undergraduate students, and all those who are interested in Chinese law and the country's rule of law index.

This book answers the question: is Polish property tax legislation ready for the upcoming energy transformation?In Poland, real estate tax (property tax) is a material cost for property owners in energy because of the high value assets used by the sector. At the same time, unclear provisions of Polish tax law and variable jurisprudence can make it challenging for entrepreneurs to predict their tax bills. The current provisions of Polish tax law are often not well adjusted to the reality of modern economy, particularly in the case of assets used in the renewable energy sector. The book describes the problems that face taxpayers, tax authorities, and the administrative courts trying to apply current real estate tax provisions to renewable energy assets. The authors also examine the question of whether Polish legislators treat traditional and renewable sources of energy fairly.The readers of this book will be practitioners and researchers who are interested in issues of renewable energy taxation.

This book defines the dilemmas related to the interface between legal regulations and planning practice in the spatial management system. Based on specific case studies, it gives examples of possible problems and ways of solving them. It applies to Poland's standard and the determinants of spatial policy in other countries. It provides the basis for a developed international discussion and concretely suggests specific actions at local, regional and national levels.

This open access book explores the legal aspects of cybersecurity in Poland. The authors are not limited to the framework created by the NCSA (National Cybersecurity System Act – this act was the first attempt to create a legal regulation of cybersecurity and, in addition, has implemented the provisions of the NIS Directive) but may discuss a number of other issues. The book presents international and EU regulations in the field of cybersecurity and issues pertinent to combating cybercrime and cyberterrorism. Moreover, regulations concerning cybercrime in a few select European countries are presented in addition to the problem of collision of state actions in ensuring cybersecurity and human rights. The advantages of the book include a comprehensive and synthetic approach to the issues related to the cybersecurity system of the Republic of Poland, a research perspective that takes as the basic level of analysis issues related to the security of the state and citizens, and the analysis of additional issues related to cybersecurity, such as cybercrime, cyberterrorism, and the problem of collision between states ensuring security cybernetics and human rights. The book targets a wide range of readers, especially scientists and researchers, members of legislative bodies, practitioners (especially judges, prosecutors, lawyers, law enforcement officials), experts in the field of IT security, and officials of public authorities. Most authors are scholars and researchers at the War Studies University in Warsaw. Some of them work at the Academic Centre for Cybersecurity Policy – a thinktank created by the Ministry of National Defence of the Republic of Poland.

This brief comparatively reviews the security and safety features of hotels and home sharing services. It reviews crime data, laws, and applicable theories – such as defensible space, rational choice, and routine activity theories - to determine how responsibility for crime control and accident prevention in these industries is allotted.This analysis identifies key policy questions about the role of the home sharing hosts and guests in ensuring their own safety and security, which will be of interest to policy makers, researchers and practitioners in criminal justice and law enforcement, as well as those involved in the home sharing and hotel industries.

This book provides law-based governance which is one of the basic policies that underpins our endeavors to uphold and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era. Law is the key to governing the country，and the rule of law is an important support for the national governance system and governance capacity. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC，China has implemented the four-pronged comprehensive strategy and created an unprecedented new situation for law-based governance. Further progress has been made in ensuring China's legislation is sound，law enforcement is strict， the administration of justice is impartial，and the law is observed by everyone. China's efforts to build a country， government，and society based on the rule of law have been mutually reinforcing； the system of distinctively Chinese socialist rule of law has been steadily improved； public awareness of the rule of law has risen markedly. In recent years， China has adhered to the correct handling of the relationship between deepening reform and law-based governance，ensuring that major reforms are justified by law and providing solid guarantees of the rule of law for reform and opening-up. China has adhered to combine law-based governance of the country and rule-based governance over the party and exercised law-based governance at every point in the process and over every dimension of full and rigorous governance over the party and has made remarkable achievements in the construction of a clean and honest government and the struggle against corruption.

Dieser Open Access Band bietet sowohl deutsch- als auch italienischsprachige Beiträge zu wesentlichen Bereichen des gewerblichen Rechtsschutzes und des Urheberrechts aus der Sicht des deutschen, italienischen und österreichischen Rechts sowie zum TRIPS-Abkommen samt einem Blick auf das vorläufig in Kraft getretene Handelsabkommen zwischen Kanada und der Europäischen Union (CETA). Ein Schwerpunkt ist Schadenersatzansprüchen aus der Verletzung von Immaterialgüterrechten gewidmet, wobei die bei grenzüberschreitenden Sachverhalten auftretenden Fragen der internationalen Gerichtszuständigkeit und des Kollisionsrechts speziell behandelt werden. Darüber hinaus werden Bezüge zum italienischen Verfassungsrecht sowie zum europäischen Wettbewerbsrecht hergestellt und auch wirtschaftsstrafrechtliche Aspekte angesprochen. Schließlich wird ein Ausblick auf die zukünftige Entwicklung des internationalen Immaterialgüterrechts in der Europäischen Union gegeben. Ausgangspunkt für das Buch bildete der vom Internationalen Forum für Wirtschaftsrecht getragene 1. Bozner Wirtschaftsrechtstag, bei dem besonderes Augenmerk auf die Berührung des deutschsprachigen Rechts- und Wirtschaftsraumes mit dem italienischen gelegt wird.

The digital economy, broadly defined as the economy operating on the basis of interconnectivity between people and businesses, has gradually spread over the world. Although a global phenomenon, the digital economy plays out in local economic, political, and regulatory contexts. The problems thus created by the digital economy may be approached differently depending on the context. This edited collection brings together leading scholars based in Asia to detail how their respective jurisdictions respond to the competition law problems evolving out of the deployment of the digital economy. This book is timely, because it will show to what extent new competition law regimes or those with a history of lax enforcement can respond to these new developments in the economy. Academics in law and business strategies with an interest in competition law, both in Asia and more broadly, will find the insights in this edited collection invaluable. Further, this volume will be a key resource for scholars, practitioners and students.

Algorithms are now widely employed to make decisions that have increasingly far-reaching impacts on individuals and society as a whole (“algorithmic governance”), which could potentially lead to manipulation, biases, censorship, social discrimination, violations of privacy, property rights, and more. This has sparked a global debate on how to regulate AI and robotics (“governance of algorithms”). This book discusses both of these key aspects: the impact of algorithms, and the possibilities for future regulation.

This book is the first attempt to establish a collaborative and interdisciplinary field of economics and legal studies. It is designed to help readers – advanced undergraduate and graduate students, but also fellow scholars who are interested in interdisciplinarity – to think through the dual lenses of economics and law. “Econo-Legal Studies,” as we call it, is an economics that pays greater attention to the perspective and heritage of legal studies, and at the same time legal studies that fully utilize the views and methods of economics – while “law and economics” is just a one-way economic approach to law focusing on the effects of the latter on efficiency. The aim of this book is to encourage readers to think like economists and, at the same time, legal scholars as they analyze complex real-world issues. It presents stimulating discussions on the intersection of law and economics, the differences and unexpected similarities between the two perspectives, and the new insights to begained when approaching a problem from both angles. For this purpose, the extensive corpus of knowledge produced within the framework of the Econo-Legal Studies interdisciplinary program at Kobe University can be capitalized on. Basic knowledge of both economics and law is also included in this volume, making it an engaging read for beginners in both fields as well.

This book deals with aspects of legal education and legal traditions. Part I includes chapters on teaching Law of the Sea, legal ethics and educating lawyers as ‘transaction cost engineers'as well as comparison of teaching law in a refugee camp and in a Malaysian University. Part II on legal and philosophical traditions includes essays on what later philosophers would have commented on Plato's arguments in the Crito regarding ‘absolute obligation to obey the law'and what Socrates would have said on two conversations in the 19th century novel Uncle Tom's Cabin regarding the morality and legality of harbouring runaway slaves. Part II concludes with two essays regarding the applicability of the Hart-Devlin debate on the ‘enforcement of morals'vis-à-vis the International Criminal Court and an essay on what the historian Arnold Toynbee would have commented on the ‘contingency'v ‘teleology'debate between two palaeontologists the late Stephen Jay Gould and Simon Conway Morris.•Legal education of interest to legal educators and students •Legal, political, moral philosophy as well as philosophy of history of interest to law, philosophy and history teachers, postgraduate and under graduate students•Aspects of legal ethics for law teachers, students and legal professionals•Interdisciplinary studies regarding law and economics, law and literature, law and social justice for law, humanities, social science academics and students.

In diesem Open-Access-Buch untersucht die Autorin die Fortentwicklung des Datenschutzrechts zu einem Datenhandelsrecht. Sie stellt dar, wie Personendaten bereits heute gehandelt werden können und wo sich Problemfelder insbesondere vor dem Hintergrund von Big Data ergeben. Außerdem veranschaulicht sie bestehende Reformvorschläge, wie z. B. die Einführung eines sogenannten „Dateneigentums“, und misst dies an einer vertieften Analyse des Interessendreiecks beim Datenhandel. Aus der Einordnung in eine Gesamtanalyse lassen sich wichtige Handlungsempfehlungen ableiten.

This book discusses the relation between morality and politics, and morality and law, a field that has been studied for more than two thousand years The law is a part of human culture, and this touches upon a dynamic reality that is connected to the relation between nature and freedom, nature and culture. If such relations are not clearly understood, as is the case today, the relation between morality and law cannot be properly comprehended either. The relationship between morality and criminal law must constantly evolve to meet the needs of changing times and circumstances. Social changes and new situations require new answers. And since the relationship involves criminal law, legal philosophy and legal history, interdisciplinary approaches are always needed. Featuring fifteen original contributions by legal scholars from various European and American universities, the book does not pretend to solve the complexity of the relation between morality and criminal law, but instead expresses criticism, offers some proposals and stimulates further thought. The book tackles the topic from an interdisciplinary perspective (criminal law, constitutional law, legal philosophy and legal history, among others). As such, it appeals not only to scholars and students, but also to lawyers, policymakers, historians, theologians, philosophers and general readers who are interested in the legal, social, political and philosophical issues of our time.

This book comprehensively discusses the main features of the Chinese patent law system, which not only legally ‘transplants'international treaties into the Chinese context, but also maintains China's legal culture and promotes domestic economic growth. This is the basis for encouraging creativity and improving patent law protection in China. The book approaches the evolution of the Chinese patent system through the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius's classic principle, offering readers a fresh new way to understand and analyze Chinese patent law reforms, while also outlining how Confucian insights could be used to improve the enforcement of patent law and overall intellectual property protection awareness in China. It examines ancient Chinese innovation history, explores intellectual property from a Confucian perspective, and discusses the roots of Chinese patent law, as well as the past three amendments and the trends in the ongoing fourth amendment. In addition to helping readers grasp the mentality behind the Chinese approach to patent law and patent protection, the book provides an alternative research methodology and philosophical approach by demonstrating Confucian analysis, which provides a more dynamic way to justify intellectual property in the academic world. Lastly, it suggests future strategies for local industries in the legal, cultural and sociological sectors in China, which provide benefits for domestic and overseas patent holders alike. The book offers a valuable asset for graduate students and researchers on China and intellectual property law, as well as general readers interested in Asian culture and the philosophy of law.

The book seeks to address the intersection of food organics and the emergence of a new contractualism between producers, distributors and consumers, and between nation states. Additionally, it seeks to cater to the needs of a discerning public concerned about how its own country aims to meet their demands for organic food quality and safety, as well as how they will benefit from integration in the standard-setting processes increasingly occurring regionally and internationally. This edited volume brings together expert scholars and practitioners and draws on their respective insights and experiences in the field of organics, food and health safety. The book is organized in three parts. Part I outlines certain international perspectives; Part II reflects upon relevant histories and influences and finally, Part III examines the organic food regulatory regime of various jurisdictions in the Asia Pacific.

Dieses Buch bietet einen Überblick über die wichtigsten Fragestellungen der Rechtspsychologie, die sich im Rahmen von Gerichtsverhandlungen ergeben. Sie erfahren, wie forensisch-psychologische Gutachter ihre Bewertungen im Einzelfall vornehmen. Im Zentrum stehen Themen wie die Aussagepsychologie und die Familienrechtspsychologie. Wissenschaftliche Grundlagen werden mit zahlreichen Fallbeispielen und Bezügen zur Praxis verbunden. So ist das Buch auch für Leser ohne Fachkenntnisse leicht lesbar. Im Buch erfahren Sie… wie überprüft werden kann, ob eine Schilderung auf wahrem Erleben basiert.wie bewertet werden kann, wer Sorgerecht und Umgang bei einem Kind erhält und was bei Kindeswohlgefährdung passiert.wie abgeschätzt werden kann, ob ein Rechtsbrecher rückfällig wird.wie geprüft werden kann, ob ein Rechtsbrecher schuldfähig oder strafmündig ist.wie die Zuverlässigkeit einer Personenbeschreibung oder -identifizierung bewertet und wie sie verbessert werden kann.welchen psychologischen Effekten Richter und andere urteilende Verfahrensbeteiligte unterliegen. Zielgruppen:'Psychologie bei Gericht“ ist für alle lesenswert, die im weitesten Sinne mit Gerichten arbeiten – von psychologischen Gutachtern über Staatsanwälte bis hin zu Sozialarbeitern, aber auch Studierende und interessierte Laien, die mehr über die Themen und Tätigkeitsfelder der Forensischen Psychologie erfahren wollen. Die Autorin Michaela Pfundmair, Prof. Dr. phil. habil., Psychologin, ist Professorin an der Hochschule des Bundes in Berlin, wo sie zu sozial- und rechtspsychologischen Themen forscht und lehrt. Zu diesen Themenkomplexen publizierte sie international zahlreiche wissenschaftliche Artikel. Zudem arbeitet sie als aussagepsychologische Sachverständige, prüft und supervidiert Personen in der Weiterbildung fürRechtspsychologie BDP/DGPs und ist Vorsitzende der Sektion Rechtspsychologie im BDP.

Das Buch bietet eine Analyse der Ontologie des Rechts in Auseinandersetzung mit den wichtigsten realistischen, konstruktivistischen und phänomenologischen Konzeptionen. Die Darstellung verläuft problemorientiert, anstatt auf einzelne Autoren oder Theorien zentriert zu sein. Anhand einer Analyse der Verhältnisse von Normativität und Bewusstsein zeigt der Autor, wie sowohl das nichtpositive Recht als auch ungerechte Rechtsnormen eine Ontologie haben können und dass jeglicher Anspruch auf überpositives Recht in letzter Instanz naturrechtlich ist. Es wird auch ontologisch dargelegt, wie das richterliche Entscheiden einen berechtigten Anspruch auf Wahrheit erheben kann.

Das Buch untersucht das menschenrechtliche Verbot der Diskriminierung aufgrund der Rasse einschließlich der Schutzvorschriften gegen Hassrede und beleuchtet umfassend die relevanten Entscheidungen unterschiedlicher nationaler und internationaler Gerichte. Es folgt dabei einem interdisziplinären und rechtsvergleichenden Ansatz, der sozial- und kulturwissenschaftliche Theorien und Befunde einbezieht, um rechtsdogmatische Fragen im Bereich des Antidiskriminierungsrechts zu erörtern. Die Entscheidungen ausländischer Gerichte werden schlaglichtartig dargestellt, soweit sie für die Analyse relevant sind.Zugrunde liegt die Frage, was heute unter Rassismus zu verstehen ist und ob Phänomene wie Ausländer- und Fremdenfeindlichkeit sowie Rechtsextremismus darunter fallen. Insbesondere Rasse als Rechtsbegriff wird ausführlich besprochen. Zentrale Bezugspunkte für die folgende Auseinandersetzung mit dem „Recht gegen rassische Diskriminierung“ sind die Europäische Rasserichtlinie (Richtlinie2000/43/EG), die Antirassismuskonventionen der Vereinten Nationen und die Europäische Menschenrechtskonvention (EMRK). Das deutsche Grundgesetz wendet sich in Art. 3 Abs. 3 S. 1 GG gegen Rassismus, aber eine umfangreiche Dogmatik, die dem heutigen Phänomen des Rassismus gerecht werden kann, fehlt. Das vorliegende Werk leistet mithilfe eines menschenrechtsinformierten und differenzierten Verständnisses von Rassismus hierzu einen wichtigen Beitrag. Damit soll die These begründet werden, dass nur ein strukturelles Verständnis von Rassismus das Recht gegen Rassismus wirksam werden lässt.

This open access book presents twelve unique studies on mediation from researchers in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, respectively. Each study highlights important aspects of mediation, including the role of children in family mediation, the evolution and ambivalent application of restorative justice in the Nordic countries, the confusion of roles in court-connected mediation, and the challenges in dispute systems. Over the past 20-30 years, mediation has gained in popularity in many countries around the world and is often heralded as a suitable and cost-effective mode of conflict resolution. However, as the studies in this volumes show, mediation also has a number of potential drawbacks. Parties'self-determination may be jeopardized, affected third parties are involved in an inadequate way, and the legal regulations may be flawed. The publication can inspire research, help professionals and policymakers in the field and be used as a textbook.

This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license.With technology standards becoming increasingly common, particularly in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector, the complexities and contradictions at the interface of intellectual property law and competition law have emerged strongly. This book talks about how the regulatory agencies and courts in the United States, European Union and India are dealing with the rising allegations of anti-competitive behaviour by standard essential patent (SEP) holders. It also discusses the role of standards setting organizations / standards developing organizations (SSO/SDO) and the various players involved in implementing the standards that influence practices and internal dynamics in the ICT sector. This book includes discussions on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) licensing terms and the complexities that arise when both licensors and licensees of SEPs differ on what they mean by “fair”, “reasonable” and “non-discriminatory” terms. It also addresses topics such as the appropriate royalty base, calculation of FRAND rates and concerns related to FRAND commitments and the role of Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in collaborative standard setting process. This book provides a wide range of valuable information and is a useful tool for graduate students, academics and researchers.

This book examines how the nation – and its (fundamental) law – are ‘sensed'by way of various aesthetic forms from the age of revolution up until our age of contested democratic legitimacy. Contemporary democratic legitimacy is tied, among other things, to consent, to representation, to the identity of ruler and ruled, and, of course, to legality and the legal forms through which democracy is structured. This book expands the ways in which we can understand and appreciate democratic legitimacy. If (democratic) communities are “imagined” this book suggests that their “rightfulness” must be “sensed” – analogously to the need for justice not only to be done, but to be seen to be done. This book brings together legal, historical and philosophical perspectives on the representation and iconography of the nation in the European, North American and Australian contexts from contributors in law, political science, history, art history and philosophy.

This book addresses the environmental, legal, social, and economic aspects of corporate social responsibility in the maritime industry. It discusses the voluntary aspects of the CSR concept and how the lines between informal and formal rules are merging and becoming fuzzy. Further, it shows how regulation is enhancing responsibility and sustainability in the maritime industry.The book gathers the experiences of the WMU, IMO, UN and public and private actors in developing and developed countries in the maritime industry.

This book provides a broad set of information and data on the rise of private actors in the space sector, organized into different topics covering the various trends that have shaped the space sector during the last decade. The book, written in a descriptive fashion, concludes with recommendations for future analytical research on the topic.

The book is dedicated to the theoretical problems concerning ratio legis. In the contexts of legal interpretation and legal reasoning, the two most important intellectual tools employed by lawyers, ratio legis would seem to offer an extremely powerful argument. Declaring the ratio legis of a statute can lead to a u-turn argumentation throughout the lifespan of the statute itself – in parliament, or in practice during court sessions, when it is tested against the constitution.Though the ratio legis argument is widely used, much about it warrants further investigation. On the general philosophical map there are many overlapping areas that concern different approaches to human rationality and to the problems of practical reasoning. Particular problems with ratio legis arise in connection with different perspectives on legal philosophy and theory, especially in terms of the methods that lawyers use for legal interpretation and argumentation. These problems can be further subdivided into particular aspects of activities undertaken by lawyers and officials who use the ratio legis in their work, and the underlying theories. In short, this book examines what ratio legis is, what it could be, and its practical implications.

This open access book disseminates some of the results of the European H2020 AiRT Project (Technology transfer of RPAs for the creative industry). In particular, it presents findings related to mitigating safety and security concerns when civil drones are piloted by the service sector (mainly, the creative industry). European policies regarding drones generally focus on outdoor drones, but they are also used indoors. Moreover, a number of European countries have fragmented regulations on drone use, and as a result, European institutions are attempting address these issues. This work is based on a detailed study of the European policies, a comparative analysis of the regulation in various European countries, an analysis of the drone sector in Europe, and primary data from members of the creative industry. The authors created focus groups in Spain, the UK and Belgium in order to discuss with the creative industry the concerns on safety and security when using civil drones for theirwork. Based on these results, the book offers advice to the European industry, as well as new insights for academics and policymakers.

This open access edited book captures the complexities and conflicts arising at the interface of intellectual property rights (IPR) and competition law. To do so, it discusses four specific themes: (a) policies governing functioning of standard setting organizations (SSOs), transparency and incentivising future innovation; (b) issue of royalties for standard essential patents (SEPs) and related disputes; (c) due process principles, procedural fairness and best practices in competition law; and (d) coherence of patent policies and consonance with competition law to support innovation in new technologies. Many countries have formulated policies and re-oriented their economies to foster technological innovation as it is seen as a major source of economic growth. At the same time, there have been tensions between patent laws and competition laws, despite the fact that both are intended to enhance consumer welfare. In this regard, licensing of SEPs has been debated extensively, although in most instances, innovators and implementers successfully negotiate licensing of SEPs. However, there have been instances where disagreements on royalty base and royalty rates, terms of licensing, bundling of patents in licenses, pooling of licenses have arisen, and this has resulted in a surge of litigation in various jurisdictions and also drawn the attention of competition/anti-trust regulators. Further, a lingering lack of consensus among scholars, industry experts and regulators regarding solutions and techniques that are apposite in these matters across jurisdictions has added to the confusion. This book looks at the processes adopted by the competition/anti-trust regulators to apply the principles of due process and procedural fairness in investigating abuse of dominance cases against innovators.

This second volume of ReConFort, published open access, addresses the decisive role of constitutional normativity, and focuses on discourses concerning the legal role of constitutional norms. Taken together with ReConFort I (National Sovereignty), it calls for an innovative reassessment of constitutional history drawing on key categories to convey the legal nature of the constitution itself (national sovereignty, precedence, justiciability of power, judiciary as constituted power).In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, constitutional normativity began to complete the legal fixation of the entire political order. This juridification in one constitutional text resulted in a conceptual differentiation from ordinary law, which extends to alterability and justiciability. The early expressions of this ‘new order of the ages'suggest an unprecedented and irremediable break with European legal tradition, be it with British colonial governance or the French ancien régime. In fact, while the shift to constitutions as a hierarchically ‘higher'form of positive law was a revolutionary change, it also drew upon old liberties. The American constitutional discourse, which was itself heavily influenced by British common law, in turn served as an inspiration for a variety of constitutional experiments – from the French Revolution to Napoleon's downfall, in the halls of the Frankfurt Assembly, on the road to a unified Italy, and in the later theoretical discourse of twentieth-century Austria. If the constitution states the legal rules for the law-making process, then its Kelsian primacy is mandatory.Also included in this volume are the French originals and English translations of two vital documents. The first – Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès'Du Jury Constitutionnaire (1795) – highlights an early attempt to reconcile the democratic values of the French Revolution with the pragmatic need to legally protect the Revolution. The second – the 1812 draft of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Poland – presents the ‘constitutional propaganda'of the Russian Tsar Alexander I to bargain for the support of the Lithuanian and Polish nobility. These documents open new avenues of research into Europe's constitutional history: one replete with diverse contexts and national experiences, but above all an overarching motif of constitutional decisiveness that served to complete the juridification of sovereignty. (www.reconfort.eu)

This book focuses on the management of ship operations, an activity that requires integrative knowledge and technical expertise that spans various disciplines. As such, ship operations personnel are expected to be well-versed with aspects of management, economics, engineering, technology and law. Further, ship operations management requires the ability to identify and neutralize threats and to manage risks and make decisions that will optimize costs and contribute to performance improvements. Despite the fundamental nature of ship operations management, no book has ever attempted to reconcile and compile a comprehensive body of knowledge, while pursuing a coherent, structured and systematic approach. This edited volume addresses that fundamental gap in the extant literature, and brings together a wealth of knowledge from experts in their respective fields. Concretely, it explores issues of organization, technical management, crewing and behavioral issues, chartering and post fixture, risk management, finance, legal aspects of international conventions and regulations, attainment of safety, security and marine insurance, as well as ocean governance and sustainability. As such, the book offers a vital reference guide for maritime companies and organizations, while also serving as a teaching supplement in academic and professional maritime programmes.

This book is open access under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license.It explores the diverse phenomena which are challenging the international law of the sea today, using the unique perspective of a simultaneous analysis of the national, individual and common interests at stake. This perspective, which all the contributors bear in mind when treating their own topic, also constitutes a useful element in the effort to bring today's legal complexity and fragmentation to a homogenous vision of the sustainable use of the marine environment and of its resources, and also of the international and national response to maritime crimes.The volume analyzes the relevant legal frameworks and recent developments, focusing on the competing interests which have influenced State jurisdiction and other regulatory processes. An analysis of the competing interests and their developments allows us to identify actors and relevant legal and institutional contexts, retracing how and when these elements have changed over time.

This book is open access under a CC BY-NC 2.5 license.This book offers a devastating look at deeply flawed development processes driven by international finance, African governments and the global consulting industry. It examines major river basin development underway in the semi-arid borderlands of Ethiopia, Kenya and South Sudan and its disastrous human rights consequences for a half-million indigenous people. The volume traces the historical origins of Gibe III megadam construction along the Omo River in Ethiopia—in turn, enabling irrigation for commercial-scale agricultural development and causing radical reduction of downstream Omo and (Kenya's) Lake Turkana waters. Presenting case studies of indigenous Dasanech and northernmost Turkana livelihood systems and Gibe III linked impacts on them, the author predicts agropastoral and fishing economic collapse, region-wide hunger with exposure to disease epidemics, irreversible natural resource destructionand cross-border interethnic armed conflict spilling into South Sudan. The book identifies fundamental failings of government and development bank impact assessments, including their distortion or omission of mandated transboundary assessment, cumulative effects of the Gibe III dam and its linked Ethiopia-Kenya energy transmission'highway'project, key hydrologic and human ecological characteristics, major earthquake threat in the dam region and widespread expropriation and political repression. Violations of internationally recognized human rights, especially by the Ethiopian government but also the Kenyan government, are extensive and on the increase—with collaboration by the development banks, in breach of their own internal operational procedures. A policy crossroads has now emerged. The author presents the alternative to the present looming catastrophe—consideration of development suspension in order to undertake genuinely independent transboundary assessment and a plan for continued development action within a human rights framework—forging a sustainable future for the indigenous peoples now directly threatened and for their respective eastern Africa states. Claudia Carr's book is a treasure of detailed information gathered over many years concerning river basin development of the Omo River in Ethiopia and its impact on the peoples of the lower Omo Basin and the Lake Turkana region in Kenya. It contains numerous maps, charts, and photographs not previously available to the public. The book is highly critical of the environmental and human rights implications of the Omo River hydropower projects on both the local ethnic communities in Ethiopia and on the downstream Turkana in Kenya. David Shinn Former Ambassador to Ethiopia and to Burkina Faso Adjust Professor of International Affairs, The George Washington University, Washington D.C.

This book presents a hotly debated issue concerning the ownership of trust property in China. The book describes various conventional interpretations of Chinese Trust Law submitted by legal scholars and compares diverse approaches regarding the ownership of trust property provided by jurisdictions globally. The book does not directly answer the question “Who is the owner of trust property in China?” Instead, using a social capital perspective, it develops a more practical perspective to explain why Chinese trust business has grown rapidly even in lack of legal certainty regarding the location of ownership of trust property. The book also further predicts under what conditions is the time ripe to clarify the location of the ownership of trust property in China.By employing those sociological concepts often used to depict and analyze society, this book outlines the structure of the Chinese trust business and related social relations in different stages, i.e., the current rapid development stage, and the possible transitional stage in the near future. The focus is on how the social network structure affects the behavior of actors (such as the settlor, the trustee, and the beneficiaries, and/or their potential candidates) within the relevant section of Chinese society. The book provides readers with an intensive analysis of the impacts of historical, cultural, and social elements on the legislation and development of trust law in China. It will appeal both to lawyers interested in the Chinese trust business and to comparative law researchers and social scientists.