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The Chinese legislature enacted the Law on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (NSL) on 30 June 2020 to be applied in Hong Kong. This article compares the texts between the NSL and relevant Chinese Mainland law and identifies four ways in which the Chinese legislative provisions and legal elements have been incorporated into the NSL. The widespread presence of Chinese legal elements in the NSL suggests that completely disregarding Chinese laws in Hong Kong judicial proceedings may not be feasible and advisable in some cases for interpreting and applying this specific made-in-China law. This article contends that the courts should distinguish the admissibility and weight of Chinese laws in the NSL cases. The Chinese laws are essential materials for Hong Kong courts to construct the NSL, and broader admissibility of Chinese laws is appropriate for the NSL construction. At the same time, this article argues that the weight to be given to Chinese laws is a matter for the court to decide in the circumstances of the case, and the set of rules regarding the NSL construction Hong Kong courts have been developing could guide the weighing of different kinds of interpretative materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Babylon Center for Humanities Studies is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Judgment of the Administrative Court of Logroño 4336/2023 has recently come to light, and its significance lies not so much in its legal implications but in its symbolic importance. Given that it is the last judgment that will apply the already repealed Animal Protection Law in the Autonomous Community of La Rioja, it seems necessary to provide commentary on the reasons for the lack of protection and the role that the judgment has played under the previous legislation and would have played under the current legal framework. Therefore, we will analyse the legal and political reasons for the repeal and the practical consequences of this decision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current debate on party democracy, both in Germany and in the other representative democracies, has revealed a loss of confidence in parties and representative democracy, as well as other changes in the established party systems: there is greater fragmentation, new anti-establishment parties have emerged, and the formation of governments has become more difficult. There is also a shift of power within parties, due to digitalization, among other things, while other forms of political participation are gaining strength. All this calls party democracy into question, also from the point of view of constitutional theory. In view of this, some legal elements that can be considered problematic are highlighted: party financing, opposition rights, intra-party democracy, elements of direct democracy such as citizens’ councils elected by lottery, the banning of parties or the legal control of hate speech and fake news. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is indicated that the constitution in the modern state is the basis of the legal system, that is, it determines its normative component (legislation and other sources of law), as well as the system of state institutions, legal ideology, and legal consciousness. Thus, the Constitution defines the entire paradigm of constitutional and legal relations in one or another period of state development. At the same time, the transformation of ideas about the content of the constitution also reflects social and political processes. The article is devoted to the study of the process of formation and development of constitutionalism, the understanding of the term "constitution" and the idea that philosophers invested in this concept, looking for a better model of a stable political system of the state. The article analyzes the term "constitution" in historical retrospect and how it correlates with the understanding of constitutionalism in modern legal literature. The homeland of constitutionalism was the ancient Greek polis, and the main theoretician in this field was Aristotle, who, based on the study of the constitutions of the polis of his era, came to the conclusion that the best model of a constitution is a mixed constitution, since it is this model that guarantees a stable political system. An example of a mixed constitution was the constitution of Sparta. According to the opinion of Polybius and Cicero, the model of a mixed constitution was characteristic of Ancient Rome as well. The model of the mixed constitution was accepted by modern constitutionalism as a guide. The article concludes that the constitution in a narrow sense was understood as an institutional arrangement with an indication of who has access to governing bodies and can participate in decisionmaking. Thus, it was about state management. The constitution, in a normative sense, was designed to adapt a just system of government to the nature and purpose of the community of citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is a well-known fact that Tamil is the most ancient of all the languages of the world. Hence, it is conferred the status of classical language. To its credit, it has a huge volume of literary works and grammar books dating back to the pre-Christian era and down to the present age. The richness and the greatness of a language are mainly decided by the good books written in that language. For a language to continue to exist, its written and spoken forms should be in practice. The Tamil language has both these characteristics. Besides knowing the subject and the methodology of teaching, the teachers need to be acquainted with the rules and regulations of teaching. Teachers should also know how important their standpoint is in teaching. Teaching is a kind of exercise that the teacher imparts to the students based on the environment which surrounds the students. The teacher must unite the student with the outside world. Education is very important for a society to flourish. It plays a vital role in shaping the future of society. The teacher must create learned men and women. Professor N. Subbu Reddiar opines that teachers should be aware of the basic laws of teaching when they try to bring students to the outside world. Teachers help students get exposed to the world outside. If the rules and regulations of teaching which N. Subbu Reddiar quoted about in detail are followed by young teachers they will become good teachers. This article aims at bringing out the important rules and regulations which N. Subbu Reddiar suggested to young teachers to make good students.

Currency boards have had an enduring attraction as a solution to exchange rate and monetary credibility for small open economies, despite few successful examples. In this context, the case of Hong Kong stands out for its longevity; it survived the handover to China, the Asian financial crises in 1997, and the global crises in 2007–8 and 2020. The 1983 currency crisis and the decision to link the exchange rate to the US$ is usually treated as an outcome of local political uncertainty due to the Sino‐British negotiations which set the framework for how Hong Kong would fit with the rest of China after 1997. We present fresh archival evidence from Hong Kong and London to reveal the year‐long debates over Hong Kong's monetary system after a drop in the exchange rate in September 1982 and to demonstrate how most of the protagonists in Hong Kong and London came only reluctantly to accept the idea of re‐pegging the dollar once public expectations had been raised. We also show how the mixture of currency and banking instability affected the terms of the negotiations in 1982 and 1983 and set the framework for the one country, two currencies system that prevails today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Española de la Transparencia is the property of Asociacion de Profesionales de la Transparencia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Ervedosa's article demonstrates from a cultural perspective that the categories 'Südländer' (Southerner) and 'südländisches Aussehen' (Southern looks) in German police reports are discriminatory since they challenge the central principles of the German constitution. They infringe the fundamental right in Article 3.3, that is, the right not to be racially discriminated against, the fundamental rights of human dignity (Article 1.1) and human equality (Article 3.1), as well as the constitutional right to be a German citizen regardless of one's skin colour (Article 116). It argues that the terms are a form of skin-colour racism in that the police carry out their work—investigations, searches, inquiries and so on—on the basis of the perpetrator's racialized phenotype. The categories basically stand for 'Mediterranean looks'—even referred to in the past as the 'Mediterranean race'—and phenotype: dark hair, dark eyes and so-called 'skin type IV', that is, 'olive or brown skin'. They are the product of a tradition of racialized, exclusionary thinking that collides with the humanistic and democratic values of the Grundgesetz (Basic Law). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Human Sciences (19922876) is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The paper examines what was Hungary's and other European countries' answer to the collision between the exercise of the right to vote and the measures of public health meant to guarantee the right to health. The paper focuses on the effects that the epidemic triggered by the coronavirus had on Hungary's and other countries' elections and electoral processes. Overall, managing the situation posed a serious challenge to all decision makers throughout the world, and countries holding general elections during the pandemic faced particular difficulties. In countries where decision was taken to hold (general) elections (often after postponement), increased measures of protection were implemented during both the campaign and the voting. However, experience shows that despite all these efforts fewer citizens turned out to vote than before the pandemic. This faces countries which are about to organize general elections with a serious dilemma. In fact, decision makers have to ensure the right to vote for all those wanting to exercise it on the one hand, and on the other hand this has to be done amid circumstances that would not expose voters' health to danger. In order to reach a higher turnout, softening electoral requirements (concerning, for example, the very process of casting the vote) seems to be an obvious solution, but the principle of proportionality has also to be taken into account to preserve the integrity of elections.

The conflict between Mainland China and Hong Kong regarding the issue of how much autonomy Hong Kong would retain is becoming increasingly intense, especially after the Occupy Central Movement arose in 2014. This paper focuses on the “rule of law” policy under Xi’s government and analyzes how and why the CCP’s rule over Hong Kong was strengthened. Although Xi promotes the “rule of law,” it is different from the one in democracy. This paper, first, outlining the characteristics of the “rule of law” during Xi Jinping’s era and explaining the differences between the rule of law in democracy and the one in China. Second analysis is revealing the personal affairs and organizational structure of the party apparatus to see the linkage of the “rule of law” policy under Xi’s government with the CCP’s control over Hong Kong, and third is examining the reflection and rhetoric of the CCP’s “rule of law” governance over Hong Kong based on the politicians’ discourses. This paper reveals that the “rule of law” with Chinese characteristics implies standardizing the law, centralizing the power, and stabilizing society. The CCP has continually claimed to be “Governing Hong Kong according to Law” but the CCP would only accept the “rule of law” with these characteristics and, of course, without democratization.

Decisions made so far by the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany have always been characterized by their writing and content, even down to details, precision, accuracy, professional legal style of writing, always clear in the elaboration and adjudication of cases from its competence, but surprisingly, in our country, only a few have paid attention to the German Court in a scientific context, which can be seen from the only few materials we possess in the Albanian language. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of this Court, so that the comparative aspects can be made, highlighting its advantages and disadvantages, in case of dictating the state need for reform of the Constitutional Courts. Those who have institutionalized this constitutional institution know its value in the system of constitutional justice, which performs it in terms of protection of constitutions, its principles and value, and most importantly in the protection of freedoms and rights of human beings and citizens. The Federal Constitutional Court of Germany, to this date, has conveyed the efficiency of the protection of the German legal order, the serious approach and law interpretation, for the protection of freedoms and human rights, which ranks this court into a high level among all other powers in the German law system. The author, in the following paper, gives an overview of this Court starting with its history, organization and functioning, which today undoubtedly constitutes one of the most important constitutional courts in the world.

The Right to Be Forgotten II crystallizes one lesson from Europe’s rights revolution: persons should be able to call on some kind of right to protect their important interests whenever those interests are threatened under the law. Which rights instrument should be deployed, and by what court, become secondary concerns. The decision doubtless involves some self-aggrandizement by the German Federal Constitutional Court (GFCC), which asserts for itself a new role in protecting European fundamental rights, but it is no criticism of the Right to Be Forgotten II to say that it advances the GFCC’s role in European governance, so long as the decision also makes sense in the context of the European and German law. I argue that it does, for a specific reason. The Right to Be Forgotten II represents a sensible approach to managing the complex pluralism of the legal environment in which Germany and other EU member states find themselves.

This article investigates how neoliberal globalization has been mediated through audiovisual narratives since the 2000s. It identifies a cluster of films, produced by and circulating on German public television, which use the generic conventions of the popular crime genre to constitute a sub-genre—the televisual economic crime drama. Using a content and textual analysis that focuses on the backdrop of historical context and genre norms, the article examines key tropes to assess the critical potential of this sub-genre. The analysis demonstrates that both the containment theme of "a few bad apples" and a systemic critique can structure these narratives of neoliberalism. At its best, the televisual economic crime drama argues that alternatives to neoliberalism are possible by referencing Germany's history of the social market economy and by featuring characters as well as images of active citizenship, solidarity, and collective action in the workplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. The scientific publication is devoted to highlighting the peculiarities of the legal nature of the constitution. The authors consider the structure and content of the constitution of the state in the context of its functions. The specificity of the content of the newest constitutions in the history of world constitutionalism is considered. Methods. The methodological basis of the work is a post-positivist methodology for the study of the problems of the paradigm of contemporary Ukrainian constitutionalism, which is an orderly system of mutually agreed ideological principles and methods that allow to thoroughly and comprehensively investigate the legal properties of the paradigm of constitutionalism and to determine the essence and content of its legal relations. Results and Conclusions. Consequently, the main and still unresolved issue is the ambiguity of what is proposed to adopt: a new Constitution, a new version of the current Constitution, amendments and additions to the current Constitution. Although paradoxical, but in Presidential speeches, these terms are used repeatedly as synonyms. However, legally they are completely different concepts. This terminological confusion carries a great danger of loss of landmarks and prevents a clear statement of the problem in a purely legal area. Thus, we believe that the constitutional process is too politicized today. In our opinion, the acutest political struggle is underway for adopting a form of constitution that is convenient for one of the parties. But in fact – for power – everyone wants a maximum of power. Including through their Constitution enforced in some way. However, the Basic Law should be adopted not from the conjuncture considerations of political expediency, but be a complete legal document, taking into account the achievements of the world jurisprudence, with the strict observance of all the prescribed legal procedures. After all, the constitution should be the main document of the state, at least for a decade.

The author considers the peculiarities of the legal regulation of German multiculturalism. This problem seems to be particularly relevant due to the high rates of globalization that have recently affected the Federal Republic of Germany. This is due to the rapid islamization of the state and the immigration to Germany of various ethnic and religious groups, as well as the attempts of the latter to “protect themselves” from German society and live by their own rules, sometimes disregarding the laws of the host country. Interest in the topic being studied is also largely due to the desire of the state to overcome the Nazi past, the unresolved problems of the existence of ultra-right forces (parties and other organizations) aspiring to the local parliaments (landtags). Members of nationalist groups commit crimes, including on ethnic, national and religious grounds. The paper analyzes the theoretical approaches to the legal regulation of such a complex social phenomenon as multiculturalism. An attempt was made to consider the issues of legal consolidation of this phenomenon from diametrically opposite points of view. The individual causes of the collapse and failure of this policy and ideology in a number of modern European states are investigated. The research topic is revealed by the author from the position of not only doctrinal research, but also from the point of view of the settlement of the issue in international, constitutional and criminal law. The proposals were formulated on the need for a qualitative, global and targeted change in the legal regulation of multiculturalism in Germany, possible prospects for its further development, including for the purpose of criminal prosecution of perpetrators violating the rights, freedoms and legal interests of representatives of different ethnic and national groups and minorities.

The hereby paper takes up the analysis of the constitutional position of the Finnish parliament Eduskunta from the moment of its establishment and as a result of its development during the centuries, with a special attention paid to the present normative state and on the basis of the hitherto constitutional practice. It aims at deriving the origin and presenting the evolution of this authority at the Finnish lands, which in consequence leads to reliable conclusions in the scope of determining its current constitutional position in the system of the supreme state authorities of Finland. The subject of the paper focuses on the analysis of the beginnings of Eduskunta’s formation and Finnish parliamentarianism, its further evolution, current composition, internal structure, functions and competences presented on the basis of the exegesis of the provisions of the binding basic law of 1999 and the parliament’s rules of procedure. The constitutional principles referring to the parliament and the analysis of Eduskunta’s relations with the other supreme state authorities, which determine the state’s form of government, seem to be of particular significance in this context, as they contribute to a more precise definition of Eduskunta’s constitutional position, as well as to pointing out its originality and dissimilarity regarding other contemporary democratic states.

Political parties are an indispensable factor in any modern parliamentary democracy. It would be impossible to parliamentary democracy to function properly without them. Political parties are a constitutional category and they have to act in accordance with constitution, but due to their importance it is already observed that sometimes they go beyond constitution. Each country should find its own way in order to face that challenge. Germany is a good example for that, by giving political parties the freedom to act on the basis of the provisions of the Basic Law, but with the care that the entire system does not endanger itself. That could be seen in three examples. First example is the relationship between the parliamentary group as the emanation of political parties in parliament and deputies. Second example is banning of anti-constitutional political parties. Third example is the election process of judges of the Constitutional Court. The paper concludes that it is necessary to find an ideal formula for the freedom of their actions, according to which political parties are allowed to perform any action that is beneficial to the constitutional order, while not all of them are forbidden, but only the actions that have a devastating effect on the system as a whole.

Has the situation of fundamental rights changed in times of the corona pandemic? One thing is certain: the protection of basic rights is not a one-way street that begins with the individual, but a promise of the Basic Law that must be implemented by all state powers. The legal system as such, not just the legal status of the individual, should be a free one. In the last few months, even the case law of the lower courts and the Federal Constitutional Court has proven to be rather pale. The merit of having brought about a fundamental change in the executive decision-making culture within the judiciary belongs in the perception of the author to the Supreme Administrative Court (OVG) Münster, which in its «Gütersloh decision» (OVG Münster, decision of 29.06.2020 - 13 B 940 / 20.NE - Lockdown Gütersloh) showed the way back to a normal proportionality test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Historia i Polityka is the property of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Germany, after many months of uncertainty for the formation of government has opted for one of the three possible constitutional ways based on art. 63 of the Fundamental Law: the grand coalition. Thereby the new government pact promises a new dynamic for Germany, and a fresh impetus for Europe. This work shows how, contrary to what was foreseen, neither the electoral threshold, nor the historical memory, nor the Constitution itself have prevented the arrival of the extreme right to the Bundestag. Results show that the most disadvantaged regions have voted for AfD as a protest. Against it, the grand coalition has included the term of solidarity in the pact under section «a Europe of democracy and solidarity». In the face of its continuous advance in Europe and the proximity of the European Parliament elections in 2019, there is an urgent need to study the result and effects of these elections in order to learn and avoid repeating mistakes.

The post-war history of Germany appears to be a complex intertwinement of interests between various political and social forces, organizations, parties and fractions operating in the Allied-occupied Germany. Under such extraordinary contradictory conditions, as it will be shown in the article, the two parts of Germany – the FRG and GDR – were created, each having its own con-stitution, political party system and electoral authorities formed by the citizens of these countries. In West Germany, the Christian parties, the CDU and the CSU, played the key role, having united in a single fraction at the federal level, which is still functional in modern Germany.

As a result of the analysis of the documents of the American Military Administration, agreements, signed at the official governmental level by the representatives of the Allies, personal documents, articles of the German newspaper “Die Zeit” and sociological researches carried out by the scientific institutions, the authors of the article outline the main mechanisms, procedures, institutions for the implementation of the denazification and identify its advantages and disadvantages during the American occupation in 1945-1949. Denazification implemented in the American occupation zone did not remain ineffective. This process also had a shocking effect for the civilians, for it meant “social degradation and humiliation in the eyes of society”. If there was no internal purification of the former criminals, all reinterpreted individuals were now forced to outbrave “political moderation and restraint” and to accept new conditions. With the adoption of democracy “from above” during the transitional justice, there can be no unequivocal answer to the question whether the national socialist dictatorship in Germany could be regarded as successful. The United States of America quickly realized that the future of Germany would depend on both the announced denazification and the economic recovery. The American government approved the adoption of the Basic Law (Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany). In any case, the American policy toward Germany consistently advocated German unity and the integration of a prosperous and strong state, provided that it would become a constituent of a capitalist and democratic international system as a responsible party.

The article deals with the politics of the faction called CDU / CSU, SPD and the occupation authorities in the Parliamentary Council of the West Germany in 1948-49. The work of the Council devoted to the Basic Law (Constitution) was characterized by constant cross-party and inner-party disputes, however the power struggle between the political parties was an inevitable and necessary attribute of the democratic society. The Parliamentarischer Rat (German for Parliamentary Council) was the hour of triumph for the emerging political system in West Germany, whereas the moderate federalism was declared by the CDU as the most important element during the reconstruction of Germany.

The conflict between Mainland China and Hong Kong regarding the issue of how much autonomy Hong Kong would retain is becoming increasingly intense, especially after the Occupy Central Movement arose in 2014. This paper focuses on the "rule of law" policy under Xi's government and analyzes how and why the CCP's rule over Hong Kong was strengthened. Although Xi promotes the "rule of law," it is different from the one in democracy. This paper, first, outlining the characteristics of the "rule of law" during Xi Jinping's era and explaining the differences between the rule of law in democracy and the one in China. Second analysis is revealing the personal affairs and organizational structure of the party apparatus to see the linkage of the "rule of law" policy under Xi's government with the CCP's control over Hong Kong, and third is examining the reflection and rhetoric of the CCP's "rule of law" governance over Hong Kong based on the politicians' discourses. This paper reveals that the "rule of law" with Chinese characteristics implies standardizing the law, centralizing the power, and stabilizing society. The CCP has continually claimed to be "Governing Hong Kong according to Law" but the CCP would only accept the "rule of law" with these characteristics and, of course, without democratization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The Right to Be Forgotten II crystallizes one lesson from Europe's rights revolution: persons should be able to call on some kind of right to protect their important interests whenever those interests are threatened under the law. Which rights instrument should be deployed, and by what court, become secondary concerns. The decision doubtless involves some self-aggrandizement by the German Federal Constitutional Court (GFCC), which asserts for itself a new role in protecting European fundamental rights, but it is no criticism of the Right to Be Forgotten II to say that it advances the GFCC's role in European governance, so long as the decision also makes sense in the context of the European and German law. I argue that it does, for a specific reason. The Right to Be Forgotten II represents a sensible approach to managing the complex pluralism of the legal environment in which Germany and other EU member states find themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nachdem die Soziale Markwirtschaft jahrzehntelang als selbstverständliche Wirtschaftsordnung in Deutschland akzeptiert wurde, wird sie in jüngerer Zeit zunehmend in Frage gestellt. Interventionistische und planwirtschaftliche Eingriffe nehmen zu, vor allem im Wohnungsmarkt, im Arbeitsmarkt und in der Energie- und Umweltpolitik. Das deutsche Grundgesetz bietet keinen Schutz vor solchen Tendenzen, denn es lässt die Frage der Wirtschaftsordnung prinzipiell offen und erlaubt in Artikel 15 sogar ausdrücklich die Vergesellschaftung von Boden und Produktionsmitteln. Eine Gruppe von mehr als 50 Ökonomen setzt sich deshalb dafür ein, diesen Passus zu streichen und stattdessen die Soziale Marktwirtschaft in der Verfassung explizit zu verankern. Der Beitrag diskutiert die Pro- und Contra-Argumente für diesen Vorschlag aus ökonomischer und juristischer Sicht. Er kommt zu dem Ergebnis, dass eine Einfügung der Sozialen Marktwirtschaft in das Grundgesetz analog zu den Europäischen Verträgen sowohl sinnvoll als auch notwendig wäre. While the Social Market Economy was generally accepted as the German economic constitution for decades, it is more and more challenged in recent times. Both intervening and economically controlling interventions are constantly on the rise, in particular in housing, in the labour market, and concerning energy and environment policy. The German basic law does not provide protection against such tendencies, because it is not specific about the economic constitution and even allows socialisation of both land and means of production in article 15. For these reasons, a group of more than 50 economists stands up for an explicit anchoring of the social market economy in the constitution. The paper discusses the pros and cons of this proposal from both the economic and the legal side. The final conclusion is that, analogously to the European treaties, the social market economy should indeed be included in the basic law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban agglomerations are formed when a country is in the advanced stages of industrialization and urbanization. They are highly integrated groups of cities that form and develop through a natural, gradual process as the relationship between them changes from one of competition to assimilation following law of natural development. China is currently in a new stage of transitional development characterized by its New-Type Urbanization Plan. It has entered a new era in which it is a global leader in urban agglomeration development, and China's research and development models are being imitated and adopted by countries around the world. This paper adopts a theoretical approach to propose the basic law governing the formation, development and expansion of urban agglomerations. This includes the stage-based formation and development law, multi-scale intensive-use transmission law, crystal-structure spatial composition law, egg-shaped expansion evolution law, "saplings-to-forest" natural growth law, and sustainable development incremental increase law. Guided by these law, China has created a hierarchical organizational configuration for optimizing the spatial structure of its urban agglomerations. It has also formulated urban agglomeration development plans and proposed research-based measures to resolve problems specific to urban agglomerations and to promote their sustainable development. The law governing the formation, development and expansion of urban agglomerations play an important role in guiding their development in China and will play a greater role in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Die Form des Religionsunterrichts in Deutschland beruht auf politischen Entscheidungen. Diese Entscheidungen stehen immer wieder in Frage. Auf der Jahrestagung der GwR 2019 waren die großen Parteien zum Gespräch geladen. Pascal Kober (FDP) hielt fest, dass der Staat die Religionsgemeinschaften und mithin den konfessionellen Religionsunterricht brauche, um selbst neutral sein zu können. Sevim Dagdelen (LINKE) widersprach dem, Religiöses sei gänzlich von staatlichen Zusammenhängen zu trennen. Daher sei ein Ethikunterricht für alle die Lösung. Friedrich Battenberg (BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN) schlug demgegenüber vor, auf der Basis des GG eine Variante des Hamburger Modells flächendeckend zu etablieren. Ulrich Commerçon (SPD) plädierte für die jetzige Form und machte sich dafür stark, diese regionenbewusst auszugestalten. Tobias Utter (CDU) trat ebenfalls für das derzeitige Modell ein, wies aber auf notwendige Perspektivenwechsel hin, man könne auch formulieren: Deutschland gehört zum Islam. In Aufnahme der positiven Erfahrungen sei der RU auch weiterzuentwickeln. The framework of German RE is based on political decisions. These decisions are repeatedly matters of discussions. During the conference of GwR 2019 (Association for Research on Religious Education), representatives of major German parties were invited. Pascal Kober (FDP) emphasised that the neutral state needs reliable religious groups und denominational RE to provide the background for values while remaining neutral itself. Sevim Dagdelen (LINKE) disagreed; state and religious matters should be separated. Therefore, Ethics would be the right solution for everyone. Friedrich Battenberg (BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN) suggested a variation of the paradigm practiced in Hamburg schools establishing "RE for all". Ulrich Commerçon (SPD) argued for keeping the present denominational RE but suggested regional variations. Tobias Utter (CDU) agreed with this; he pointed out the need for a change of perspective, e.g. it may be considered that Germany is a part of Islam (not only the other way around). Taking up the positive experiences, RE should be developed further. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the evolution of legal strategies that the central government has used in managing Hong Kong affairs in the past three decades. It demonstrates that the Beijing government appears to have successfully employed the tactic of "legalisation without democratisation" to neutralise political resistance, to resolve thorny issues, and to stifle pro-independence voices. However, as Beijing's legal strategies for Hong Kong have become more hands-on and assertive, the flaws and instrumentalism of Chinese-style "rule of law" have become increasingly salient, giving rise to deepening conflicts with the Hong Kong common law system. Legalisation without democratisation has given rise to a worrying trend of rising authoritarian legalism in Hong Kong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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