Mobile phone use while driving: public opinions on restrictions

This paper reviews two road-user surveys on the use of mobile phones on the road in Finland where the mobile phone ownership rate is highest in the world (70% in August 2000). From 1998 to 1999 the proportion of drivers that chose to use a mobile phone while driving rose from 56% to 68%, while the proportion of phone using drivers who experienced dangerous situations due to phone use rose from 44% to 50%. The proportion of drivers who used their phones in some way to benefit safety on the road remained at about 55%. The youngest, novice drivers had the highest level of phone usage of all age categories. Over 48% of the interviewees believed that the government should ban the use of hand-held mobile phones while driving, and another 27% believed that all types of mobile phone use should be banned while driving. Those drivers who used their phones the most each day were more likely to want some form of restrictions, than those who had lower usage. This is a strong message to the elected lawmakers and raises the problem of exactly how regulatory bodies would go about controlling the future growth of new driver support and non-driving related communication devices in road vehicles. It was concluded that legislating for hands-free use only would be a reasonable course of action. Mandating that the current generation of equipment should be optimized for hands-free use should result in future generations of in-vehicle equipment also being optimized for hands-free use as a minimum criterion.     

论海运提单的运输合同属性

通过提单的历史演变及有关立法及业务实际程序考察,论述提单的运输合同属性,更正有关立法的误会。     

网上拍卖的法律问题初探

计算机的广泛使用带动了网上拍卖的蓬勃兴起,给传统的拍卖带来了前所未有的冲击,而有关网上拍卖的法律体系尚未建立,因而出现了许多法律适用上的问题。本文将从网上拍卖的涵义特征入手,结合国内外网上拍卖的现状和立法,针对网上拍卖出现的问题,寻求可能的解决途径。     

Thermidor in land use control?

Abstract

In June 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court in Nollan v. California Coastal Commission held against the California Coastal Commission. Did this legal landmark signal the rise of a new, conservative jurisprudence of takings? And if yes, did that imply the demise of what had been accomplished by the so‐called quiet revolution in land use control that swept the country in the late 1960s and early 1970s? The complexities of this case cannot be understood apart from the historical evolution of the Coastal Commission's policies through the 1970s and 1980s, particularly its coastal access policies. Because of these policies the Coastal Commission, since its inception in 1972, has been subjected to all kinds of criticism, but at the same time has been widely praised for its balanced approach. These varying assessments of the role and record of the Commission also underly the conflicting viewpoints and arguments of Justices Scalia, who wrote for the majority in Nollan, and Brennan, who filed an extremely strong dissent. The resulting legal uncertainties, added to the political setbacks suffered from a lukewarm legislature and a hostile governor, forced the Commission to temper its assertive mission of maximizing coastal access, at least for the time being.     

Geographical variations in hurricane risk and legislative response

Abstract

Risk from the “natural event system”; of hurricanes varies greatly along the U.S. coastline, and so do the property and lives at risk. Damage potential from storm surge in the Miami area is less than a third that of the Tampa area. However, damage potential from winds in the Boston and New York areas exceeds that of either the Miami or Tampa areas. Passage of time since the great hurricane disasters near the turn of the century and improvements in the warning system may make coastal dwellers underestimate the likelihood of a hurricane catastrophe. But population growth near the coast has been more than three times the national average, and 10 of 58 coastal segments 50 miles in width more than doubled in population between 1960 and 1970. Twenty‐two segments increased by more than 25,000 people with six increasing by 150,000. Legislative response to the growing hazard has varied as widely as risk but is not clearly correlated with risk.     

城市处理生活垃圾法规弊端分析及其改进措施

文章通过对西安市规制生活垃圾法律规章的认识以及对处理垃圾现状的调查，由小及大地分析了在各地法律规章中普遍存在的弊端，大胆提出了未来法律规章应当遵循的立法原则以及应当建立的法律制度。并且希望垃圾分装、统一收购、奖惩并举和调动个人与社会力量参与处理生活垃圾的主张能对未来立法有所裨益。     

Federal‐state revenue sharing and resource management under outer continental shelf lands act section 8(g)

Abstract

Section 8(g) was added to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) in 1978. It mandated sharing of the revenues from tracts that included oil and gas pools underlying the federal‐state boundary 3 miles offshore. Revenues were to be split based on agreements negotiated by the secretary of Interior and the relevant coastal state governor or “fair and equitable”; divisions made by the federal district courts. Only one agreement was concluded. Texas and Louisiana sued to force distribution of their shares of $6.1 billion in 8(g) funds held in escrow. In 1986 Congress divided the escrowed 8(g) revenues approximately 27 percent to the adjacent states and 73 percent to the federal government and legislated the same split for all future 8(g) revenues. This article examines the complex issues that section 8(g), as amended, raises for the management of federal and state submerged lands. Cooperative federal‐state approaches to implementing amended section 8(g) are reviewed. Section 8(g)'s broader implications as the only federal‐state ocean resource, revenue‐sharing mechanism currently in place also are addressed.     

新公共管理视角下 我国海事立法工作的思考

文中在新公共管理视角下,针对我国海事立法现状,从立法理念、立法机制和信息化保障等方面进行分析,并以"提高制度建设质量"为出发点,借鉴国际海事组织提出的GBS相关理念,对如何提高海事立法工作质量提出建议。     

我国船舶压载水排放防控发展现状

研究我国在船舶压载水立法、处理技术、生物检测和岸基接收方面的现状，结果表明：压载水立法较晚，且多借鉴国外法规或国际公约；压载水处理技术处于领先水平，技术方案涵盖电解和紫外线等主流方向；压载水生物检测取样机构众多，且多数具有D-2标准检测资质；具备压载水岸基接收能力，但目前缺少港口安装和接收实例。我国压载水处理技术和检测技术较为领先，但在立法保护和岸基接收方面仍需要进一步完善。     

欧盟环境法中的循环经济趋势谈

欧盟在先进的环保理念的支持下,在许多方面超越美国成为环境立法最发达地区。近年来欧盟循环经济的立法尤具特色。本文分析了欧盟循环经济法律发展历程及其典型制度;全面剖析了欧盟循环经济立法的特点:严格的标准、形成新的贸易壁垒、大量运用经济激励机制、生产者之责任延伸等。分析了欧盟循环经济的发展趋势及其对中国经济、贸易、法律的影响。