Volume 96

Karsten Thorn’s The Protection of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in International Private Law critically examines the legal challenges faced by SMEs in international transactions. The existing legal framework in international private law, designed to meet big companies' needs, frequently fails to offer adequate protection to SMEs, the structurally weaker party in B2B contracts compared with big companies, leaving them to face unfair practices and imbalanced contractual relationships.Thorn advocates for reforms in conflict of law and jurisdictional rules to safeguard SMEs, drawing parallels with existing protection frameworks. However, legislative disparities across countries—such as varying subcontractor protections in France and India—undermine uniform safeguards, creating inequitable outcomes. This review highlights the tension between equitable protection proposals and practical enforcement, summerizing the content of the book and trying to find a solution to protect SMEs.

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The exclusionary rule regarding character evidence for victims in sexual assault cases originated in the Anglo-American legal system and plays a significant role in protecting victims' legitimate rights and interests. However, China has long lacked clear regulations in this area. In many atypical sexual assault cases, victims face not only difficulties in obtaining legal protection but also secondary harms such as privacy violations. This dilemma is closely related to the challenges of proving non-consent in rape cases, insufficient theoretical support, and the influence of traditional social biases against victims of sexual assault. Internationally, the "Rape Shield Clause" in the U.S. Federal Rules of Evidence—based on the principle of exclusion with limited exceptions—offers valuable lessons. Drawing on this model, China can improve its theoretical framework for evidence rules, eliminate ideological prejudices, and establish an application model based on the principle of exclusion with defined exceptions. Such a localized rule system for character evidence in sexual assault cases would both protect victims' rights and promote factual clarity, thereby fostering true fairness and justice.

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