Book reviews

An Artificial Intelligence Approach to Legal Reasoning Anne Von Der Leith Gardner MIT Press 1987. £20.25

Design—The Modern Law and Practice Ian Morris and Barry Quest Butterworths. 1987. £45

Computers and the Law Richard Mawry and Keith Salmon BSP Professional Books,(Oxford, London, Edinburgh) 1988, £19.95

Television by Satellite—Legal Aspects Stephen de B. Bate (ed.) ESC Publishing Limited. 1987. £32.75.

Computer Software: Legal Protection in the United Kingdom Henry Carr E.S.C. Publishing Ltd 1987, £32.50.

Patents in Chemistry and Biotechnology Philip W Grubb Clarendon Press 1987. £12.50.

The International Handbook on Computer Crime Computer‐related Economic Crime and the Infringements of Privacy Ulrich Sieber John Wiley & Sons 1987. £24.95.

Computer Law: Theory and Practice Naomi Assia Advocate     

Book reviews

Electronic Contracting, Publishing, and EDI Law Michael S Baum and Henry H Perritt, Jr Wiley Law Publications 1991. ISBN Q 471 53135 9

The Law of Electronic Commerce: EDI, Fax and E‐Mail Technology, Proof and Liability Benjamin Wright Little, Brown and Company 1991. ISBN Q 316 95632 5 $95

Crime and the Computer Martin Wasik Oxford University Press 1991. ISBN 0 19 825621 3 £35

Broadcasting: the New Law Nicholas Reville Butterworths ISBN 0 406 001375 £16

Regulating the Media Thomas Gibbons Sweet and Maxwell ISBN 0 421 37450 0 £27.50

Legal Protection of Computer Software Ranald Robertson Longman 1991. ISBN 0 851 21684 6 £35

The Computerised Lawyer: a Guide to the Use of Computers in the Legal Profession Philip Leith Springer‐Verlag 1991.

Winning with Computers: Trial Practice in the 21st Century John C Tredennick Jr, Editor ABA Section on Law Practice Management 1991. ISBN 0 89707 658 3 $90

The Age of Information Stephen Saxby Macmillan 1990. ISBN 0 333 54832 9 £25

Computer Security: Hackers Penetrate DOD Computer Systems: Testimony before the Subcommittee on Government Information and Regulation, Committee on Governmental Affairs, United States Senate (A General Accounting Office Report) James Brock, Jr 1991. GAO/T‐IMTEC‐92–5

Computer Contracts Morgan and Stedman (4th Edition) Longman Commercial Series 1991. ISBN 0–85121–6854 £60     

Book reviews

Word Processing for Solicitors, Kevin Townsend and Kate Taphouse, Gower Publishing, 1983 £12.50

Computer Law, Colin Tapper, Longman, London and New York, 1983 Third Edition, £9.50

Understanding Computer Contracts, Martin Edwards, Waterlow Publishers, 1983 £6.50

Data Protection: Perspectives on Information Privacy, Edited by Colin Bourn & John Benyon, Department of Adult Education, University of Leicester, 1983 £5

The Computer in Court, Alistair Kelman and Richard Sizer, Gower Publishing Company, 1982 £15.50

Principles of Database Systems, Jeffrey D Ullman, Pitman Publishing Ltd, 1982 Second Edition £13.95

Computers and the Law Teacher, A report of the proceedings of a conference held at North Staffordshire Polytechnic, Edited by David V Marshall, North Staffordshire Polytechnic, 1983 £3     

Book reviews

Transborder Data Flows (Proceedings of an OECD Conference) Edited by Hans‐Peter Gassmann North Holland (Elsevier Science Publishers) 1985, US$74.00

Plastic and Electronic Money: New Payment Systems and Their Implications Patrick Frazer Woodhead Faulkner Limited 1985 £35

A User's Guide To Computer Contracting: Forms, Techniques and Strategies Davis, Allen, Bowman and Armstrong Harcourt Brace Jovanovich 1985, $75

Legal Protection of Computer Programs and Data C. Millard Sweet & Maxwell/Stevens 1985, £24

Piracy of Phonograms Gillian Davies ESC Publishing Ltd. 1986. 2nd edition. £17.95.

Biotechnology and Patent Protection—An International Review F. K. Beier, R. S. Crespi and J. Straus O.E.C.D. 1985, £5

Protecting Privacy in Two‐Way Electronic Services David H. Flaherty Mansell Publishing Company 1985, £23.50

High‐Tech Espionage Jay Tuck Sidgwick and Jackson Ltd 1980, £10.95     

Detention Short of Arrest For Questioning in England: An Update

This research sampled 163 nations of the world to determine the use and non-use of capital punishment for 1980–85. The first conclusion was that the majority of the nations do have a legal device to administer capital punishment (77% with Yes; N = 126). The 22 nations who executed averaged 4.2 executions, per year. When the other nations are factored in, the average is 1.57 “official executions” per year (N = 163). Many nations have the legal device to execute, but few do. The top nations reporting were South Africa with 111, and Mauritius with 25 (per year 1980–85).

The average age for execution for the 42 reporting nations was 18. The United States of America was the only nation reporting for less than 16 years old. The following “methods of execution” were reported:

1.

Hanging (N = 26, 57%)

2.

Shooting (N = 11, 24%)

3.

Beheading (N = 7, 15%)

Nations also excluded from the death penalty for the following reasons:

1.

Mental Illness

2.

Juveniles

3.

Pregnant Woman

Only 7 nations reported “open” or “public” executions.     

Book reviews

Computer Law (4th edition) Colin Tapper Longman ISBN CSD 0 582 05932 1 £22.50 PPR 0 582 02491 1 £35.00

Further Computer Contracts M‐T Michèle Rennie Sweet and Maxwell 1989. ISBN 0 421 40330 6

Formalism in AI and Computer Science Philip Leith Ellis Horwood 1990. ISBN 1 3325549 2

Electronically Recorded Evidence ‐ A Guide to the Use of Tape and Video Recordings in Criminal and Civil Proceedings Sybil Sharpe Fourmat Publishing 1989. ISBN 1 85190 071 3

Computer Law Chris Reed(ed) Blackstone Press Limited 1990. ISBN 1 85 431037 2

EDI and American Law: A Practical Guide Benjamin Wright Electronic Data Interchange Association 1989. ISBN 0 96 238750 9

Computer Software Protection and Semiconductor Chips Dr Dirk Schroeder (Butterworth's Current EC Legal Developments Series) 1990. ISBN 0 406 04021 4

Computers and the Law David I Bainbridge (Pitman) 1990. ISBN 0 273 03170 8     

Book reviews

Computer Software — Legal Protection in the United Kingdom, 2nd edition Henry Carr and Richard Arnold Sweet and Maxwell 1992. ISBN 0 421 44380 4 £45

Legal Protection of Computer Programs in Europe — a Guide to the EC Directive Bridget Czarnota and Robert J Hart Butterworths 1991. ISBN 0 406 00542 7

Intellectual Property Rights in Sound Recordings, Film and Video J A L Sterling Sweet and Maxwell 1992. ISBN 0 421 4570 9

The European Market Place James Hogan Macmillan 1991. ISBN 0 333 51858 6

Intellectual Property D Bainbridge Pitman 1992. ISBN 0 273 034265 X     

Book reviews

D. Leebart (ed.), The Future of Software, The MIT Press, 1995. Hardcover, £19.95, 300 pp, ISBN 0‐262‐12184‐0

David Bainbridge, Software Copyright Law, 2nd edn, Butterworths, 1994. Softcover £35.00, 272 + xvi pp. ISBN 0‐406‐04841‐X

Andrew Christie, Integrated Circuits and Their Contents: International Protection, Sweet & Maxwell, 1995. Hardcover, £85.00. ISBN 0‐421‐48380‐6

S. White, S. Bate and T. Johnson, Satellite Communications in Europe: Law & Regulation, 2nd edn, FT Tax and Law, 1996. Hardcover, £135.00 xlvi + 456 pp. ISBN 0‐752‐002119‐8

A. Valente, Legal Knowledge Engineering: a Modelling Approach. Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence and Applications, Volume 30, IOS Press, 1995. Softcover, £52.00, 227 pp. ISBN 90‐5199‐23‐0

Professor Christopher Arnold, Outsourcing Contracts, Pearson Professional, 1995. 114 pp.     

Book reviews

Music and Video Private Copying: An International Survey of the Problem and the Law Gillian Davies and Michèle E. Hung 1993 Sweet & Maxwell P. 280 £40.00 ISBN 0‐421‐48450‐0

Publishing and Multimedia Law Michael Henry 1994, London: Butterworths Pp. xxviii + 820 + diskette (hardback)

Blackstone's Guide to the Trade Marks Act 1991 Ruth Annand and Helen Norman Pp. 411 £19.95     

Information technology in complex civil litigation in England and Wales

The use of information technology in civil litigation in England and Wales is in its infancy. In particular, litigation support systems are used by few,¹ and only within some solicitors’ offices and barristers’ chambers. The process of litigation support has not yet been taken from the solicitor's office into the court room.

Complex litigation is an area of legal practice particularly apt to benefit from the use of modern information technology both before trial and during the trial. Complex litigation involves such a diversity of issues, allegations of fact, and divergent opinions as to be difficult to retain within the short term memory of one human brain for the length of time taken by the exposition of the evidence and argument followed by judicial analysis and expression of the judgment.

This type of litigation also benefits from intervention by the Court in the preparations for trial, and in that endeavour information technology would also be most helpful.

In this article I shall try to review in very general terms what is done and what could be attempted. I shall generally concentrate on civil rather than criminal litigation.

The views expressed are my views alone.     

Criminal Justice in Soviet Russia

Compared to American criminal justice, the fabric of Russia's system is a tightly woven structure operating under centralized co-ordination. During recent history, the goals of Russia's criminal justice system have shifted from repression by terrorism to crime prevention through education and an emphasis on individual duty in peace-keeping matters.

The militia (police), created in 1917, has been mandated to prevent crime through intelligence activities, direct intervention, and citizen education. In 1966, it was given the responsibility for the supervision of offenders newly released from correctional institutions. Peoples Volunteer Brigades and the DRUZHINNIKS aid the militia in crime prevention.

The courts also make use of non-professionals in the persons of lay assessors to insure that the accused is judged by his “peers.” The court system itself is inquisitorial in nature as opposed to the American accusational model. As the accused person moves through pre-trial and trial procedures, one can see how his “rights” may be legally abridged at every step.

Russian courts have a variety of sentences from which to choose, ranging in harshness from public censure to death by shooting. Deprivation of liberty may be applied by degree from “education” to compulsory labor to strict incarceration. The Soviets are attempting an organized plan of diversionary sentencing, in order to reduce prison populations to all but the most dangerous offenders.

Correctional facilities depend on inmate commissions to keep order and motivate good behavior through group influence and peer pressure. Inmates as well as civilians have “a national duty to mind other people's business.”

In the United States, justice is fragmented into a variety of jurisdictions: municipal, county, state, and federal, each with its own law enforcement agencies, courts, and correctional agencies. Further, there is only limited coordination among the various segments of the system. There is little argument to the proposition that the American “system” of criminal justice is inefficient.

Unlike America's disjointed system, the Russian Criminal justice system is unified; militia (police), procurators (prosecutors), courts, and correctional facilities operate under a centralized coordinating body. This body is characterized by a unity of purpose and a high degree of systemic integration (Juviler, 1979, p. 1).     

Crime and Delinquency Prevention in Some European Countries

As part of a larger study on crime and delinquency prevention programs in North America, the authors visited four European countries, Belgium, France, Germany and Switzerland in order to compare prevention programs and their evaluation.

The authors found that the systematic study of the programmatic effectiveness and efficiency of crime and delinquency prevention is unknown to European practitioners and researchers.

The authors describe in this article six European crime and delinquency prevention programs: family case-work, leisure activities, community organization, crisis intervention centers, information for victims and prevention police activities.     

Overcrowding and Inmate Fatalities

A number of theorists have suggested that prison overcrowding produces greater tendencies toward violence and interpersonal aggression. Empirical studies of the effects of overcrowding on the prison population have been conducted on individual inmate buffer zones, or have focussed on specific institutions within a state or federal prison system.

This paper reevaluates the relationship between prison overcrowding and inmate violence using official data reported for fifty-one (N = 51) Departments of Corrections reported in the Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics.

Results of the analysis indicate that although overcrowding relates to the number of suicides and homicides in expected directions, these connections reverse themselves as indicators of inmate violence are translated into percentages of respective inmate populations.

The number of suicides reported explains a significant (R² = .27) portion of the variance in the number of homicides and clearly suggests that both forms of violence tend to occur together in state reporting areas.     

University visitor revisited. Part 2

The House of Lords not convinced by the New Zealand innovation

     

Analysis and counter‐policies on elderly criminals in Korea

The second counter‐policy is an establishment of a proper network of legal systems, including the establishment of accurate statistical data and well‐structured criminal law and defense systems for the elderly — comparable to the currently operative systems established to process and to deal with crimes of teenage and female offenders.

Research on indigence, health, recreation, housing and other welfare areas of the elderly is common in Korea, but research on elderly criminals is rare. Projecting that their crime rates will rise, this preliminary research was conducted in order to understand their crime status and to establish proper counter‐policies.

This research focuses on the analysis of the present elderly population and changes of their status, in addition to criminal theories and criminal trends. Analysis on criminal statistics is done through classifying criminal offenses and special offenses according to the present governmental criminal classification methods of Korea. Criminal offenses are further separated into serious and estate‐related offenses.

The result of analysis on elderly criminals in Korea indicates that the most common crimes are assaults and related offenses, including battery and bodily injuries. Most assaults or related charges were, however, not decidedly serious. Among estate‐related offenses, misappropriation and property‐damage were the most common. Among special offenses, constructional violations have the highest rate. The majority of estate related offenses were less serious and produced less than W‐ 1,000,000 (approximately $1150 US dollars) in damages.

Destruction of traditional society is the major source of criminal activities. While younger generations demand less authoritarian and more interdependent relationships, the elderly insist upon adhering to their traditional ways of thinking. The elderly commit crimes out of the animosity and exasperation created from a perceived incompatibility with modern society. Their diminishing social and family hierarchies, along with carelessness and lack of recreation, lead the elderly into feeble or fatuous life styles, eventually leading to various offenses.

There is no simple solution to prevent the elderly from committing crimes since complex social and/or personality problems cause these deviant behaviors. The government needs to understand the overall problems and establish necessary counter‐policies with regard to the elderly. Even if their present crime rates seem insignificant now, the numbers are growing rapidly.

Conclusively, the first counter‐policy is to eliminate the source of the problems. Some specific policies that can be adopted to eliminate these sources include the expansion of employment and related educational opportunities to improve their economic conditions; realignment of medical benefit systems; broader access to effective recreational activities through volunteer and other civic programs; and social adjustment programs that can guide the elderly to better adjust to the evolving social changes.     

Wound Ballistics,Reasonable Force and Anini's Incapacitation

Lawrence Nomayagbon Anini, 26 years old, was Nigeria's most notorious armed robber. His image was larger than life, dwarfing those of Ishola Oyenusi, the King of robbers in the 1970's and Youpelle Dakuro, the army deserter who masterminded the most vicious daylight robbery in Lagos in 1978 in which two policemen were killed.

Anini spear-headed a four-month reign of terror between August and December 1986 that gripped part of Nigeria. While he and his gang reigned, they killed, maimed, kidnapped, robbed, and raped their victims. The episodes were replicated with increasing sophistication, brazenness and arrogance. At the end of it all, 20 persons—11 policemen and nine civilians were dead. Indeed, Anini's siege on Nigeria has been described as “a nightmare” and “a metaphor of horror.”

Perhaps Justice Omo-Agege, the Chairman of the First Benin Robbery and Firearms Tribunal which tried Anini and his cohorts, said it best when he wrote:

Anini will forever be remembered in the history of crime in this country, but it would be of unblessed memory. Few people if ever, would give the name to their children.     

Two “Wrongs” Make a Right to Coverage: When Waiver or Estoppel Precludes an Insurer's Breach of Cooperation Defense

Liability insurance policies almost always contain a provision requiring the policyholder to cooperate with the insurance company in various ways. An insured's failure to comply with such a condition may preclude coverage. When an insurer asserts a breach of the cooperation provision defense to a claim for coverage, however, the insured may counter that the insurer either waived, or is estopped from relying on, the cooperation provision. This article provides a brief outline of waiver/estoppel issues to be considered in evaluating an insurer's conduct when it asserts a non-cooperation defense.

“When you point your finger at someone, three fingers are pointing back at you.”

—Anonymous     

Self-injury group psychotherapy intervention for young offenders: a pilot study

Objective: Self-injury (SI) is a significant and growing problem with the prison estate and a particularly acute issue with young offenders. Despite this, there are no evidence-based interventions for Young Offenders with SI difficulties. The Self-Injury Group Psychotherapy Intervention (SIGPI) was developed to target this.

Method: Drawing on existing evidence, the group was developed and piloted on a sample of 12 male Young Offenders (mean age 19.85 years) in custody with a history of SI. Participants were measured on observable SI behaviour, SI thoughts and urges and psychological distress. A within subject design was utilised with measures at baseline, 6 months and 1 year.

Results: At 12 months follow-up, a significant reduction in SI acts, time spent on SI monitoring, severity of urges and difficulty resisting SI. Psychological distress was also reduced.

Conclusions: SIGPI could be a potentially promising intervention and further investigation into its efficacy is warranted.