The Experiences and Challenges for Adjudication on Refugee Law in Slovenia

As a border country within the European Union, Slovenia willprobably need to manage a considerable burden of refugee lawcases in the future. In addition to the goal of managing thosecases promptly, judicial review will continue to play a crucialrole in building the integrity of procedural and material lawon the protection of refugees. The article first focuses, insection 2, on several refugee law issues from national legislation,supported by case law, with special attention to a comparisonof national legislation with the corresponding EU legal sourcesin their respective fields and other international law standards.On the basis of a qualitative assessment of judgements, in section3 the author provides an evaluation of the experiences and effectsof the Administrative Court, the Supreme Court and the ConstitutionalCourt in the construction of (case) law on refugees. Findingsin section 3 lead the author to the basic thesis, in section4, that the major challenge for adjudication on refugee law,which is an example of a very complex legal discipline, establishedwithin the multi-level constitutionalism, is to improve theinstitutional quality of the judiciary. In this regard the authorselects six priorities for building on the managerial capacitiesof the judiciary that are necessary mechanisms for dealing withthe increasing number of important international refugee lawissues in the future, so that the integrity of asylum law, theharmonisation of EU law and the protective character of internationalrefugee law in Slovenia is guaranteed. In the conclusion ofthe paper, the author selects the particular legal challengesfor judges in the future process of adjudication on refugeelaw.     

MEMBERSHIP OF THE ‘NEW STYLE’ HEALTH AUTHORITIES: CONTINUITY OR CHANGE?

The 1989 White Paper 'Working for Patients' continued the process begun by Griffiths of managerial reform and the introduction of private sector concepts into the NHS. One of the new proposals was to change the composition and constitution of health authorities, both to avoid the assumed weaknesses of the existing format and to emulate the pattern found in the private sector.
The essence of the change was the removal of the representational elements on authorities, both of medical professionals and nominees from the local authority. The health authorities were reduced in size to just eleven members and for the first time executives were included. Previous attempts at reform within the NHS have been judged to have resulted in more continuity than change. This article examines in detail who the new members are and assesses the balance between continuity and change.
Despite a high level of continuity of membership, there are signs of more fundamental change. There is a significant increase in the proportion of non-executive members from the private sector and with the inclusion of executives, a stronger managerial role is emerging. The article concludes by assessing what the implications of these changes maybe.     

USER INVOLVEMENT IN COMMUNITY CARE: ORIGINS, PURPOSES AND APPLICATIONS

Whilst the drive towards public sector consumerism is intensifying, it is also evident that somewhat different 'brands' of consumerism are currently being marketed. This article develops a framework to assist in the disaggregation and understanding of the range of approaches to consumerism currently being pursued in the field of health and social care. Its principal elements concern the ideological origins of consumerism in this field; their purposes; and the forms through which consumer preference are expressed. This framework is applied to the Birmingham Community Care Special Action Project, a major developmental initiative which the authors have been studying. An important area for further investigation is the extent to which users and carers seek to exercise greater collective control over services as opposed to influencing the development of services more responsive to their individual needs.     

Revising Images of Public Punitiveness: Sentencing by Lay and Professional English Magistrates

England grants unusually broad responsibility for sentencing of criminal offenders to voluntary part-time lay magistrates who, like their legally trained professional colleagues, sentence a wide range of offenders. Using simulated cases, archival analyses, and observational techniques, this article compares the sentencing decisions of the lay and professional magistrates in London. The study reveals no evidence of the lay preference for more severe sentencing that is typically shown in public opinion polls. The extent to which legal training, court experience, panel decisionmaking and role within the court system can explain the relative leniency of the lay magistrates are considered Consistent with results from other studies, these findings suggests that when laypersons assign sentences to particular offenders rather than express generalized satisfaction or dissatisfaction with current sentencing practices, laypersons are no more punitive than professional judges.     

Russia＇s Rise and Its Relations with the United States

The trend of Russia-U.S. relations,one of the important bilateral relations in today's world,has always been an important factor affecting global strategic stability. Since the end of the Cold War,Russia's tussles with the United States