Suspicious circumstances on discovery of the cadaver

The authors report on three autopsy cases in which the findings at the death scene gave rise to the suspect of non-natural, in two cases even violent causes of death. The medico-legal and criminalistic investigations led to surprising results: Death was due to acute intoxication with narcotics, supposed delirium tremens and a suicide attempt in the presence of bronchopneumonia. External force was ruled out in all three fatalities by cooperative work of police investigators and forensic medicine.     

Taking a sledgehammer to crack the nut: The EU Enforcement Directive

In April 2004 the EU passed the Directive on Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights amidst charges of “conflicting interest” and heavy-handed influence of the American entertainment industry. The Directive has received widespread condemnation from various sectors of the society for supporting private interest at the expense of public interest through the impositions of Mareva injunctions and Anton Piller Orders, even in instances of accidental and non-commercial infringements of the intellectual property right [Meller P. EU backs deal on copyright piracy. International Herald Tribune, NY; 2004]. This paper will examine the provisions of the Directive and determine its implications, in particular, as to whether they balance or not the rights of the right holders and public interest.     

Agency dynamics of International Environmental Agreements: actors,contexts, and drivers

International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics - The structural elements of global environmental governance are notoriously difficult to change and align with the needs of a...     

The new media landscape: Regulating the idiot boxes

The European Commission has proposed a modernization of the Directive 89/552/EEC, also known as the TV without Frontiers Directive (TVWF). The draft Audiovisual Media Services Directive suggests extending regulation to cover a broad range of new and emerging audiovisual media services. The proposal unleashed fierce opposition from all sectors. The most contentious issue concerns the distinction between the two types of audiovisual media services (linear and non-linear), which are distinguished from each other by the degree of user control. The Commission has failed to provide any convincing argument to prove the necessity of imposing a new regulation and the inadequacy of the current regulatory framework. This paper analyses the proposed Audiovisual Media Services Directive.     

Are Judicial Performance Evaluations Fair to Women and Minorities? A Cautionary Tale from Clark County,Nevada

Because voters rely on judicial performance evaluations when casting their ballots, policymakers should work diligently to compile valid, reliable, and unbiased information about our sitting judges. Although some claim that judicial performance evaluations are fair, the systematic research needed to establish such a proposition has not been done. By the use of attorney judicial performance survey data from Clark County, Nevada, this analysis shows that objective measures of judicial performance cannot explain away differences in scores based on race and sex. Minority judges and female judges score consistently and significantly lower than do their white and male counterparts, all other things being equal. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that judicial performance evaluation surveys may carry with them unexamined and unconscious gender/race biases. Future research must compare judicial performance evaluation structure, content, and execution across states in order to identify those evaluation mechanisms least susceptible to unconscious gender and race bias.     

Awareness of Domestic Violence Within the Evangelical Community: Romania and Moldova

Domestic violence is a serious problem worldwide and is often perpetuated by complex social and cultural factors. The former post-communist countries of Romania and Moldova are no exception despite recent social attention. Many evangelical churches have not addressed this problem. The purpose of this project was to begin to assess the understanding of clergy and congregation members from evangelical churches in Romania and Moldova about domestic violence. Findings indicate that domestic violence occurs within the evangelical church in both Romania and Moldova, and that cultural and religious factors influence its prevalence. Suggestions for further research and training are included.     

The influence of the Regional Coordinating Unit of the Abidjan Convention: implementing multilateral environmental agreements to prevent shipping pollution in West and Central Africa

The Regional Coordinating Unit of the Convention for Co-operation in the Protection and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment for West and Central Africa (the Abidjan Convention) has under its wings several multilateral environmental agreements including those addressing shipping pollution. Shipping, potentially, has negative impacts on marine fauna and flora and air quality, with implications for public health. The Regional Coordinating Unit seeks to strengthen implementation of the Abidjan Convention by party-states through co-operation with state actors using various pathways based on its internal resources and competencies but the Unit is also starting to explore engagement with potential non-state actors. The ability of the Unit to exert influence on implementation is constrained by domestic politico-administrative institutions. This paper seeks to understand the influence of the Regional Coordinating Unit on the implementation of the Abidjan Convention in the field of shipping pollution. It uses three theoretical perspectives for the analysis: the influence of international environmental bureaucracies, domestic regulatory-politics and transnational governance. The paper shows how these theories are complementary because the influence of international bureaucracies such as the Regional Coordinating Unit cannot be adequately understood through factors internal to their organisation alone but needs to be analysed in relation also to external factors, both domestic politico-institutional ones in states that international bureaucracies work with, and the role of relevant non-state actors in the implementation of multilateral environmental agreements. It is concluded that, although influence cannot be measured directly, it is likely that Regional Coordinating Unit’s influence through its autonomy-centred efforts are quiet strong but negatively constrained by the traditional state-centric responsibility for implementation of international legal instruments where domestic regulatory-politics lack sufficient political will and support from and engagement with non-state actors.     

Danger to public health: Medical devices,toxicity, virus and fraud

The recent scandals involving the sale and manufacture of defective medical devices such as the PIP breast implants and the De Puy Implants have resulted in the long-awaited modernisation of the Medical Device Directive. Taking cognizance of the increasing integration of medical devices and technology, as well as the importance of electronic information, the proposed EU Regulation on Medical Devices promises greater European control on Notifying Bodies and more transparency to ensure patient's safety. This paper discusses the current directives and proposed legislation as well as the liabilities of manufacturers and software vendors for product failure.