Who wants to be an ideal victim? A narrative analysis of crime victims' self-presentation

The aim of this article is to analyse how self-presentation is performed in victim narratives and what possible variant features are present in the narratives. This is examined by means of narrative analyses of face-to-face interviews with crime victims (n = 6). The narratives were grouped into two categories: 1) narratives about the crime victim as an established citizen, and 2) narratives about the crime victim as an outsider. How the narrators presented their status in society was relevant for how they understood the offender, the crime, and Victim Support. Importantly, the interviewed victims did not construe themselves as ‘ideal victims’ as they all projected personal strength in their self-presentations. Furthermore, the victim narratives normalized (rather than idealized) the victim while construing the offender as in need of treatment. The article concludes by discussing future research needs and the role of victim self-presentations for psychological well-being and trust in the criminal justice system.     

Will pay for performance be worth the price to medical providers? A look at pay for performance and its legal implications for providers

This article explores the legal implications of pay for performance programs from the perspective of healthcare providers. The author provides an informative background on the emergence of pay for performance programs and examines the structure and operation of these programs. She then explores the liability issues of health plans and managed care organizations and delves into evidentiary issues related to pay for performance information. Her article concludes with some practical suggestions for providers in preparing for an expansion of these quality initiatives.     

Are bar associations anticompetitive? An empirical analysis of recommended prices for legal services in Spain

The European Commission Report on Competition in Professional Services found that recommended prices by professional bodies have a significant negative effect on competition since they may facilitate the coordination of prices between service providers and/or mislead consumers about reasonable price levels. Professional associations argue, first, that a fee schedule may help their members to properly calculate the cost of services avoiding excessive charges and reducing consumers’ searching costs and, second, that recommended prices are very useful for cost appraisal if a litigant is condemned to pay the legal expenses of the opposing party. Thus, recommended fee schedules could be justified to some extent if they represented the cost of providing the services. We test this hypothesis using cross-section data on a subset of recommended prices by 83 Spanish bar associations and cost data on their territorial jurisdictions. Our empirical results indicate that prices recommended by bar associations are unrelated to the cost of legal services. Therefore, we conclude that fee schedules are not playing the role of providing useful cost information to practitioners and therefore this efficiency justification is weak.     

The liability of website owners for defamation in Israel: A challenge yet to be solved?

From the end of the twentieth century to the present we have witnessed the effects of technology on the way we consume and distribute information. The print media, which in many ways was the natural product of the printing revolution, has given way to the electronic media with websites providing the new “town squares” in which the public discourse is held on political, economic and social issues among others. The Israeli legal system, like the legal systems in other countries, faces a variety of challenges and complex ethical and legal issues when required to regulate (often retrospectively) the manner and processes through which the discourse will be conducted in the virtual “town hall”. In essence, this article focuses on one of the many questions occupying the Israeli legal system and that is whether website owners should be liable in defamation for speech published by third parties on the Internet (through blogs, tweets on Twitter, posts on Facebook,¹ uploaded video clips on YouTube and the like) when no connection exists between the third party and the site owner apart from the fact that the third party has used the website as a platform to publish the offensive speech. The issue of the liability of the website owner has ramifications for the injured party's capacity to institute an action for defamation against the website owner, as often only the latter will be in a position to compensate the injured party (financially) for the offensive speech. The Israeli legal system, which in many ways furnishes a unique and interesting framework for examining the question posed above, as we explain in the body of the article, presents a fascinating example of how the Israeli legislature and the courts have dealt and continue to deal with claims filed against website owners for damage to reputation as a result of speech published by third parties. The article offers a comprehensive review of the status of the right to freedom of speech, anonymity and the right to reputation in Israel, the considerations for and against the imposition of liability on website owners and the latest case law on these questions.     

A Human Right not to be Punished? Punishment as Derogation of Rights

In this essay, I apply international human rights theory to the domestic discussion of criminalization. The essay takes as its starting point the “right not to be punished” that Douglas Husak posited in his recent book Overcriminalization. By reviewing international human rights norms, I take up Husak’s challenge to imbue this right with further normative content. This process reveals additional relationships between the criminal law and human rights theory, and I discuss one analogy: the derogation by states of an individual’s human rights under specified conditions has certain similarities to the punishment by states of an individual who holds a right not to be punished. Along the way, I highlight the normative implications of defining a human right not to be punished under both generalist and specificationist perspectives on moral rights. Noting the similarities as well as the differences in the concepts of punishment and derogation, this essay aims to contribute to the exchange between theories of human rights and the criminal law.     

A time to regulate? Possible implications of European human rights law on abortion in Northern Ireland

Since the introduction of the Abortion Act 1967 the legality and status of abortion in Northern Ireland, being excluded from the provisions of the 1967 Act, has remained shrouded in uncertainty. In light of the introduction of the Human Rights Act 1998, this article will explore whether this inconsistency in the UK is in breach of the provisions laid down in Articles 8 and 14. It will be shown that while compelling arguments can be built under these provisions, perhaps the most persuasive arguments in favour of law reform are the inequities that the current legal regime has perpetuated.     

Should providers be allowed to extra bill for uncovered services? Debate, resolution, and sequel in Japan

Japan has managed to provide universal coverage at relatively low cost by containing prices and restricting the conditions for which services can be billed in the compulsory social health insurance (SHI) program. However, decline in Japan's economic growth ushered in new actors backed by the prime minister who proposed that the providers should be allowed to extra bill for services not covered by the SHI. In 2004 they took the strategy of drawing the attention of the public to areas where the rigidity of the current prohibition appeared to be unfair and ridiculous. They were opposed by the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare and the Japan Medical Association, who strongly objected on the grounds of safety and equity. The compromise reached by the two ministers in charge led to a clarification of the services that are to be covered and of the process for extending coverage to new procedures and drugs. The prohibition on extra billing has remained essentially unchanged, but the momentum for deregulation has been lost. In 2005 an alternate proposal was made to contain SHI expenditures by introducing a global cap on health expenditures and increasing out-of-pocket payment. Although this proposal was not fully adopted, the gradual decline in SHI benefit levels could lead to a renewed move to allow extra billing.     

Cloning: can it be good for us? An overview of cloning technology and its moral implications

Adequate answers to moral questions about cloning require a working knowledge of the science and technology involved, both present and anticipated. This essay presents an overview of the current state of somatic cell nuclear transfer technology (SCNT), the type of cloning that now permits whole organism reproduction from adult DNA. This essay explains the basic science and technology of SCNT and explores its potential uses. Next, this essay notes remaining scientific obstacles and unanswered moral questions that must be resolved before SCNT can be used for human reproduction. Attention is given to aspects related to cloning for therapeutic and research purposes.     

Can 14,737 women be wrong? A meta‐analysis of the LSI‐R and recidivism for female offenders*

Research Summary Over the past two decades, researchers have been increasingly interested in measuring the risk of offender recidivism as a means of advancing public safety and of directing treatment interventions. In this context, one instrument widely used in assessing offenders is the Level of Service Inventory‐Revised (LSI‐R). Recently, however, the LSI‐R has been criticized for being a male‐specific assessment instrument that is a weak predictor of criminal behavior in females. Through the use of meta‐analytic techniques, we assessed this assertion. A total of 27 effect sizes yielded an average r value of .35 ([confidence interval] CI = .34 to .36) for the relationship of the LSI‐R with recidivism for female offenders (N= 14,737). When available, we also made within‐sample comparisons based on gender. These comparisons produced effect sizes for males and females that were statistically similar. Policy Implications These results are consistent with those generated in previous research on the LSI‐R. They call into question prevailing critiques that the LSI‐R has predictive validity for male but not for female offenders. At this stage, it seems that corrections officials should be advised that the LSI‐R remains an important instrument for assessing all offenders as a prelude to the delivery of treatment services, especially those based on the principles of effective intervention. Critics should be encouraged, however, to construct and validate through research additional gender‐specific instruments that revise, if not rival, the LSI‐R.     

From vocational training to education: the development of a no‐frontiers education policy for Europe?

This article focuses on developments towards an EU educational policy. Education was not included as one of the Community competencies in the Treaty of Rome. The first half of the article analyses the way that the European Court of Justice and the Commission of the European Communities between them managed to develop a series of substantial Community programmes out of Article 128 on vocational training. The second half of the article discusses educational developments in the community following the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty of Amsterdam. Whilst the legal competence of the community now includes education, the author's argument is that the inclusion of an educational competence will not result in further developments to mirror those in the years before the Treaty on European Union. If the 1980s were a decade of expansion, the medium‐term future is likely to be one of consolidation.     

Governing complexity: How can the interplay of multilateral environmental agreements be harnessed for effective international market-based climate policy instruments?

International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics - Major new multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) have entered into force in 2016, including the Paris Agreement (PA)...