The types of self-injuries in those sentenced to prisons]

A classification of self injuries of condemned subjects is suggested, based on analysis of the literature data and the author's own findings. The etiopathogenetic sign (the method of self injury infliction) underlies this classification.     

Males,medical mutilation and the law: some recent developments

Two recent decisions of the English Court of Appeal--Re J (Specific Issue Orders: Child's Religious Upbringing and Circumcision) [2000] 1 FLR 571 and Re A (Male Sterilisation) [2000] 1 FLR 549--raise serious issues relating to controversial matters involving law and medicine and deserve wider consideration than in their jurisdiction of origin. This article discusses the practical and policy implications of these cases and places them in the appropriate context.     

Dismemberment and mutilation (2)

31 cases of criminal dismemberment or mutilation were investigated in the period from 1959 to 1987 at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Hamburg. With regard to all legal autopsies the average frequency was about 1:500. A distinct increase of the number of cases is noticeable within the last years; i.e. 1984 there were 6 victims. Our study enclosed the autopsy findings, the police investigations and the available court records. 12 cases were classified as defensive and 14 cases as offensive dismemberment of bodies; 2 cases of necrophilous dismemberment occurred after stealing the corpse and 3 victims were killed by intravital decapitation or mutilation. The victims were of all ages, but mainly between 20 and 60 years old; 22 of them were female and 9 male. 23 perpetrators could be identified; 18 of them were male and 5 female, most of them were between 30 and 40 years of age. The psychiatric expertises classified 17 of the perpetrators as "normal", 3 as abnormal and 3 as psychotic. Many morphological and criminological details concerning victims, perpetrators, used instruments for killing and dismembering, elimination and identification of the dismembered bodies and some juridical aspects are presented.     

Medical and legal aspects of genital mutilation and circumcision part I: female genital mutilation (FGM)

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is considered to be against the law and against morality not only in Western countries, although a woman of age and able to consent may sometimes think differently. The procedure may have serious physical and emotional consequences for the girl or woman. Nevertheless there are attempts to justify the procedure with medical and hygienic pseudoarguments, ideology, freedom of religion, cultural identity and social adequacy. Outside the Western world, some people claim that religion and culture alone justify the practice. In Germany, parents can lose the right to determine the residence of their daughter, if she is faced with the risk of genital mutilation in order to prevent that the child or girl is taken to her home country. Genital mutilation as a gender-specific threat is recognized as a reason to grant asylum or prevent deportation. Proposals to make genital mutilation a separate punishable offence are presently discussed by the legislator.     

The terminology and classification of the polymer components of ammunition

Variant of general classification of ammunition polymer components (APC) is suggested and terminology of trace-forming parts of some APC for practical use is presented. The author shows mechanism of APC substance trace formation upon the obstacles and gives their terminology.     

Stem cell terminology: practical, theological and ethical implications

Stem cell policy discussions frequently confuse embryonic and fetal sources of stem cells, and label untested, non-reproductive cloning as "therapeutic." Such misnomers distract attention from significant practical and ethical implications: accelerated research agendas tend to be supported at the expense of physical risks to women, theological implications in a multi-faith community, informed consent for participation in research, and treatment decisions altered by unrealistic expectations.     

Children's knowledge of legal terminology

The present study examined age-related patterns in communicative abilities relevant to providing testimony, specifically, knowledge of legal terms commonly used with children in court. Subjects were 60 public school students comprising 3 groups of 20 each in kindergarten, third, and sixth grades. Grade-related patterns emerged in children's knowledge of legal terms and in their misunderstanding of terms. Results suggest that age-appropriate word choice in the examination of child witnesses may be an important factor in eliciting accurate testimony. Potential mediators of the relation between age and accurate knowledge of legal terminology (i.e., verbal skills, television, viewing of court-related programs, direct experience with the legal system) also were explored. Implications for future research, court preparation, and training of legal professionals in age-appropriate examination of children are discussed.This study was funded in part by an award to Karen Saywitz from the Harbor-UCLA Collegium. The authors wish to thank the Torrance United School District, Mrs. Diana Bowlby, and Dr. Peter Mundy for their invaluable assistance.     

Definitions and terminology regarding child alignments,estrangement, and alienation: A survey of custody evaluators

Parental alienation (PA) is a highly consequential family dynamic that causes harm to children and parents. While many mental health and legal professionals agree that PA is common and potentially very harmful to children, there is still the appearance that there is controversy and discord in the field. The purpose of this study was to test the extent of consensus in the field regarding the basic tenets of PA theory. Specifically, 11 key terms related to PA were identified through expert input and preliminary field-testing. An on-line survey was created specifically for the study to assess level of agreement with these key terms among custody evaluators. This profession was selected because of their high degree of training and experience with a variety of family conflict situations; 119 child custody evaluators selected as members of a professional custody evaluator listing (88% response rate) rated their endorsement of these 11 key definitions with response options including: strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, and strongly disagree. Results revealed that roughly 80% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with each of the 11 definitions. These results demonstrate a high degree of consensus and should guide future trainings of legal and mental health professionals to ensure a common language and understanding of this phenomenon.     

RituaL mutilation. Subincision of the penis among Australian Aborigines

Subincision of the penis is a traditional ritual mutilation unique to the Aborigines, the indigenous people of Australia. The mutilation is a urethrotomy in which the undersurface of the penis is incised and the urethra slit open lengthwise. Subincision is one element in the initiation of Aboriginal youths. In later ceremonies, repeated throughout adult life, the subincised penis is used as a site for ritual bloodletting. There also exists a ritual of penis holding which occurs when a subincised man enters a strange camp. The origin of subincision and the reason for its localization to the Australian continent has not been satisfactorily explained. The mutilation is still performed among tribal Aborigines, and identifies a man as holding a position of status within the tribe.     

Medical and legal aspects of genital mutilation and circumcision. Part II: Male circumcision

In the last few years, male circumcision has become the subject of controversial discussion. On the one hand, medical and hygienic arguments, ideology, freedom of religion, cultural identity and social adequacy are claimed by those supporting male circumcision. On the other hand, the justification of this practice also has to be critically scrutinized just as the question whether the parents have the right to consent to the operation. Today, opinions range from those who claim that religion and culture alone justify the practice to those who consider circumcision of minors unable to give their consent as bodily injury subject to punishment. In contrast to female genital mutilation, most positions do not postulate that circumcision violates morality. If the person concerned is able to give his consent, freedom of religion may also justify circumcision after weighing its pros and cons as well as its risks and potential side effects.     

An analysis of the implementation of laws with regard to female genital mutilation in Europe

This paper presents results of a survey on legislation regarding female genital mutilation in 15 European member states, as well as the results of a comparative analysis of the implementation of these laws in Belgium, France, Spain, Sweden and the UK. The research showed that although both criminal laws and child protection laws are implemented a number of difficulties with the implementation of these laws remain. The article suggests that efforts should primarily focus on child protection measures, but also on developing implementation strategies for criminal laws, and concludes with suggestions to overcome the obstructing factors to implement laws applicable to FGM in Europe.

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Victim's scalp on the killer's head. An unusual case of criminal postmortem mutilation

A case of unusual postmortem mutilation of a victim's body is presented. After killing his father, the son decapitated his body and dissected the scalp free, forming a mask of the father's head and neck. The young man wore the scalp-mask over his own head to imitate the father. The motive of the murder was revenge, and the postmortem mutilation was the realization of the perpetrator's fantasies, symbolically representing a penalty for the reprehensible past life of his father.     

Human genetic research databases and biobanks: towards uniform terminology and Australian best practice

This article examines international best practice for the establishment, maintenance and use of human genetic research databases (HGRDs), particularly focusing on large-scale population biobanks, and considers the measures that should be taken in Australia to comply with this best practice. These HGRDs play a pivotal role in basic research aimed at understanding the basis of human disease at the genetic level, and applied research aimed at putting that basic knowledge into practical application. In particular, the large-scale biobanks are vital research tools in the drive to uncover the causes and consequences of human health and disease. Biobanks are being established at regional, national and international levels throughout the world. Although their governance structures are uniformly complex, some best practices are emerging with regard to consent (particularly consent to future research and withdrawal of consent), privacy and data protection and intellectual property ownership and access. Best practices with regard to benefit-sharing are emerging much more slowly. This article reviews these international best practices with the aim of providing guidance for the development of appropriate regulatory structures in Australia.     

Proposals on standardization of the terminology used in assessing quality of medical service

The terms and notions used in assessment of medical care quality are sometimes ambiguously interpreted. The authors propose a complex approach to standardization of terminology used for assessment of medical care quality.     

Differentiating cause-of-death terminology for deaths coded as sudden infant death syndrome, accidental suffocation, and unknown cause: an investigation using US death certificates, 2003-2004

We compared written text on infant death certificates for deaths coded as sudden infant death syndrome (R95), unknown cause (R99), and accidental suffocation (W75). Using US mortality files supplemented with the death certifiers' written text for all infant deaths with International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10 assigned codes R95, R99, and W75, we formed cause-of-death subcategories from common themes identified from the written text. Among all infant deaths in 2003-2004, the underlying cause of death was listed as R99 for 2128 deaths, R95 for 4408 deaths, and W75 for 931 deaths. Among the postneonatal deaths, the differences in subcategories varied between assigned ICD-10 codes: for R99-coded deaths, 45.8% were categorized as "Unknown" and 48.6% as "Pending"; for R95-coded deaths, 67.7% were categorized as "sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)"; and for W75-coded deaths, 76.4% were categorized as "Suffocation." Examination of the written text on the death certificates demonstrates variability in the assigned ICD-10 codes which could have an important effect on the estimates of SIDS cases in the United States.     

合同法上合理性术语适用之法哲学观察

一、引言 1999年颁行的合同法大量地借鉴了西方发达国家的立法经验,吸收了其较为成功的立法成果.这一方面体现在合同法中新添加的诸如履行抗辩权、根本违约及可预见损失规则等具体新制度上,另一方面体现在对西方尤其是英美国家的合同法观念的采纳上,如作为本文研究对象的合理性术语的大量采用.在适用合同法的司法实践中,使我国的法官们感到困惑的主要是与后一方面相关的规定.前一方面的规定虽然也可能使法官们感到陌生,乍一适用很不顺手,但随着时间的流逝,陌生自可变为熟悉,渐达卖油翁名言"只不过手熟罢了"之境.