Hospital committee proceedings and reports: their legal status.

This Article examines the legal status of hospital committee proceedings and reports, focusing on how they may be used in a medicolegal context. Specific topics dealt with include the hospital medical staff in legal perspective, the concept of institutional responsibility, liability considerations arising from committee work, and the discovery and admissiblity of committee records in litigation cases. The author concludes that the danger of committee members facing liability for their activities is slight and that the fear that these reports and proceedings may be subject to discovery or be admissible into evidence in subsequent litigation is remote because candid and conscientious evaluations of clinical practices within every institution are essential and, therefore, public policy must encourage such evaluations by maintaining the confidentiality of committee activities.     

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.     

Minimal standards for the performance and interpretation of toxicology tests in legal proceedings.

There have been several high profile criminal and civil cases that have been litigated in recent years involving toxicologic analyses and interpretations of blood, urine, and other specimens for drugs of abuse. Disputes have erupted between prominent toxicologists and laboratory scientists as to the validity and interpretation of the data presented. The disputes centered around the fact that the procedures used in these cases had not been properly validated with analytical noise being misinterpreted as a positive result. As with any analyses, forensic tests must be conducted in a manner such that they meet the minimum standards accepted within the toxicology community. No conclusions as to presence or absence of drug, its concentration, or its physiologic effects can be made if there is a failure to meet these basic standards. Several cases are presented where these standard tenets may not have been followed.     

论职务发明人的权利及其立法保护

随着人们对创造性智力劳动作用认识的提高 ,职务发明人的权利越来越受到重视 ,如何确认并保护职务成果完成人特别是职务发明人的权利已经成为当今软科学的重要课题。本文阐述了确认职务发明人权利的意义 ,对职务发明人的权利内容作了较深入的探讨 ,并提出了职务发明人权利保护的立法建议。     

Child witnesses and the confrontation clause

InMaryland v. Craig, the United States Supreme Court relied heavily on a brief prepared by a committee of the American Psychology-Law Society on behalf of the American Psychological Association (APA). The APA brief concluded that sexually abused children may be particularly vulnerable to distress in the legal process, especially when forced to confront the defendant face to face, and that such acute distress may be inconsistent with the state's interests in promotion of reliable testimony and child welfare. APA also argued that psychological theory and research provide foundations for individualized determination of the need for measures to protect children from face-to-face confrontation. *** DIRECT SUPPORT *** AFE06051 00002     

Children's involvement in contested custody cases: Practices and experiences of legal and mental health professionals

The experiences and practices of family law attorneys, trial judges, and mental health professionals regarding the involvement of children in contested custody cases were investigated through a systematic and detailed survey. Results revealed that the level and manner of children's involvement was linearly related to a child's age as reported by all groups. Judicial jurisdiction was also related to whether children's wishes were sought and in what manner; specifically, Michigan judges were significantly more likely to interview children using flexible due process than Virginia judges. In addition, interview procedures used by mental health professionals and judges, such as length, making of records, and the presence of other individuals, differed significantly. The amount and complexity of children's involvement suggest that further research is needed to explore these complexities and their effects on children.     

我国体育法制建设中存在的问题及其应对策略

《体育法》颁布实施以来,我国的体育法制建设取得了重要进展,促进了体育事业的向前发展。但是,由于我国体育法制建设起点低、基础弱,其整体滞后的问题十分突出,已不适应飞速发展的市场经济的需要。因此,急需修改、完善《体育法》并加以配套实施。     

Dutch enforcement legislation may be used in order to obtain evidence for foreign legal proceedings

Parties may use the Dutch enforcement legislation in order toobtain provisional measures to preserve evidence which, oncepreserved, may be used in foreign legal proceedings, notwithstandingthe exclusive jurisdiction of another forum in another countryto decide on the merits of the case.     

Lack of clarity as a ground in opposition proceedings

This case concerns whether the opponent can raise clarity objectionsunder Article 84 of the European Patent Convention to thoseparts of the claims that were not amended in the new request.In addition, the case considers the admissibility of a new request(that is, new claims) filed for the first time in oral proceedingsbefore the Board.     

Disputes about corporate expression absorption and their legal remedies

Corporate expression is the expression that a company gives to the outside in its capacity as a legal entity. Often referring to resolutions made by shareholder meetings and the board of directors, based on good faith and bound by contractual spirit, a company must be held liable for its expression. Corporate expression absorption refers to the corporate behaviors and situations wherein the majority voting shareholders and directors replace the will of the minority voting shareholders and directors within their own will. Among them, the majority voting shareholders at a shareholders’ meeting (shareholders’ general meeting) are decision-making shareholders, and directors, managers and other senior management staff that decide corporate affairs are called decision-making members. Corporate expression absorption consists of two sorts: absorption by shareholders’ meeting and absorption by the board of directors. Shareholders’ meeting is a company’s authoritative organization; when the voting rights of some shareholders exceed the statutory limit, they will be able to manipulate the expression of shareholders’ meetings and replace the will of other shareholders with that of their own. The expression absorption by the board of directors refers to the practice wherein the majority directors decide on important corporate matters in accordance with the majority rule. Thus, it can be seen that the corporate expression absorption is a double-edged sword, not only capable of uplifting operational efficiency but also likely to help decision-making shareholders achieve personal gains and transfer corporate interests. As for the disputes of corporate expression absorption, the following legal remedies might be adopted: (1) Limit the voting rights of decision-making shareholders. (2) Provide shareholders with veto power over specific events. (3) Ask the chambers of commerce (industry associations) to arbitrate specific events. (4) Preserve the market value of shares held by dissenting directors. (5) Expand cumulative voting; (6) Provide shareholders the right to exit. (7) Legal remedies for corporate deadlock. (8) Shareholders’ derivative lawsuits. __________ Translated from China Law, No. 4, 2005     

美国法庭聘请专家证人的实践与启示

科学证据的审查判断向来是审判的难题.美国通过法庭聘请专家证人弥补法官的知识短板,履行多伯特案后法官肩负之科学证据守门人职责.这项制度在硅胶丰胸案中得以成功运用.广义上的法庭聘请专家包括技术顾问和《联邦证据规则》706条法庭聘请专家,分别具有不同的法理依据、职能与适用程序.该制度能避免专家证人的党派性,帮助事实裁决者采纳科学证据,甚至促进诉讼和解.但由于与当事人主义理念不符、增加诉讼资源的投入、法庭聘请专家也未必中立,其实践运用有限.它对我国专家辅助人制度有所启示:在职权主义基础上引入专家证人对抗式要防止过犹不及,避免专家辅助人党派性弊端.即使法庭聘请专家辅助人,也难以保证中立.从根本上解决法官的知识短板,促进法学与司法鉴定教育的融入,培养复合型法官是必由之路.     

从思科诉华为案谈发明、产业标准与知识产权——“企业技术标准与知识产权战略”专题之一

美国时间 2 0 0 3年 1月 2 2日 ,思科系统公司和思科技术公司 (以下统称“思科”) ,在美国得克萨斯州的Mashall联邦地方法院向我国的华为技术有限公司及其在美国的 2家子公司HUAWEIAMERICA ,INC .,FU TUREWEITECHNOLOGIES ,INC .(以下统称“华为”)提起诉讼 ,指控华为侵犯其知识产权。在这份被华为认为“长度有些夸张”的 77页起诉书中 ,思科指控华为在多款路由器和交换机中盗用了其IOS(互联网操作系统 )源代码 ,使得源代码中的文字符、文件名以及程序瑕疵都存在雷同现象。这份文件中罗列出的指控 ,还包括华为Quid way系…