The EU and Issues of Human Rights Protection: Same Solutions to More Acute Problems?

Academic literature repeatedly calls for the EU's accession to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 1950 (hereinafter Convention 1 ). Similarly, the Lisbon Treaty provides that the EU must accede to the Convention. [Correction made here after initial online publication.] This might seem odd as the European Court of Justice (hereinafter ECJ 1 ) has over the years developed abundant case‐law on human rights protection in the EU, and the EU has not so long ago adopted a, albeit non‐binding, catalogue of human rights (the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU (hereinafter Charter)). But after all these years, cases, and Treaty amendments, the EU is in fact going back to the ECJ's 1996 landmark opinion which recommended the EU's formal accession to the Convention, 1 already proposed in 1979 by the Commission. 1 One reason for this might be that, in the meantime, human rights issues have multiplied in the application of EU law, especially in areas such as the Second and Third Pillars where—at least initially—fewer human rights protection guarantees were foreseen.     

A pretty pass: when is there a right to die?

This paper, the 2002 Fison Memorial Lecture, reflects on the state of the law on the right to die, following the cases of Mrs Pretty and Ms B. Particular attention is drawn to a number of developments in the European Court of Human Rights.     

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.     

Intersections,Immigration, and Partner Violence: A View From a New Gateway—Baltimore,Maryland

This article reports on the results of exploratory surveys with immigrant women regarding their observations of intimate partner violence and criminal justice practices in their communities in the emerging immigrant gateway of Baltimore, Maryland. Using an intersectional/interlocking theoretical framework, it asks how nativity interacts with other social locations in the experiences of partner violence through surveys of women representing 5 language groups. The study found high levels of awareness of the problem of partner violence in immigrant communities and strong awareness of many U.S. criminal justice approaches to the problem. Although the women preferred informal sources of support in a situation of abuse, they strongly supported government intervention. We found low levels of awareness of the Violence Against Women Act as well as little support for the higher levels of prosecution for batterers, even though arrest was sometimes approved. The article calls for sensitive policies and practices that take into account the particular vulnerabilities of the foreign-born, especially in localities where national diversity is relatively novel.     

The ITS Directive: More than a timeframe with privacy concerns and a means for access to public data for digital road maps?

Roads are ever more congested, pollution keeps rising and traffic-related deaths remain at unacceptable levels. It is clear that society’s needs with regard to transportation and mobility have become unsustainable. Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) are often heralded as a potential solution to this problem, yet have still to yield tangible results. The EU has, however, adopted the ITS Directive, aiming for an EU-wide implementation of ITS solutions. Three questions are raised. First, can the ITS Directive really provide for the required substantial provisions in this field? Second, as ITS solutions are often deemed to be pervasive and intrusive, how does the ITS Directive interact with the EU legal framework on privacy and data protection? Third, given the involvement of private commercial entities in the field of providing road, traffic and travel data, can a public–private partnership be found to allow for the re-use of both public and private sector data in ITS solutions?     

From sidaway to pearce and beyond: is the legal regulation of consent any better following a quarter of a century of judicial scrutiny?

In 1987, following a period of increasing judicial activity, Margaret Brazier published her insightful article on the legal regulation of consent: Patient autonomy and consent to treatment: the role of the law? In her article, she exposed the flaws in the law following the House of Lords case of Sidaway. She considered the strengths and weaknesses of the alternative standards of disclosure: the professional or Bolam standard, the reasonable patient standard, and the particular patient standard. After noting that all of these standards have their problems, she suggested that the best way forward was for a national law and ethics commission to explore the issues before revising the law by legislation. Almost a quarter of a century following her article, Professor Brazier's criticisms remain aposite. In this article, I explain her view of the law in 1987 and then I examine the current law through the lens of her article and conclude that her recommendations still have strength.     

Informing Jurors of Their Nullification Power: A Route to a Just Verdict or Judicial Chaos?

The current studies sought to test whether explicitly informing jurors of their power to nullify the law does invite chaos, defined by jurists as undisciplined and biased juror judgment. A series of four studies examined juror biases predicated on defendant status, remorse, gender, national origin, penalty severity, and extenuating circumstances. None, however, were amplified by nullification instructions, providing little evidence that such instructions invite chaos with respect to the biases examined in these studies. To the contrary, several results suggested that nullification instructions simply encourage jurors to nullify when the strict application of the law would result in an unjust verdict. Limitations of the studies and public policy issues are discussed.     

The Human Rights Act – A New Equity or a New Opiate: Reinventing Justice or Repackaging State Control?

The proposed incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights into the main stream of the United Kingdom's common law system has a number of historical parallels. This article considers what can usefully be drawn from these parallels and then analyses why the modern state feels impelled to take (what appears to be) such a fundamental constitutional step. It considers whether the incorporation agenda is in fact a more subtle discourse initiated by the 'Establishment' and designed to divert attention from matters of greater sensitivity to the state.     

When Children are the Least Vulnerable to False Memories: A True Report or a Case of Autosuggestion?

In this case report, a legal case revolving around the reliability of statements given by a 6‐year‐old girl is described. She claimed to have witnessed her mother being murdered by her father. Two psychological experts provided diametrically opposed opinions about the reliability of her statements. One expert, a clinician, opined that the girl's statements were based on autosuggestion whereas the other expert, a memory researcher, stated that autosuggestion was unlikely to have played a role. This case and the analysis of the experts' opinions illustrate what may happen when experts in court are unaware of the recent literature on (false) memory. That is, recent studies show that autosuggestion is less likely to occur in young children than in older children and adults. The current case stresses the importance and implications of relying on memory experts in cases concerning the reliability of eyewitness statements.     

Is it Important to Examine Crime Trends at a Local “Micro” Level?: A Longitudinal Analysis of Street to Street Variability in Crime Trajectories

Over the last 40 years, the question of how crime varies across places has gotten greater attention. At the same time, as data and computing power have increased, the definition of a ‘place’ has shifted farther down the geographic cone of resolution. This has led many researchers to consider places as small as single addresses, group of addresses, face blocks or street blocks. Both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of the spatial distribution of crime have consistently found crime is strongly concentrated at a small group of ‘micro’ places. Recent longitudinal studies have also revealed crime concentration across micro places is relatively stable over time. A major question that has not been answered in prior research is the degree of block to block variability at this local ‘micro’ level for all crime. To answer this question, we examine both temporal and spatial variation in crime across street blocks in the city of Seattle Washington. This is accomplished by applying trajectory analysis to establish groups of places that follow similar crime trajectories over 16 years. Then, using quantitative spatial statistics, we establish whether streets having the same temporal trajectory are collocated spatially or whether there is street to street variation in the temporal patterns of crime. In a surprising number of cases we find that individual street segments have trajectories which are unrelated to their immediately adjacent streets. This finding of heterogeneity suggests it may be particularly important to examine crime trends at very local geographic levels. At a policy level, our research reinforces the importance of initiatives like ‘hot spots policing’ which address specific streets within relatively small areas.     

A ‘Life-Style Choice’ or a Philosophical Belief?: The Argument for Veganism and Vegetarianism to be a Protected Philosophical Belief and the Position in England and Wales

Liverpool Law Review - The recent judgment in Casamitjana Costa v The League Against Cruel Sports in England and Wales held that ethical veganism was a protected philosophical belief under...     

More Sanctions – Less Prison? A Research Note on the Severity of Sanctions Proposed by Survey Participants and how it is Affected by the Option to Combine a Prison Term with Other Sanctions

Public opinion has come to be given an increasingly important role in the crime policy debate of western countries. The task of problematising different pictures that emerges from different studies of public opinion on appropriate sentences thus becomes an important task. In this article the question is whether survey respondents, in their choice of reactions to crime, tend to propose shorter prison sentences when they combine the prison term with other measures? If so, different response instructions can lead to different conclusions as to what survey participants consider to be appropriate sentences. Earlier research points at such tendencies to some extent. In order to examine this question, two comparisons will be made. In the first, survey respondents who chose to combine a prison sentence with other measures is compared with those who chose to propose a prison sentence as the only sanction. In the second, participant who were instructed to only propose a single sanction will be compared with those who were given the opportunity to combine two sanctions. Both comparisons are made with regard to the lengths of the proposed prison sentences. No systematic differences emerge. The correlation between the length of prison term proposed and the choice, or opportunity given, to combine the prison term with other measures varies, for example, across the different offences examined. The choice of appropriate reactions to crime is based on a more advanced deliberation than whether different sanctions may be combined.     

A charred body inside a burning car with a garden hose connected to the exhaust pipe: Post-mortem self-immolation,a complex or a complicated suicide after the ingestion of alcohol? The importance of an interdisciplinary approach

The analysis of charred bodies represents a serious challenge for forensic pathologists, and an interdisciplinary approach is often the only way to determine the cause and manner of death. We present an unusual case in which the charred body of a 61-year-old man was found inside his burning vehicle. In order to determine cause and manner of death, an interdisciplinary team was employed, with experts in forensic pathology, forensic radiology, toxicology and fire investigations. Post-mortem computed tomography, autopsy and toxicology ruled out the presence of trauma injury and detected signs of vital exposure to fire and blood alcohol levels. On the other hand, according to fire investigations, the fire started inside the car and partially burned fragments of a garden hose were found along the right side of the car. A suicide could therefore be hypothesized, with the man having attempted to poison himself with the car's exhaust fumes and having set the car on fire. The death was consistent with a complicated suicide in which the victim, in a state of reduced capability, accidentally set his car on fire and was unable to escape. The hypothesis of a complex suicide, with the car having been set deliberately on fire, could not, however, be ruled out.