A retrospective comparative study to evaluate the reliability of post-mortem interval sources in UK and US medico-legal death investigations

Post-mortem interval (PMI) information sources may be subject to varying degrees of reliability that could impact the level of confidence associated with PMI estimations in forensic taphonomy research and in the practice of medico-legal death investigation. This study aimed to assess the reliability of PMI information sources in a retrospective comparative analysis of 1813 cases of decomposition from the Allegheny County Office of the Medical Examiner in Pittsburgh, US (n = 1714), and the Crime Scene Investigation department at Southwest Forensics in the UK (n = 99). PMI information sources were subjected to a two-stage evaluation using an adapted version of the 3x5 aspects of the UK police National Intelligence Model (NIM) to determine the confidence level associated with each source. Normal distribution plots were created to show the distribution frequency of the dependent variables (decomposition stage and source evaluation) by the independent variable of PMI. The manner, location, and season of death were recorded to ascertain if these variables influenced the reliability of the PMI. A confidence matrix was then created to assess the overall reliability and provenance of each PMI information source. Reliable PMI sources (including forensic specialists, missing persons reports, and digital evidence) were used across extensive PMI ranges (1 to 2920 days in the US, and 1 to 240 days in the UK) but conferred a low incidence of use with forensic specialists providing a PMI estimation in only 35% of all homicide cases. Medium confidence PMI sources (e.g., last known social contact) accounted for the majority of UK (54%, n = 54) and US (82%, n = 1413) cases and were associated with shorter PMIs and natural causes of death. Low confidence PMI sources represented the lowest frequencies of UK and US cases and exclusively comprised PMI information from scene evidence. In 96% of all cases, only one PMI source was reported, meaning PMI source corroboration was overall very low (4%). This research has important application for studies using police reports of PMI information to validate PMI estimation models, and in the practice of medico-legal death investigation where it is recommended that i) the identified reliable PMI sources are sought ii) untested or unreliable PMI sources are substantiated with corroborating PMI information, iii) all PMI sources are reported with an associated degree of confidence that encapsulates the uncertainty of the originating source.     

A Comparison of US and UK Asbestos Liability

This article compares the impact of asbestos liabilities in the U.S. with that in the U.K. The maximum exposure to asbestos in the U.S. occurred during the time period from the 1930s to the 1960s. In the U.K., the peak asbestos exposure likely occurred during the 1960s and the 1970s. Asbestos-related deaths are projected to have peaked before 1997 in the U.S. Asbestos-related deaths in the U.K. are projected to peak sometime before 2020—some 20 years after those in the U.S. In the U.S., asbestos-related claims are believed to have peaked around 2002. Given the anticipated peak in asbestos-related disease deaths in the U.K., the peak in asbestos-related claims in the U.K. will likely occur sometime after 2020. There are differences in judicial systems and victim compensation schemes (private and public) between the U.S. andthe U.K. However, trends in recent U.K. court decisions and regulatory activities (as well as increases in victim awareness, litigation, on-going discovery, victim support groups, and claim compensation) suggest that the U.K.'s current asbestos liability situation may be analogous to what the U.S. experienced in the mid-1980s, and that the impact on the U.K. courts and economy may be far from over.     

Earnings inequality in Hungary: A comparative analysis of household and enterprise survey data

This study examines trends in the distribution of gross earnings in Hungary since 1988, using official household budget surveys and enterprise-based earnings surveys. We find a significant growth in inequality since 1988, to levels comparable with western Europe. There is little evidence of a serious discrepancy between the two data sources used.     

Household composition,routine activity,and victimization: A comparative analysis

Adults living in single-parent households report high rates of personal and household victimization. Data from the 1982 British Crime Survey and from the 1983 Victim Risk Supplement to the U.S. National Crime Survey are used to determine whether this higher risk is due to particular patterns of routine activity among members of single-parent households. Findings indicate that these persons are disproportionately victimized by present or former spouses. Often unemployed, they are at greatest risk in the home domain. Deleting close prior relationship incidents eliminates the effects of household composition on personal victimization and produces logit models that are similar for the U.S. and British surveys.     

Distinguishing between homicide and suicide knots and ligatures: A comparative analysis of case and survey data

Distinguishing between suicide and homicide can be challenging owing to ambiguous and confusing case details. In particular, there is a paucity of useful information comparing homicide and suicide knots and ligatures in the literature. Multiple knot and ligature characteristics have not been recognized previously because complete and accurate information has been lacking. Ninety external tying cases (mainly homicide) and 56 cases involving self‐tying (mainly suicide) were reviewed to compare multiple knot and ligature characteristics. Additionally, 189 survey volunteers performed four standardized external tying tasks and two self‐tying tasks, yielding comparison data from more than 1500 knots. Using all available data, it was determined that the differences between external and self‐tying included types of knots, ligature configurations, ligature tensions, wrist gaps, wend lengths, knot access, external anchoring, and other indicators. These differences are presented in a proposed analysis checklist inspired by medical and psychiatric protocols. The checklist contains 14 potential characteristics for head and neck bindings, 14 potential characteristics for wrists and arms, nine ankle and leg characteristics, and four linkage details. The proposed checklist can be expanded and fine‐tuned as more data are accumulated. It offers experienced knot analysts an additional tool to assist in drawing conclusions, which then can be related to other case evidence by investigators.     

How to attribute the right to data portability in Europe: A comparative analysis of legislations

The number of online services is constantly growing, offering numerous and unprecedented advantages for consumers. Often, the access to these services requires the disclosure of personal information. This personal data is very valuable as it concedes significant advantages over competitors, allowing better answers to the customer's needs and therefore offering services of a better quality. For some services, analysing the customers' data is at the core of their business model. Furthermore, personal data has a monetary value as it enables the service providers to pursue targeted advertising. Usually, the first companies who provide a service will benefit from large volumes of data and might create market entrance barriers for new online providers, thus preventing users from the benefits of competition. Furthermore, by holding a grip on this personal data, they are making it more expensive or burdensome for the user to shift to a new service. Because of this value, online services tend to keep collected information and impede their users to reuse the personal data they have provided. This behaviour results in the creation of a lock-in effect. Upcoming awareness for this problem has led to the demand of a right to data portability. The aim of this paper is to analyse the different legislative systems that exist or have been recently created in this regard that would grant a right to data portability. Firstly, this article draws up the framework of data portability, explaining its origin, general aspects, advantages as well as its possible downfalls. Secondly, the core of the article is approached as the different ways of granting data portability are analysed. In this regard, the possible application of European Competition Law to prohibit restrictions to data portability is examined. Afterwards, an examination of the application of U.S. Antitrust Law is made to determine whether it could be a source of inspiration for European legislators. Finally, an analysis of the new General Data Protection Regulation is made with respect to the development of data portability throughout the European legislative procedure. This article makes a cross-examination of legislations, compares them with one another in order to offer a reflection on the future of portable data in Europe, and finally attempts to identify the best approach to attribute data portability.     

Commission's Action Plan to combat counterfeiting and piracy: right-holders, help yourself, and the Commission will help you!

The European Commission's Directorate General Taxation and CustomsUnion (DG TAXUD), in charge of the monitoring of border measuresunder Regulation 1383/2003, invited right-holders and otherinterested parties to an informal meeting in Brussels on 24February 2006.     

论场外金融衍生产品交易民事救济之合同责任——以英美法为视角

场外金融衍生产品是金融创新的重要成果,在套期保值、促进资本流通、控制 融资成本等方面起到了不可替代的重要作用.但是由于其高风险、高利润的特性,交易纠纷一直不断,当事人通过诉讼寻求司法救济已成为解决交易纠纷的重要途径.本文以金融市场发展和相关立法均较为发达和完善的英美国家为研究重点,从合同责任的角度探讨场外金融衍生产品交易纠纷的解决途径,结合典型案例总结出了主张合同无效和追究违约责任两类主要救济方式.     

英美近代治税思想之殊异考辨

学界相关研究中常常将近代英、美两国的治税思想都笼而统之于“no taxation without representation”这一英文句式表述之下,由于缺乏对其具体语境的进一步分辨,从而造成了对两国近代治税思想“同意同源”的混淆性认识.“no taxation without representation”在近代英国与美国的治税思想中并不具有统一一致的意涵而是各自代表着不同的思想表达,其分别体现为“无代表不得征税”与“无代表,不纳税”.在此基础上进一步阐明了两者虽在历史上就征税权的控制方面都曾起到过积极、进步作用,但是又都具有着各自深刻的历史局限性,而这种局限性恰是我们当下欲引鉴西方治税经验来构建自己的税制安排时所不应却也最易被忽略的.     

Privacy,stigma and public protection: A socio-legal analysis of criminality information practices in the UK

Criminality information practices involve public authorities in the UK (and elsewhere) gathering, retaining and sharing information that connects with an identifiable individual; all with the ostensible aim of upholding and improving standards of public protection. This piece first charts the landscape of contemporary criminality information practices in the UK today. The article then examines recent legal emphases and policy directions for public protection networks. Consideration is then given in the piece to privacy rights and values and the difficulties in providing an exact typology and grounding for these. The piece then outlines a suggested framework for correct legal regulation, as well as a through commentary on the work done by Catherine Bellamy et al. to empirically determine the extent to which public protection information sharing can in fact occur in correct adherence to legal regulation. A socio-legal analysis is undertaken of the nature of public protection networks as variants on Goffman's performance teams within a dramaturgical routine that foregrounds stigmatisation of perceived ‘risky’ individuals as an aspect of that routine. This piece also explores the processes of institutional isomorphism as a reaction to shifting policy directions and legal doctrines, acting as a driving force towards a hierarchical performance of criminality information practices by public protection networks. Three conclusions are offered up for consideration: firstly, that the growing complexity of the law and regulation relating to criminality information practices might improve privacy values in the criminal justice system and help to add precision to necessary processes of stigmatisation in relation to the aim of public protection. Secondly, that these shifts in the law still need ongoing revisions, in order that a hierarchical approach to criminality information practices can be arrived at over time. Thirdly, that if the permanency of potential stigmatisation through the indefinite retention of criminality information cannot change, due to the competing pressure on the criminal justice system from public protection duties, then consultation with ‘risky’ individuals where practicable, before criminality information connected to them is shared across public protection networks becomes essential as a privacy-enhancing value and practice.     

Evidence collection in the German, American and Chinese legal systems: A comparative analysis

After comparing different procedures of evidence collection in the German, American and Chinese legal systems, the author analyzes the reasons behind the differences: Each system is determined by its specific social culture and is compatible with the construction of the civil procedures of its own. Based on China’s specific social culture and its system of civil procedure law, the German style of evidence collection is in a better position to provide guidance for China in pursuit of justice.     

A comparative analysis of price,quantity, and mixed approaches for decentralized planning

Economic Change and Restructuring - No one approach is best along all of the four dimensions. The price approach maintains feasibility, where the other two do not necessarily. The quantity approach...