Both too much and too little: From elite to street crime in the transformation of the Czech Republic

A social capital theory of crime proposes that both excessively high and low levels of trust lead to crime. Low levels of trust are associated with predatory forms of street crime, while high levels of trust can lead to white collar crime and political corruption. This paper explores the role of social capital and trust in the causation of under and upperworld forms of crime in the rapidly changing circumstances of the Czech Republic. Connections between social capital and crime are the product not only of the transition to a market economy, but also of the problems of the pre-transition Czech society. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Functional mental capacity is not independent of the severity of psychosis

BACKGROUND: Function-specific mental capacities are the legal criteria for competence. These are regarded as superior to clinical assessments of mental state and general function. AIMS: To determine whether tests of fitness to plead and capacity to consent are independent of each other and independent of mental state and global function in psychosis. METHOD: The MacCAT-T and MacCAT-FP, PANSS and GAF were administered to 102 compulsorily detained forensic patients with psychosis. Criteria for incompetence were inability to express a preference concerning treatment, and independent rating as unfit to plead. RESULTS: MacCAT-T, MacCAT-FP totals and sub-scales correlated with each other and with PANSS and GAF. Those independently rated unfit to plead or who were incapable of making a treatment choice scored significantly worse on all rating scales. No test had satisfactory sensitivity or specificity. CONCLUSIONS: Legal definitions of mind and of functional capacity offer a basis for structured clinical judgement regarding decision-making capacity. However, function-specific measures of understanding, reasoning and appreciation generate much the same results as measures of mental state and global functioning.     

Res judicata in patent actions: is the law too entrenched?

The Court of Appeal rules that a patentee's entitlement to financialcompensation following the final determination by a UK courtthat its patent is both valid and infringed cannot be underminedby the subsequent revocation of that patent in opposition proceedingsin the EPO.     

替代医疗方案的法律解读

对于《侵权责任法》第五十五条中新出现的“替代医疗方案”一词,目前学界没有统一认识。笔者尝试对“替代医疗方案”相关的内涵、范围、告知策略以及因果关系判断等问题做一论述,以释明目前在该问题研究以及医疗过错司法鉴定时存在的思路不清、缺乏统一标准等问题。     

试论行政信息公开在构建和谐社会中的作用

行政信息公开是建设高效、廉洁政府的保证,他对构建和谐社会有着极为重要的作用。制定和完善法律法规需要通过信息公开了解利益相关人的需求和建议;公民自觉守法又是建立在广泛知晓法律、法规信息基础之上;信息公开可以有效遏止腐败;行政信息公开亦是政府的责任,它保证了公民的知情权。     

Giving the reasonable patient a voice: information disclosure and the relevance of empirical evidence

In England the standard of risk disclosure required of doctors to avoid liability in negligence is governed by the Bolam test. The test is determined by what would be accepted as reasonable by the responsible doctor. Although able to lay down an independent standard, the courts have usually been guided by the medical expert's evidence. The judge's duty to scrutinise expert evidence was reaffirmed by the recent House of Lords ruling in Bolitho v City and Hackney HA. In Pearce v United Bristol Healthcare NHS Trust, Lord Woolf MR confirmed that this also applied to risk disclosure. Brazier & Miola argue that Pearce effectively introduces the prudent patient standard into English law. This paper examines that claim and considers whether it is justified by the Pearce judgment. The implications of Pearce are explored and, given the appeal to the concept of a material risk, I discuss the relevance of empirical research to determining the standard of disclosure. Finally, a small piece of empirical work is presented as an illustration of the pros and cons of such an approach and as a possible springboard for future research.     

Ethical and safety considerations when obtaining information from or about battered women for research purposes

More and more researchers, evaluators, and policy makers are recognizing that in order to best understand the factors precipitating, supporting, and prohibiting intimate violence against women, we must often gather information directly from battered women themselves. Such data collection, however, is not without its risks to the women involved in such studies. It is important that researchers and evaluators consider ethical issues, especially but not limited to those related to safety and confidentiality, before attempting to gather information either directly from battered women or through their records or files. This article provides a number of practical strategies and protocols that have been used successfully when gathering sensitive information from and about women with abusive partners.     

对生态文明是“第四大文明”论的几点质疑——兼论生态文明与《环境保护法》的修订

生态文明建设是党的十八大报告中对社会主义社会建设的最新要求,也是新时期生态环境法治建设的航向标。然而有法学学者在研究生态文明的过程中,将生态文明描绘为非人类向往的,是人类无奈选择的,适应性的,非人类创造性的第四大文明。笔者认为该论是对生态文明根本的误读,不利于展开正确的法学研究,应当予以分析并澄清。