Polluting Environment, Polluting Constitution: Is a 'Polluted' Constitution Worse than a Polluted Environment?

The Indian Supreme Court has been praised as one of the mostsocially active courts in the world, especially so in the environmentalfield. Yet it is arguable that many of the benefits claimedfor judicial involvement are far from real. Three phases ofacti­vism are identified. In the 1970s, the Court developedthe concept of environmental rights based on ensuring that thedirective principles of state policy and the funda­mentalright to life contained the Constitution worked in mutual support.This was followed by a period when the Court extended liabilityprinciples. The most recent and most controversial phase hasinvolved the Court increasingly acting in an exec­utivefunction and effectively both making and implementing policies.The Court’s enthusiasm in environmental matters has nowdented India’s institutional balance. By being preparedto judicialise all problems of life into problems of law, theCourt has undermined the strength of citizens to engage collectivelywith institutions of the State—the Court should now withdrawfrom its self-imposed alchemist role.     

Is the Constitution the Trap? Decryption and Revolution in Chile

Law and Critique - We will examine the revolts, begun in October of 2019, and currently developing in Chile under three conjoined parts. First, we will not try to theoretically ‘tame’...     

Whose Reason or Reasons Speak Through the Constitution? Introduction to the Problematics

In the following paper sources of a constitution are put in question in general, and more specifically, the constitutional culture of the European Union Law is being investigated in-depth with regard to principles of deliberative democracy and rulings of the Court of Justice of the European Union. The change of a law application paradigm as well as the change of a legal systems?? nature are taken into account.     

Eyewitness Lineups: Is the Appearance-Change Instruction a Good Idea?

The Department of Justice's Guide for lineups recommends warning eyewitnesses that the culprit's appearance might have changed since the time of the crime. This appearance-change instruction (ACI) has never been empirically tested. A video crime with four culprits was viewed by 289 participants who then attempted to identify the culprits from four 6-person arrays that either included or did not include the culprit. Participants either received the ACI or not and all were warned that the culprit might or might not be in the arrays. The culprits varied in how much their appearance changed from the video to their lineup arrays, but the ACI did not improve identification decisions for any of the lineups. Collapsed over the four culprits, the ACI increased false alarms and filler identifications but did not increase culprit identifications. The ACI reduced confidence and increased response latency. Two processes that could account for these results are discussed, namely a decision criterion shift and a general increase in ecphoric similarity.     

Is the medicine right?

Is asking the Better Regulation Agenda (BRA) to answer the same preconditions it requires for any regulatory action a proper treatment? Does any assessment of the agenda necessarily imply a thorough definition of the costs and the benefits deriving from its application or is it enough to provide a few key insights to perform it? Is the BRA really so ideological, deriving from “a liberal analytical framework that considers no regulation/state intervention” as the preferred option? Is regulatory quality an issue that “cannot realistically be solved”? Does the principle of subsidiarity as a policy objective need some revision? Several questions come to mind when reading a very thought‐provoking article that is very critical of the BRA but that in the end recognises some of its main qualities.     

Is Plea Bargaining in the “Shadow of the Trial” a Mirage?

It has been well established that a ??plea discount?? or ??trial penalty?? exists, such that defendants who plead guilty receive significant sentencing discounts relative to what they would receive if convicted at trial. Theorists argue that the exact value of this plea discount is determined by bargaining ??in the shadow of a trial,?? meaning that plea decision-making is premised on the perceived probable outcome of a trial. In trials, the strength of the evidence against defendants greatly impacts the probability of conviction. In the present study, we estimate the probability of conviction at the individual level for those who pled guilty. We find that, contrary to the shadow of the trial model, evidentiary factors either do not impact or negatively impact the probability of conviction, which stands in stark contrast to the impact evidence has at trials. These findings suggest that plea bargain decision-making may not occur in the shadow of the trial.     

Is a domain name property?

Legal context. Domain names have become increasingly valuableassets, in some respects more valuable than trade marks. A domainname may identify not only the source of the goods, services,business or information, but also the virtual location of thesource, much as an address or telephone number does. However,there is still a significant unresolved issue as to whethera domain name is a form of intangible property or merely a contractualright. Resolution of this issue is important for commercialtransactions affecting domain names and for legal proceedingsand remedies relating to them. Key points. Domain names have been analogized by courts to addresses,patents, trade marks, and even by one writer to cattle. However,in this author's view, the best way to characterize the legalstatus of a domain name is by analogy to a telephone number.Although United States appellate authority suggests that a domainname is a form of intangible intellectual property, it is submittedthat the better, but not judicially clear or consistent, viewis that a domain name is not property. This position reflectsthe practice in Canada where, in registering a .ca domain name,the registrant agrees, as a contractual condition of registration,that it acquires no property right in the domain name. Practical significance. The authorities in this area are stillnot clear. Until this issue is resolved, whether globally oron a country-by-country basis, the prevailing uncertainty willinhibit commercial transactions involving domains, such as theirtransfer and their value for the purposes of securitisation.     

Is it a modacrylic fibre?

This study describes the characteristics of modacrylic fibres and includes over 80 samples (previous and current) representing 15 trade names. Fibre morphology was examined using brightfield microscopy. Signs of elongation were determined using polarised light microscopy. Fibre cross sections were also examined. The generic class of fibre was divided into sub groups using polymer composition as determined by FTIR-microscopy. Microscopically, some modacrylic fibres cannot be distinguished from acrylic fibres. Others display unusual optical and morphological features which are a strong indication of their generic class. The infrared spectra provide information about the co-monomer, termonomers added to produced dye sites, the presence of solvent residue, dyes, and additives, e.g. flame retardant material. The infrared spectra should always be recorded before and after any thin layer chromatographic examination of the dye, otherwise peaks attributable to dyes, which may be a valuable comparative feature in casework will be lost.