Abortion laws in African Commonwealth countries

This paper provides an overview of the range of current (1981) abortion laws in the African Commonwealth countries, traces the origins of the laws to their colonial predecessors, and discusses legal reform that would positively provide for legal termination of pregnancy. The authors claim that the range of these laws demonstrates an evolution that leads from customary/common law (Lesotho and Swaziland) to basic law (Botswana, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritius, Nigeria's Northern States and Seychelles) to developed law (Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria's Southern States, Sierra Leone, and Uganda), and, finally, to advanced law (Zambia and Zimbabwe). The authors call for treating abortion as an issue of health and welfare as opposed to one of crime and punishment. Since most of the basic law de jure is treated and administered as developed law de facto, the authors suggest decriminalizing abortion and propose ways in which to reform the law: clarifying existing law; liberalizing existing law to allow abortion based upon certain indications; limiting/removing women's criminal liability for seeking an abortion; allowing hindsight contraception; protecting providers treating women in good faith; publishing recommended fees for services to protect poor women; protecting providers who treat women with incomplete abortion; and punishing providers who fail to provide care to women in need, with the exception of those seeking protection under a conscience clause. The authors also suggest clarifying the means by which health services involving pregnancy termination may be delivered, including: clarification of the qualifications of practitioners who may treat women; specification of the facilities that may treat women, perhaps broken down by gestational duration of the pregnancy; specifying gestational limits during which the procedure can be performed; clarifying approval procedures and consents; and allowing for conscientious objections to performing the procedure.     

海运温室气体减排国际法律制度研究

介绍国际海事组织制定国际海运温室气体减排法律制度的背景,分析制定相关法律制度的可行性和形势,提出并探讨四个关键问题,即立法目的、共同但有区别责任原则的体现、法律文件的形式、是否构成海运服务贸易壁垒,揭示其背后深层次的政治、经济、技术和法律问题,指出国际海运温室气体减排法律制度将给船舶技术、国际海运贸易、航运经营与运营带来深远影响。     

Climate change and national laws across Commonwealth countries

This paper furthers the Commonwealth agenda on climate action by exploring the kinds of ‘practical and swift action’ that might be taken through national legal frameworks to implement the Paris Agreement. The paper reviews national laws of Commonwealth member countries as they currently apply to and intersect with climate change. The paper investigates legal measures that relate directly to implement climate change policy, including climate change legislation and regulatory instruments such as emissions trading schemes and energy efficiency measures. It also considers indirect legal measures that can provide ‘co-benefits’ in relation to climate change policy, such as waste legislation and air quality measures. The paper presents examples of these different kinds of climate intersections in different Commonwealth legal systems, highlighting examples of what has worked well and what has not worked well to date, within different legal, economic and political cultures, and in different geographies and climates.     

A Commonwealth of laws: at 60 and beyond

This piece considers decisions of the Commonwealth Caribbean where applicants have sought to challenge the economic rational or commercial decision of government in enacting legislation without expressly saying so. The courts have considered the question of whether parliament can legislate a reduction of salaries of public servants and privatize aspects of the public service. In the main, the courts in the Commonwealth Caribbean have been able to deal with the legal issue raised without opining on the underlying rationale for the legislation passed by parliament.     

Promotion and implementation of international humanitarian law: a Commonwealth perspective

This paper provides an update on some important developments and initiatives relating to international humanitarian law (IHL), with specific reference to the Commonwealth. In particular, the paper considers the promotion and implementation of IHL and highlights the importance of preventing and punishing violations of IHL. It also outlines key humanitarian themes and legal concepts.     

Fisheries management in Jamaica,international perspectives

Abstract

This paper examines Jamaica's efforts to implement of the conservation and management provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), bearing in mind that prior to 1982 there was an existing legal framework that sought to address issues relating to fisheries management. More specifically, the paper looks at the issues related to the conservation and management of straddling and highly migratory fish stocks under UNCLOS and subsequent agreements negotiated under the auspices of UNCLOS. It also addresses the problems Jamaica faces with the conservation and management of Queen Conch (Strombus Gigas), in particular, the UNCLOS provisions regarding access to such resource, taking into account the limitations to such access as regulated by the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).     

The Arms Trade Treaty and international humanitarian law: a Commonwealth perspective

The entry into force of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) in December 2014 created an historic opportunity to reduce the human cost of the widespread and poorly regulated supply of conventional arms. The treaty establishes common standards for the international trade of conventional weapons and seeks to ensure that weapons are not used in the commission of war crimes, serious violations of international human rights law and other offences. The paper reviews the definitions and the scope of the treaty and highlights the contributions made by Commonwealth member countries. It makes recommendations to Commonwealth member countries regarding effective implementation and their obligations.     

Police response to domestic violence: making decisions about risk and risk management

Assessing and responding to risk are key elements in how police respond to domestic violence. However, relatively little is known about the way police make judgments about the risks associated with domestic violence and how these judgments influence their actions. This study examines police decisions about risk in domestic violence incidents when using a risk assessment instrument. Based on a sample of 501 risk assessments completed by police in Australia, this study shows that a limited number of items on the risk assessment instrument are important in police officers' decisions about risk. Statistical analyses show that the victim's level of fear contributes to police officers' judgment on the level of risk and their decisions on which risk management strategy should be used. These findings suggest that research on police responses to domestic violence needs to pay greater attention to situational dynamics and the task requirements of risk-based decision making.     

Democracy,Subsidiarity, and Citizenship in the ‘European Commonwealth’

Is there a ‘constitutional moment’in contemporary Europe? What if anything is the constitution of theEuropean Union; what kind of polity is the Union? The suggestionoffered is that there is a legally constituted order, and that asuitable term to apply to it is a‘commonwealth’, comprising a commonwealthof ‘post-sovereign’ states. Is it a democraticcommonwealth, and can it be? Is there sufficiently ademos or ‘people’ for democracy to be possible?If not democratic, what is it? Monarchy, oligarchy, ordemocracy, or a ‘mixed constitution’? Argued: thereis a mixed constitution containing a reasonableelement of democratic rule. The value of democracy isthen explored in terms of individualistic versusholistic evaluation and instrumental versus intrinsicvalue. Subsidiarity can be considered in a similarlight, suggestively in terms of forms of democracyappropriate to different levels of self-government.The conclusion is that there is no absolute democraticdeficit in the European commonwealth.

     

全球重大灾难对中国城市防灾减灾的警示

文章简介了近年我国若干城市安全减灾应急工作及系统的快速发展，阐述了我国国家、省市及社会安全减灾应急现状，SARS及印度洋特大地震海啸灾害对其的促进和警示教训；进而纵论国际安全减灾应急体系近年概况，美、俄、日、法等国近年建立部级政府机构由来；最后指出我国这一领域的问题并提出我国安全减灾应急体系建设的体制、机制、法制；经费及国际合作等相应建议。     

Data and information theft in e-commerce, jurisdictional challenges, related issues and response of Indian laws

Data and information constitute a valuable resource both for the companies in general and individuals in specific. The traditional paper based transaction has been replaced by electronic transaction and now a day’s most of the valuable data and information’s are stored in electronic medium. Therefore data and information security have become a matter of great concern for every agencies acting on faith of e-transaction. In India there remains an added significance owing to the fact that a growing number of companies seek more centralized and less expensive methods of processing information, they’re turning to offshore outsourcing to fulfill many of their business and human resources processes. Data theft is not in itself a new concept, but has become an increasingly important issue in the digital age. The new mode of communication, its malleability, transmissibility, networking capacity, affect our lives in many and sometimes surprising ways, it requires that we find new legal solutions for new social questions.     

Law reform: in the Commonwealth,in small states and in the Caribbean

This paper first outlines the constitutional methods of law reform in the Commonwealth as a whole, in small states like those of the Caribbean, and in the Caribbean itself. It considers possible ways in which small states, which tend to have especially limited human and financial resources, might still be able to make greater use of independent law reform. The possibilities include the establishment of more Law Reform Agencies (LRAs), and greater regional co‐operation in law reform or even a Regional Law Reform Agency (RLRA). In this regard, it raises several issues for consideration, in its concluding paragraphs.     

UK Commission concludes international patent laws hinder access to medicines in developing countries

On 12 September 2002, the UK Commission on Intellectual Property Rights, an independent body established in May 2001 by the British government, released its report analyzing the impact of international agreements on patents. The report, Integrating Intellectual Property Rights and Developmental Policy, makes 55 recommendations "aimed at aligning [intellectual property] protection with the goal of reducing poverty".