Gathering at the AOSIS: perceived cooperation among Pacific Small Island States

The Association of Small Island States occupies a unique role at the United Nations (UN) whereby it advocates on behalf of islands states (and those with similar geographies) on issues from climate change to development to economic initiatives and trade. As part of a larger research endeavor, interviews were conducted with the AOSIS representative (or a knowledgeable delegate) from over a dozen Pacific Small Island States (PSIS) with regard to climate change planning and preparation. This research is unique in that approximately three-quarters of the sought-after island states agreed to give anonymous, non-attributable interviews about diplomatic and sensitive topics. This particular subset of the research question focused upon how PSIS self-perceive their participation and membership in the only island-based organization at the UN level speaking on behalf of islands and whether their understandings and assessment of AOSIS merged with theoretical frameworks describing productive and fruitful multijurisdictional cooperation. The findings from the research illustrate that PSIS overwhelmingly identify AOSIS as an organization that provides a stable and cooperatively balanced organizational structure that promotes collaboration and solidarity across the Pacific. With the research questions focused on climate change in particular, respondents’ answers indicate an organization seen as successfully and effectively following many of the theoretical tenets of a collaborative- and cooperative-based type of governance, often only seen in hypothetical, literature-based examples.     

The Bali Road Map: Can it Deliver an Equitable Post-2012 Climate Agreement for Small Island States?

The ambition and architecture of the post-2012 climate change regime will be critical to the survival of many small island developing nations, many of which are low-lying, vulnerable to the impacts of sea-level rise and exposed to increasingly frequent and severe extreme weather events. This paper highlights the key outcomes sought by the Alliance of Small Island States in the international negotiating process on the post-2012 regime and compares these calls with what has been achieved thus far. The paper concludes that while little progress has been made to date, useful avenues for progress do exist if only the political will can be found.     

保险定损权探析——以交通事故定损为例

保险定损是保险理赔最重要环节,而定损权行使主体的不同直接关乎保险合同当事人的权益。为提高保险定损权的权威性和公正性,其基本路径在于强化保险公估机构的法律地位,完善相关法律制度,提高公估机构的公信力。     

Use of an Automated Nested Multiplex Respiratory Pathogen PCR Panel Postmortem in the Pediatric Forensic Setting

Respiratory pathogens have been detected in forensic investigations using multiple techniques; however, no study has examined the use of automated, nested, multiplex polymerase chain reaction (ANM‐PCR), commonly used in living patients, in the forensic setting. This retrospective study assessed the utility of ANM‐PCR in detecting respiratory pathogens in the pediatric forensic setting. Respiratory samples from 35 cases were tested for up to 20 respiratory pathogens. 51.4% of these cases yielded a positive ANM‐PCR result, 20% of which were considered the cause of or contributory to death. The most commonly detected pathogens were rhinovirus/enterovirus and respiratory syncytial virus, and these were the only pathogens determined to play a significant role in cause of death. The sampled sites and postmortem intervals tested did not affect the likelihood of a positive or negative test. ANM‐PCR panels are effective, affordable, and rapid ancillary tools in evaluating cause of death in the forensic pediatric population.     

Alternatives for an Arctic Treaty – Evaluation and a New Proposal

This article examines the alternative proposals for an Arctic treaty that have been put forward by scholars and international organizations. The numerous proposals on record draw their inspiration from various sources: chief among these is the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS), but maritime regimes and even principles such as the common heritage of humankind are represented as well. The goal of the article is to examine the proposals in depth to ascertain what is viable and what is problematic in each. This analysis will help in outlining a new treaty that can accommodate both the political realities in the Arctic and the societal goals pursued in the region.     

Guilty Pleas in an Inquisitorial Setting – An Empirical Study of France

Anglo‐American guilty pleas have inspired criminal justice reformers in many inquisitorially based systems in recent years, in response to caseload pressures. In France, two different procedures based on the defendant's confession were introduced in 1999 and 2004 respectively: an out‐of‐court disposal (the composition pénale) and a prosecution pathway (the comparution sur reconnaissance préalable de culpabilité). Basing its analysis upon direct observations and interviews with French public prosecutors, this article examines the impact of these procedures on the French criminal justice system and its actors. Rather than a move from an inquisitorial to a more adversarial system, data collected for this study show a bureaucratization of the French criminal justice process. The role of public prosecutors is changing from that of judicial officers to caseload managers who have delegated part of their workload to less qualified staff for efficiency purposes.     

The Scavenging Patterns of Feral Cats on Human Remains in an Outdoor Setting

Two cases of feral cat (Felis catus) scavenging were documented at the Forensic Investigation Research Station in Whitewater, Colorado. Human remains at the facility are placed outside, observed daily, documented with field notes, and photographed; decomposition is scored on a Likert scale. Scavenger activity is monitored with game cameras. The cases documented included: preferential scavenging of the soft tissue of the shoulder and arm, differential consumption of tissue layers, superficial defects, and no macroscopic skeletal defects. This pattern more closely parallels the documented pattern of bobcat (Lynx rufus) scavenging than that of domestic cats. Scavenging among felids is relatively rare, as felids typically prefer to hunt. Such cases studied in detail are relatively few, spatially relative, and lack statistical robustness. While only two examples are reported here, these cases are rare overall, and this documentation may help field investigators understand the place of feral cats within a local scavenger guild.     

The Patients’ Rights Directive (2011/24/EU) – Providing (some) rights to EU residents seeking healthcare in other Member States

This article presents the main elements of Directive 2011/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2011 on the application of patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare, commonly known as the Patient’s Rights Directive. It is the latest EU initiative with regard to European Health Care and the Single Market. The main elements of the Directive contain provisions related to the prior authorisation of health care in another Member State, the reimbursement of such health care and the removal of unjustified obstacles to achieving these aims.These provisions largely reflect the recent case law of the European Court of the Justice (ECJ). Amongst these are provisions involving the use of personal data. Such provisions will engage data protection issues and will have to be carried out according to the data protection directives. Alongside this primary aim of codifying ECJ case law the Patient’s Rights Directive also introduces novel initiatives aimed at fostering cross border cooperation between various elements of national healthcare systems.Part 1 of this contribution will describe the legal basis and the aims of the PRD, Part 2 will describe the principle obligations placed on the Member States with regard to reimbursement, Parts 3 and 4 will describe other informational and procedural requirements placed upon the Member States of Treatment and Affiliation. Finally Part 5 will outline some of the novel initiatives that have been included in the PRD.The increases in the frequency of cross border-treatment that this directive attempts to facilitate are likely to see a concurrent increase in cross-border patient information flows. Such data flows will be subject to the Union’s provisions on Data Protection. It remains uncertain whether the EU’s Data Protection regime will act as inhibitor to cross-border medical treatment or rather represent a gold standard that allows patients to engage in such activities with peace of mind. The Patient’s Rights Directive will form part of the EU’s future e-Health strategy which envisages a large increase in the fluidity of patient data. A discussion of this directive is therefore merited in this journal.