A survey of communication skills needed and communication methods used in the dissemination of development information

This article reports on the results of a survey conducted on the role of change agents in the communication development process. Change agents working with twenty non-profit development agencies were asked to evaluate the amount of time they spent communicating development information, the communication skills and methods used, and the roles they play as change agents in the development process.     

Mortgages, seniors and the common law contractual doctrine of mental incapacity in Australia

Seniors in Australia are being called upon to mortgage their most precious economic asset, the family home. They may be asked to guarantee the liabilities of other family members by providing a mortgage-based guarantee or they may decide to enter into a reverse mortgage to supplement financially their savings and pensions. As the family home is the single most valuable asset for most older Australians, the creation of any obligations in regard to it ought to be undertaken with care and vigilance. While seniors are free to create mortgages, they may lack the capacity to understand the legal ramifications of these complex transactions or be unable to protect their interests when entering into them. It is not suggested that older Australians necessarily suffer a lack of contractual capacity. Many seniors are more than able to take care of their interests and assets. However, some seniors do suffer cognitive impairment which adversely affects their capacity to act in their best interests and to navigate the complexities of contractual relations. In contract and mortgage law, this raises the issue of mental incapacity.For centuries, the common law has recognized not only that mentally incapacitated people exist, but that they may enter into contracts such as mortgages and may later wish to have the mortgage set aside. The present formulation of the contractual doctrine of mental incapacity is the product of 19th century jurisprudence in which the courts framed the doctrine to accommodate commercial dealing rather than the interests of persons who lacked the necessary mental capacity. Accordingly, the doctrine has been very difficult to rely on successfully when challenging mortgages made by persons lacking capacity. Therefore, Australian litigators and courts alike have sought to deal with mental incapacity issues in the contractual context by using and modifying other doctrines (such as non est factum, undue influence and unconscionable dealing) in which the issue of capacity may be incorporated, but where mental incapacity need not be the sole or primary focus. While this had led to greater success for mortgagors, this has been at the expense of the common law doctrine. The article concludes by offering some suggestions as to how the doctrine may be modernized and mental capacity dealt with in a way both to empower competent seniors and protect those vulnerable seniors suffering cognitive impairment.     

Embedding employability in assessment: searching for the balance between academic learning and skills development in law: a case study

Employability related indicators and measurements are now a fact of life for UK law schools. Despite the omnipresent spectre of the employability agenda, there has been relatively little consideration given to the relationship between assessment and employability. The traditional teaching method used at law schools relies heavily on participatory small group teaching. This lends itself to developing oral communication skills. Surveys of employers show oral communication to be one of the most highly valued employability skills. Research, however, suggests that law students do not feel that oral communication skills are given enough emphasis on law programmes. Using the example of a new approach to assessment of the European Law module at the University of Bolton, which adopts an oral assessment alongside a traditional written exam, consideration is given to the benefits and practicalities of embedding employability in assessment. The extent to which this approach can be reconciled to liberal ideals is considered alongside pedagogical rationales for the assessment. In the final section, the article goes on to analyse student feedback on their perception of different assessment methods and employability. The article concludes by suggesting that, by focusing on pre-existing features of a liberal legal education, employability can be successfully embedded in assessment.     

The non-intervention doctrine and the protection of the basic needs of the human person in contemporary international law

Conclusion There appears a developing recognition by the international community that there are certain basic human needs that it is in the interests of the international community to ensure the protection of those needs and an international obligation placed upon states to ensure that the dignity of the human person is respected. Where a government is unwilling or unable to ensure such respect, then the international community may act, by forceful means if necessary, to give effect to those requirements.     

Bridging the gap: online materials to equip graduate entrants to a law degree with essential subject knowledge and skills

Graduate entrants to law degrees can be disadvantaged by being exempted from Level 4 modules. Many lack the law-specific knowledge and skills that they would have gained from their first-year studies, making it more difficult for them to achieve mastery of higher-level modules. This poses risks to their retention and progression. The Open University Law School sought to bridge this gap by providing optional online “catch-up” materials, including 12 sessions of knowledge-based learning. Each session was followed by a brief Moodle poll so that we could ascertain that session’s fitness for purpose, and which students had studied it. The sessions were highly rated by respondents, and most had been studied in the target time of around 15 minutes. Studying the sessions was statistically associated with academic success. This finding does not prove that the sessions contribute towards student's attaining higher grades, but it is encouraging. Only a small percentage of students studied any sessions, and most of those did not study all of them. Since the sessions met their intended purpose for those who studied them, the Law School has now decided on a range of initiatives designed to increase the number of LLB students who study most of them.     

Barcelona 2002: law, ethics, and human rights. Using the law to improve access to treatments

The XIII International AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa in July 2000 focused worldwide attention on the problem of accessing treatments in developing countries. In the interim, thanks to the work of activists - from demonstrations to court cases, and from acts of public courage by people living with HIV/AIDS to ongoing lobbying of politicians and trade negotiators - some very significant developments have occurred. But the reality is that the vast majority of people living with HIV/AIDS still lack access to affordable, quality medicines. This article, a summary of a paper presented at "Putting Third First: Vaccines, Access to Treatments and the Law," a satellite meeting held at Barcelona on 5 July 2002 and organized by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, the AIDS Law Project, South Africa, and the Lawyers Collective HIV/AIDS Unit, India, explores three approaches for improving access. In the first part, Richard Elliott provides an overview of the state of the right to health as embodied in international human rights law; comments on the experience to date in litigating claims to the right to health; and identifies potential strategies activists can adopt to advance recognition of the right to health. In the second part, Sharan Parmar and Vivek Divan describe price-control and drug-financing mechanisms used by industrialized countries to increase the affordability of medicines; and discuss how some of these mechanisms could be adapted for use in developing countries. Finally, Jonathan Berger describes the use of litigation in the courts by the Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa.     

Free movement of law students and lawyers in the EU: a comparison of English,German and Greek legislation

This article focuses on the linked themes of mobility within the European Union for law students and for lawyers. It highlights obstacles to cross-border legal education and legal practice across three Member States: England and Wales, Germany, and Greece. The European legal framework is outlined. The implications of recent case law of the European Court of Justice, on the conditions of access to higher education and financial support, are considered. Three main areas of concern are identified: admission arrangements; student finance; and the professional recognition of qualifications. The article compares the approach of the three Member States in each of these areas and explores conflicts between their domestic law provisions and European Union law. The article concludes by identifying ways in which ‘Europeanisation’ of legal education and the legal profession could be encouraged by facilitating law student mobility and by modernising the law curriculum.     

Brief for 885 law professors in support of maintaining adherence to the Roe decision

This brief opposes the overturn of "Roe v. Wade" and resists weakening "Roe's central holding" that would allow states to overturn legal abortion. The brief was written for 885 law professors. "Roe" was not a "constitutional aberration," or "an exercise of raw, judicial power." Some members of the Supreme Court seem to think that the state has "an overriding interest" in protecting fetal life. Some Court members have questioned "Roe's" trimester framework. A person's decision to abort should be done privately. If women are not free to choose abortion, they will not have equality. There is an absence of "express rights of privacy and procreational freedom" in the Constitution. "Roe" was 1 instance of the Court's recognition of constitutional rights that are not named explicitly. Historical materials are drawn on to show the link between trends in society and the "judicial recognition of unenumerated rights." The most serious questions about "Roe" deal with its trimester framework. Justice Blackmun's majority opinion said that the 1st trimester of pregnancy was personal. "Roe" said that abortions created a medical risk at the beginning of the 2nd trimester. Therefore, the government was more interested in the health of the mother at that time. The state could then regulate abortion "in ways that are reasonable related to maternal health." The start of the 3rd trimester was when the fetus was viable. The right of a woman to end her pregnancy "offends powerful moral forces." Some of "Roe's" critics had their scientific facts wrong. Medical authorities think Justice O'Connor is mistaken when she says that "Roe" is "on a collision course with itself." The 23rd to 24th week of pregnancies where the fetal organs can "sustain life outside the womb." This has not changed since "Roe" was decided in 1973, nor is it likely to in the future. Some "amici" believe that the state can never have an interest in the fetus. The state can not have an interest in the fetus distinct from the woman who will give birth to it. During previability, restricting a woman's procreational rights would not be scientifically supportable. The state does have an interest in "upholding the value of human life." "Roe" is "within the mainstream" of constitutional jurisprudence and should be reaffirmed.     

加入WTO与我国刑法理论的发展与调整

我国加入WTO后,刑法理论必须作出相应地调整.规范的犯罪概念、规范保护的利益等基本观念应更新;犯罪基本形态将发生变化;刑罚的应用亦应作出适当调整.     

环境治理和可持续发展：中国环境法的成就、问题和展望

本文阐明了中国环境法60年的发展概况、所取得的成就、所存在的主要问题以及今後的发展方向。主张在环境立法内容方面,加强有关环境治理、环境善治、公民环境权、环境民主、公秉参与、环境知情权、环境公益诉讼、政府环境责任及政府环境责任问责制方面的立法：在环境法学研究方面提出：促进研究范式从“主、客二分”到“主、客一体”的转变;促进环境法上的人的模式从经济人模式、主体人模式向生态人模式转变。认为环境法治理建设应该以可持续发展为目标,以生态文明为方向,以环境法治为灵魂,以维护环境正义公平为宗旨,以环境安全为前提,以人与自然和谐相处为核心,以环境民主为手段,以追求环境效益和环境效率为激励机制,以健全综合生态系统管理和环境“善治”机制为导向,充分发挥环境法律调整人与自然关系的作用,使其成为建设环境友好社会、资源节约型社会和生态文明社会的法律保障。环境法学应该研究生态化方法和综合生态系统管理理论,促进环境法向生态法转变,促进环境法律制度的生态化．