Talking in the dark: Rules to facilitate open debate about lawful access to strongly encrypted information

Strong encryption can prevent anybody from accessing user data, including the technology companies responsible for its implementation. As strong encryption technology has become increasingly prevalent, law enforcement agencies have sought legislation to secure continued lawful access to the data affected. Following analysis of the encryption debates in the United States and the United Kingdom, this article will propose three rules that governments should follow to facilitate open debate and prevent the implementation of unsafe lawful access solutions. Firstly, we will provide context on current encryption policy. Secondly, it will be shown that continuous open debate must be facilitated in order to prevent the implementation of unsafe lawful access solutions. Finally, it will be argued that governments should be held to three rules when engaging in debate about lawful access: legislation governing lawful access must state clearly on its face whether decryption can be mandated; the encryption debate must not be oversimplified or reduced to emotive examples in order to secure public support for unsafe solutions; and safeguards on warrants must not be conflated with safeguards on lawful access mechanisms in order to suggest that solutions are safer than is actually the case.     

A Dutch perspective: the limits of lawful euthanasia

Dutch author Ubaldus de Vries reviews the current state of the euthanasia law in the Netherlands. The legislation, enacted in 2001, creates a medical exception that allows for euthanasia in cases where patients experience "hopeless and unbearable suffering." A brief history of the Dutch approach to euthanasia is set forth, case law is reviewed, and the unique role of the doctor is examined in seeking to understand the extent of one's right to euthanasia in the Netherlands. Because the courts must determine what constitutes "hopeless and unbearable suffering," Professor de Vries analyzes the judicial interpretation of "suffering" and concludes that judicial interpretation has reached its limits, and thus by implication, the limits of lawful euthanasia have been reached.     

Mental disorder and probation policy and practice: A view from the UK

This article is concerned with the manner in which offenders with mental illnesses serving community sentences are identified and treated by the probation service in the UK. It presents the results of recent research examining the prevalence levels of current and lifetime mental illness, substance misuse, and dual diagnosis and suicide rates amongst those serving community sentences in the UK. These high levels of mental disorder are not being addressed by probation policy or practice in a manner that is effective or sensitive. The article concludes by considering the relevance of innovative approaches to the treatment of offenders with mental illnesses in the community currently being adopted in the US to the UK.     

Fathers as carers in UK law and policy: dominant ideologies and lived experience

This article explores how working fathers are conceptualised within the UK’s work-family law and policy framework and whether a dominant ideology of fatherhood can be discerned. The socio-legal literature on men and masculinities is considered alongside established feminist theory on families, paid work and unpaid care to provide a backdrop to the analysis of current policy provision in this area. Three ‘ideal’ type ideologies of fatherhood are identified (‘absent’, ‘involved’ and ‘active’) which are used to critically examine the current legal framework. Despite claims to the contrary, the current framework supports and reaffirms the gendering of care so that the intransigence on the part of men and women to rebalance related responsibilities is unsurprising. The authors argue for a more care-centric approach to work-family policy in place of gender-specific normative modelling. A legal framework which enabled and encouraged all care providers to participate regardless of gender and biological relationship would not only improve the workplace experiences of women, but also enable men to develop and fulfil their care-giving aspirations and potential.     

Bringing science to life in Australia: the need for a new approach in human health biotechnology policy

This paper discusses the development of the biotechnology industry in the context of Australia’s industrial and policy structure. The paper outlines the size and structure and ‘stage’ of development of the biotechnology sector in Australia and argues for a policy approach that recognises the specific dynamics of the industry sector as it presently stands. It argues that government in a small country with a patchy industrial structure and where the local market is highly regulated and dominated by public sector institutions must play a central but more sophisticated policy role in the development of effective mechanisms for both knowledge generation and transfer in the emerging biomedical sciences.     

Access to health care for undocumented migrants: a comparative policy analysis of England and the Netherlands

The presence of undocumented migrants is increasing in many Western countries despite wide-ranging attempts by governments to increase border security. Measures taken to control the influx of immigrants include policies that restrict access to publicly funded health care for undocumented migrants. These restrictions to health care access are controversial, and evidence suggests they do not always have the intended effect. This study provides a comparative analysis of institutional, actor-related, and contextual factors that have influenced health care policy development on undocumented migrants in England and the Netherlands. For undocumented migrants, England restricts its access to care at the point of service, while the Netherlands restricts through the payment system for services. The study includes an analysis of policy papers and semistructured, in-depth interviews with various actors in both countries. Findings confirm the influence of such contextual factors as immigration considerations and cost concerns on health care policy making in this area. However, these factors cannot explain the differences between the two countries. Previously enacted policies, especially the organization of the health care system, affected the kind of restrictions for undocumented migrants. Concerns about the side effects of generous treatment of undocumented migrants on other groups played a substantial role in formulating restrictive policies in both countries. Evidently, policy development and implementation is critically affected by institutional rules, which govern the degree of influence that doctors and professional medical associations have on the policy process.     

Subject matter of copyright protection in the UK: a road map to effectuating statutory reform

The statutory framework governing the protection afforded various copyright subject matter in the UK, despite the predictability afforded by its closed list, has come under intense criticism over the last decade or so, with many scholars citing the need for urgent reform. Indeed, given the adverse range of responses in this regard, the question arises as to whether the UK should move towards a system that more closely resembles that of other Commonwealth Countries, such as Canada and Trinidad and Tobago, where a non-exhaustive or open list of protected works is provided for.     

Monitoring the uninsured: a state policy perspective

Because states have primary responsibility for the implementation of public health insurance programs, states need timely, good quality data to evaluate programs, monitor trends in the number and characteristics of the uninsured, and better understand the dynamics of health insurance coverage. This article provides a synthesis of the data sources available to states for monitoring rates of health insurance coverage. Information was collected through a comprehensive review of state and national health surveys and in-depth interviews with state analysts in all fifty states. Our findings suggest that national surveys do not meet states' needs for data, and in response, states have initiated their own household surveys. We provide information on thirty-six household surveys that are used to estimate state levels of health insurance coverage. We recommend that national and state efforts be better coordinated to facilitate efficient use of resources to achieve good state-level date.     

Assessing a moral panic relating to crime and drugs policy in the Netherlands: Towards a testable theory

Using criteria from recent work by Goode and Ben Yehuda, this article tests the hypothesis that a moral panic relating to (youth) crime has been going on in the Netherlands since 1990. Most of the criteria are met. There is concern about the problem of crime and a consensus on solutions. There are also indications that public disquiet grew out of proportion compared to trends in crime and victimization, and that the panic erupted fairly suddenly. It is not possible to identify a clearer scapegoat than a diffuse image of “the” criminal. It is unclear what caused this panic. It seems unlikely that the panic started as a reaction to public problems, but nor is it possible to state that elites started it or that it was caused by bureaucratic processes at an intermediate level. Several methodological problems connected with the testing of the criteria are discussed. It is recommended that one criterion be added: that of misdirection of reactions to a social problem. It is also recommended that future research should be comparative, either comparing several minor local panics, or comparing panics or non-panics related to equivalent social problems. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Public Reason and Religion: The Theo-Ethical Equilibrium Argument for Restraint

Most public reason theorists believe that citizens are under a ‘duty of restraint’. Citizens must refrain from supporting laws for which they have only non-public reasons, such as religious reasons. The theo-ethical equilibrium argument purports to show that theists should accept this duty, on the basis of their religious convictions. Theists’ beliefs about God’s nature should lead them to doubt moral claims for which they cannot find secular grounds, and to refrain from imposing such claims upon others. If successful, this argument would defuse prominent objections to public reason liberalism. This paper assesses the theo-ethical equilibrium argument, with a specific focus on Christian citizens. I argue that Christians should seek theo-ethical equilibrium, but need not endorse the duty of restraint. I establish this in part through examining the important theological concept of natural law. That discussion also points to more general and persistent problems with defining ‘public reasons’.     

论我国死刑制度的立法抉择和司法限制

人们日渐清醒地认识到死刑有失公正性和人道性。在废除死刑已经成为国际社会发展趋势的今天,由于我国目前尚不具备废除死刑的条件,控制和限制死刑的适用则成为我国刑法理论界与实务界的当务之急。本文以此为前提,分析了我国刑事立法的抉择,并提出了在司法实践中如何把握限制死刑适用的相关问题。     

Creating Entrepreneurial Universities in the UK: Applying Entrepreneurship Theory to Practice

In the modern knowledge economy higher educational institutions are being required to operate more entrepreneurially, commercialising the results of their research and spinning out new, knowledge-based enterprises. Like most large organisations, particularly those operating in the public sector, they are not traditionally suited to this role and often face the same sort of barriers to intrapreneurial activity as their counterparts in the private sector. In this note, the theories of entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship development are used to identify what needs to be done and a case example is provided.