Jews’ and Arabs’ Perceptions of Inter-Group and Intra-Group Date Rape

The study examined the influence of three factors on rape responsibility attributions: subjects’ gender, subjects’ ethnicity, and victim and perpetrator’s ethnicity. Participants were 247 undergraduate students in Israel (164 Jews and 83 Arabs). The most revealing findings are connected with the threefold interaction between the factors studied. It was found that Arab males and females, members of the minority ethnic group, tended to assign more responsibility to a victim involved in inter-group relationships, whereas Jewish males and females, members of the dominant majority group, attributed more responsibility to a victim involved in intra-group relationships. More specifically, Arab males attributed more responsibility to an Arab victim raped by a Jew, while Arab females attributed more responsibility to a Jewish victim raped by an Arab. Among Jews, males attributed more responsibility to an Arab victim raped by an Arab, and females attributed more responsibility to a Jewish victim raped by a Jew. Several ways to explain these interactions are suggested.     

The European Trips-Plus Model and The Arab World: From Co-Operation to Association— A New Era in the Global IPRS Regime?

The advocation of stronger and higher levels of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) protection has been on the rise in recent years, particularly since the establishment of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 1995. Although its establishment signalled the beginning of a new phase in the protection of IPRs internationally, no more than a decade later, it is seen that such a regime is still undergoing a number of significant changes. In this regard, the rise of bilateralism and the retreat of multilateralism resulted in the so-called ‹TRIPS-Plus’ recipe in which developing countries are increasingly giving way to the demands of the industrialised countries through incorporating higher levels of IPRs protection domestically. Although the USA has often been viewed as the primary advocator and enforcer of the TRIPS-Plus recipe globally, this article shows that in fact the European Union (EU) advocated the TRIPS-Plus recipe long before the USA. Thus, this article discusses the case of the European TRIPS-Plus model with the Arab World as a clear demonstration of such a trend. Developing and Arab countries are now faced with two determined superpowers acting at both the unilateral and bilateral levels to achieve their desired higher standards of IPRs protection worldwide. This will further erode the flexibilities of the TRIPS Agreement, and will entail grave repercussions for both the developing and Arab countries. LLM, PhD, Lecturer in Law, University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN), UK. The author may be contacted at mel-said@uclan.ac.uk     

How unique is the Western European marriage pattern?: A comparison of nuptiality in historical Europe and the contemporary Arab world

In this article a comparison is drawn between the historical Western European marriage pattern (WEMP), and more recent trends in nuptiality in Arab countries. This comparison makes clear that marriage behavior in the present-day Arab world shows striking similarities to nuptiality patterns which have been described by Hajnal and adherents as typically Western European. Due to a combination of economic hardship, ever growing costs in the marriage ceremony, prolonged education and the emancipation of women, people in the Arab world have started to marry at ever higher ages during the past decades. Moreover, there are indications that universal marriage is in decline. Just as Western European couples in the nineteenth century had to spend years of saving in order to meet the economic requirements for marriage, young couples in today's Arab world have to postpone marriage as they are only at a more advanced age able to bear the economic burden involved in getting married. Striking is also the fact that marriage restriction in both societies started at a moment when the social and legal position of women was improving (in late Medieval Western Europe and today in the Arab world). However, in some ways the historical Western European marriage pattern differs from the contemporary Arab pattern. No other marriage regime has been able to completely reduce fertility and balance population growth to economic development. Whereas population growth in pre-twentieth century Europe was only restricted by nuptiality control, demographic expansion in present day Arab society is also restricted by modern family planning. Declining nuptiality in the Arab world can however not, as some might assume, be put under the header of the Second Demographic Transition observed in Western societies, from the 1960s on. After all, until today, a rise in cohabitation and extra-marital births has not occured in the Arab world.     

Jewish population genetic data in 20 polymorphic loci

Frequency data of 20 polymorphisms (13 autosomal and 6 Y-chromosome STRs and the Alu-insertion YAP) were determined in a sample of 124 unrelated Jewish individuals from Ashkenazi, Sephardic, North African and Oriental origin. The a priori statistical power of the set of studied loci was highly discriminating (PD=1 in 2.393 E+15 individuals for autosomal STRs, and a probability of finding two unrelated males with the same haplotype of less than 0.01). Some significant population differences were registered between Jews and other Circummediterranean populations in Y-chromosome loci frequencies.     

Overland and By Sea: Eight Centuries of the Jewish Presence in China

The several Jewish communities discussed are those in Kaifengand in Shanghai. The presence of the earlier and the later settlersraises several questions. How did the Kaifeng Jews retain theiridentity as Jews for several centuries while becoming part ofChinese society? Whereas the initial group of arrivals in Shanghaiconsisted of traders, the twentieth-century groups were refugees.Why were large numbers of Central European Jews able to landin Shanghai when most countries closed their doors to them?     

Procedural justice,minorities, and religiosity

The current research explores six hypotheses derived from the well-known procedural justice-based model of legitimacy in two different religious groups in Israel, and adds to the model the effect of religiosity on the perceived legitimacy of rules and institutions of social control. Our results, based on data from a representative sample of 1,216 Israeli Jews and Arabs, provide general support for the hypotheses. We found that the social order is perceived as less legitimate by the Arab minority compared with the Jewish majority, and by highly religious members of the Jewish majority compared with those who are less religious.     

Differential perceptions of the seriousness of male violence against female intimate partners among Jews and Arabs in Israel

Crime seriousness studies have consistently shown wide consensus regarding the high perceived seriousness of violent offenses. However, socio-cultural models suggest wide variability between social groups with regard to the seriousness of certain types of violent crime. This is particularly true in the case of male violence against female intimate partners. The present study examines these contradictory propositions in Israel focusing on its two main ethnic groups--Jews and Arabs. In an attitudinal survey, respondents were required to evaluate the seriousness of hypothetical crime scenarios representing a number of criminal offenses including male violence against female intimate partners. As expected, the findings revealed significantly more permissive attitudes to male violence against female intimate partners among Arab respondents than among Jews. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Arab Defamation Laws: A Comparative Analysis of Libel and Slander in the Middle East

Nations in the Arab world are known for their restrictions on press freedom, with public officials often using defamation laws to hinder good journalism. To promote reform, this article analyzes defamation laws of six Arab countries – Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya and the United Arab Emirates – and compares them to international norms. In areas with strong press protections, three characteristics related to defamation law were identified. First, defamation cases should be handled by civil lawsuits rather than police complaints, so journalists are not threatened with jail for their reporting. Second, the law must afford greater scrutiny for public figures than for private individuals so that the powerful cannot stifle public debate. Third, truth must be an absolute defense against allegations of defamation, so that people cannot protect an undeserving good reputation. The analysis reveals that defamation provisions in these countries are not in alignment with international norms.     

Keywords,case law and the Court of Justice: the need for legislative intervention in modernising European trade mark law

Recent preliminary references to the CJEU on online keyword advertising and registered trade mark infringement have exposed the challenges facing EU registered trade mark law in its response to new technologies. These cases and the challenges they pose provide a timely prism through which to examine the European trade mark law-making process and the role of the CJEU within that process. This article will employ an analysis of the way in which the CJEU has developed certain key new aspects of the law on ‘infringing use’ to explore concerns over the CJEU's role and approach. It will be argued that, driven by policy considerations, the CJEU has acted creatively to develop the law of infringement in ways that cannot be sustained by the TMD and CTMR and which are likely to cause increasing uncertainties going forward. With the European Commission currently considering reform of Trade Marks Directive 2008/95/EC and Community Trade Mark Regulation 207/2009/EC, this paper will argue that there is a need for more comprehensive and forward-looking legislative intervention than has yet been proposed and that such intervention will be essential to restoring balance in the European trade mark law-making process.     

Why black prisoners seldom try to escape from American penal institutions: A humanistic perspective

Black inmates attempt to escape prison much less frequently than do white inmates. Empirical research attempting to delineate reasons for the differential escape rate of blacks to whites is almost nonexistent. The purpose of the present paper is to examine this difference from a humanistic approach by examining another subculture (European Jews who were victims of the Holocaust) where historical incanceration pattenrs and cultural ethos historically anticipates those of black inmates. Thishistorical culture of blacks in America is also explored in order to further understand why black inmates seldom try to escape from prison.     

Judicial protection of fundamental rights in the transition from the world of atoms to the word of bits: The case of freedom of speech

This article underlines the role of Courts in protecting fundamental rights in the atomic and the digital dimension. The main aim of this work is to show how the coming of the Internet has affected the exercise and the judicial protection of freedom of expression in a comparative perspective. In order to answer this research question, this study will focus on the role of Courts as ‘playmakers’ in interpreting and solving issues deriving from interconnected legal regimes affecting the protection of fundamental rights and, especially, free speech. More specifically, the comparative focus will be on the decisions of the European Court of Justice, the European Court of Human Right and the US Supreme Court.     

Pammer and Hotel Alpenhof - ECJ decision creates further uncertainty about when e-businesses “direct activities” to a consumer’s state under the Brussels I Regulation

The European Court of Justice’s recent judgement in the joined cases C-585/08 and C-144/09 will have substantial long-term implications for European e-businesses and e-consumers trading across borders.The key question considered was whether the fact that a website can be consulted on the Internet in the Member State of the consumer’s domicile is sufficient to justify a finding that commercial or professional activities are being directed to that Member State within the meaning of Article 15(1)(c) of the Brussels I Regulation.     

Prestige,Networks, and Social Mobility Among Lawyers: A View from California of Woeste's book,Henry Ford's War on Jews and the Legal Battle Against Hate Speech

Woeste, Victoria Saker. 2012 . Henry Ford's War on Jews and the Legal Battle Against Hate Speech . Stanford, CA.: Stanford University Press. Pp. 424. $48.95 cloth; $24.95 paper; $24.95 e‐book. In Henry Ford's War on Jews and the Legal Battle Against Hate Speech (2012), Victoria Saker Woeste raises provocative questions for students of the legal profession. Aaron Sapiro, an Eastern European, Jewish immigrant to California, rose to international prominence through his corporate specialization in agricultural cooperatives. Our understanding of the social structure of the legal profession, based on studies of the East and Midwest, shows that for most of the twentieth century, the structure of the bar was highly stratified around markers of ethno‐religious status. The trajectory of Sapiro's career does not fit this story. A focus on the West generally or California in particular complicates our understanding of how factors such as ethno‐religious background, social networks, career mobility, and prestige interact.     

Intimate femicide in Israel; temporal, social, and motivational patterns

This study investigated all (76) cases of intimate femicide (the killing of women by their intimate male partners) in Israel during the years 1990–1995. The analysis focused on temporal patterns, the representation of various population groups, and given motives. The findings show a relationship between the incidence of intimate femicide and a number of major events/processes experienced by Israeli society during the period investigated. Following the Persian Gulf War (in 1991), during which families were enclosed for lengthy periods in sealed rooms, there was a sharp increase in intimate femicide. On the other hand, the enactment of the Law for the Prevention of Family Violence in 1991 was followed by a sharp (though temporary) decrease in intimate femicide in 1992. New immigrants from the former Soviet Union and even more so, from Ethiopia were over-represented among intimate femicide offenders. In most cases, more than one motive is given for the intimate femicide, with 'possessiveness' being mentioned in the majority of cases usually in conjunction with other motives (such as argument/conflict between the parties, mental, drinking or drug problems of the offender). Here too, differences were found between the various population groups. The findings are discussed within the framework of a stress-support theoretical model which postulates that violence in society will be positively related to stress factors and negatively related to support systems.     

Envisaging the Post-Brexit Landscape: An Articulation of the Likely Changes to the EU–UK Competition Policy Relationship

In the light of the outcome of the 23rd June 2016 UK referendum to leave the European Union and the May government’s consequent approach to Brexit, this paper explores the likely changes that these will bring to a key EU–UK relationship, the competition policy relationship. It is suggested that changes are likely not only in public enforcement and private actions but also in the need for a new competition cooperation architecture between the EU and the UK. In order to appreciate how the competition relationship is likely to change after Brexit, an understanding of the current architecture in respect of the said areas is necessary and thus outlined early in the paper. Thereafter, it is argued that, post the implementation period, as the UK will no longer come under the direct jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice or indeed be a member of the Single European Market, a considerable loosening or separation of the strands that shape the current EU–UK competition relationship will occur. This unwinding of the currently intertwined EU and UK competition regimes will affect both public enforcement and private actions, thereby opening up the possibility of further regulatory divergence, unless consciously checked. Moreover, as the separation will see the Commission’s jurisdictional remit no longer include the UK, the domain will become the sole regulatory concern of UK institutions, particularly the Competition and Markets Authority. This will lead to dual regulatory capture, often of significant and complex antitrust and merger cases, given the overlapping nature of EU and UK markets. Clearly, this necessitates the UK regulator having the appropriate staffing to vet such cases, as it moves from essentially a regional player to one on a par with the Commission and regulators in the USA and China. In fact, the dual capture of such cases reinforces the importance of effective cooperation between the EU and UK regulators. However, given that the current competition cooperation relationship will end at the conclusion of the implementation period, the paper articulates a likely new EU–UK competition cooperation architecture, reflecting the fact that the UK would be outside the EU, but still enabling close, effective cooperation. Of course, and echoing the EU, it is also in the UK’s interest to agree similar competition cooperation bilaterals with key non-EU regulators. Yet, because this will take time, and because cooperation can indeed fail, the UK, like the EU, must ensure its competition instruments have the necessary extra-territorial reach.     

Criminal DNA databases: the European situation

In the last 5 years, a number of European countries have successfully introduced national databases holding the DNA profiles from suspected and convicted criminal offenders as well as from biological stain materials from unsolved crime cases. At present, DNA databases are fully or partially in operation in the UK, The Netherlands, Austria, Germany, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland and Sweden. Furthermore, in the other European countries, specific legislation will be enacted soon, or the introduction of such databases is being discussed to initiate a legislative process. Numerous differences exist regarding the criteria for a criminal offender to be included in the database, the storage periods and the possibility to remove database records, the possibility to keep reference samples from the offenders as long as their respective records are being held, and the role of judges in the process of entering a database record or to perform a database search. Nevertheless, harmonization has been achieved regarding the DNA information stored in national databases, and a European standard set of genetic systems has been recommended which is included either in part or completely in the DNA profiles of offenders and crime stains for all European databases. This facilitates the exchange of information from database records to allow the investigation of crime cases across national borders.     

The challenge of economic integration in the MENA region: from GAFTA and EU-MFTA to small scale Arab Unions

After a 30 years period of trials and errors in creating an Arab economic space for just independent countries and an insufficient implementation of the Euro-Mediterranean Free Trade Agreement (EU-MFTA), the economies of the MENA region have recently relied back on sub-regional trading blocks (Arab Unions) to succeed in opening and developing their economies. From a theoretical point of view this tendency is rising a debate on the possibility, for the Arab countries, to enjoy the dynamic effects that emerge from the internationalization process (like an increasing rate of investment, a higher intra-industry trade and reduced balance of payments distortions), given the structure and the performance of their economies. The aim of the paper is to present the contemporary trends of the economic integration process among the countries of the MENA Region in connection with the wider perspective adopted in the debate on this topic. A closer look at the intra-Arab flows of goods and services will thus enable us to appraise some facts concerning the process of internationalization of MENA economies, revealing an unexpected dynamism in the lights of “deep integration” perspective. On this base an account of the renewed bilateralism in economic relations will be provided.     

Bosman—There and Back Again: The Legitimacy of Playing Quotas under European Union Sports Policy

The 1995 ruling of the European Court of Justice in Bosman was a pivotal point in the relationship between the European Union and sport. It has had an immense impact upon professional team sports, most notably football, in terms of liberalising the transfer system and abolishing player quotas. This paper will chart the development of a European sports law policy generally and will specifically discuss two current proposals concerning the reintroduction of playing quotas in football. We will examine the legality of these proposals with reference to Article 45 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and will evaluate the political context within which these proposals have been promulgated. It will be suggested that a possible solution, which should end legal uncertainty, could be the adoption of a collective agreement or directive based on the methodology of reflexive labour law.     

A Toolbox for European Judges

The forthcoming instrument on European contract law, be it in the shape of an optional code for cross‐border contracts or as an official toolbox for the European legislator, is likely to have a spill‐over effect on private law adjudication in Europe. Judges will have no great difficulty in finding model rules and definitions that might come in handy when dealing with gaps and ambiguities in European private law. However, the question is whether such a role as a toolbox for judges would be legitimate. I discuss three types of possible legitimation strategies: traditional methods of legal interpretation, the new European methods and merely political legitimation. It will often depend on the circumstances of the case at hand and the characteristics of the particular model rule or definition that is being borrowed what mode of legitimation will prove to be more convincing. However, generally speaking legitimation in terms of the ‘general principles of civil law’ that the CJEU has recently been developing seems a particularly promising strategy. On the other hand, it seems unlikely that European courts could come under a duty, following from the principle of sincere cooperation, to use the instrument as a toolbox.     

A European Constitution in a Multinational Europe or a Multinational Constitution for Europe?

Abstract: What is the role of the nation‐state in the process of European constitutional integration? How can we transcend our divisions without marginalising those who believe in them? This article critically analyses the theoretical bases of the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe and tries to explain why its ratification is so problematic. Authors such as Habermas have argued that a new European model of social cohesion is needed, and Habermas suggests that the sense of ‘community’ in a democratic Europe should be founded exclusively on the acceptance of a patriotic constitution. However, this view is criticised by authors such as Weiler and MacCormick. In this article, I explain the limits of these theoretical analyses. I will argue that a European constitutional project can be more than formally legal only if two normative conditions are satisfied: it is the result of public debate and the European Constitution includes the procedures for the recognition of European national diversity. I suggest that a theory of constitutional multinationalism, similar to the one proposed by Tully, might provide an attractive model for a European social integration. The article is divided in two parts. In the first, I explain why Habermas’ constitutional patriotism or MacCormick's states based Europe cannot provide a convincing theoretical model for a socially and constitutionally integrated Europe. In the second part, I will give an outline of Tully's idea of multinational democracy as a model for a European constitutional integration.