Special report on patient care. HCFA finally issues patient-dumping regulations

EMTALA has always been an especially worrisome law for providers because its requirements are both sweeping and vague, with potentially drastic penalties for violations. The new regulations remove only some of the law's vagueness. As with previous EMTALA amendments, all United States hospitals, as well as emergency department physicians and other doctors who see patients in the emergency department, should carefully review their internal policies regarding patient ++ transfers in light of the new regulations. For example, hospitals must have an internal policy for following up on suspicious transfers, as failure to detect an inappropriate transfer can now potentially result in a Medicare decertification action. Also, hospitals with specialized services (e.g., burn units or shock-trauma units) should review their policies on receiving transfer patients in light of the greater specificity of the new regulations. Finally, because of the confusing new requirements regarding ambulance services, all hospitals should review their relationships with and policies regarding, ambulance services and ambulance diversion.     

The Legal Situation on Stalking among the European Member States

Stalking became a subject of academic and social concern in Europe in the mid-1990s. Shortly afterwards the issue of legislation became the subject of debate in some countries and in 1997 the United Kingdom was the first European Member State that passed anti-stalking legislation. Denmark constitutes an exception because its Criminal Code of 1933 contains a provision which also deals with stalking. Other States that up to now have passed legislation against stalking in Europe are Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Malta, Ireland, Austria and, last in order of time, Italy. Where an anti-stalking law exists, legislators have introduced a new article into the existing Penal Code or have amended an article still in force for similar conduct, or have introduced a specific Act against Harassment or Domestic Violence which is intended to cover not only such conduct but also stalking. In the remaining European countries where an anti- stalking law does not exist, it is possible to prosecute stalking only when the behaviour amounts to crimes prosecutable under other existing norms. This article analyses legal regulations on stalking across European Member States in civil and criminal justice considering specific laws addressing the phenomenon or, alternatively, other laws under which stalking can be prosecuted. In the conclusions some advantages and disadvantages of European anti-stalking laws are discussed and some suggestions are given for future work in order to improve the protection of the victims of stalking.     

国际组织法律人格滥用与成员国的责任

长期以来,成员国应否对国际组织的不法行为的后果承担责任,存在较大争议。这一问题不论从理论上押或实践上都涉及国际组织的法律人格问题。从本质上而言,如果国际组织具有独立的法律人格,成员国不应对国际组织的债务承担责任。但存在一些例外情况,在此情况下,必须刺破“国际组织的面纱”,由成员国承担共同或连带责任。关于国际组织的“主要责任”和成员国的“次要责任”赔偿顺序问题,受害国或受害国际组织理应有权自主决定责任国或责任国际组织的先后次序。次要性并不意味着在处理求偿要求方面必须按照时间顺序进行。     

欧洲逮捕令在欧盟成员国国内的适用问题研究

欧洲逮捕令是在欧盟范围内取代传统引渡制度而施行的一种逮捕和移交人犯的国际刑事司法合作新机制.规范欧洲逮捕令的框架决定对欧盟成员困具有强制约束力,但不具有直接效力,各成员国必须采取必要措施以使本国国内法与框架决定的规定相符合.欧洲逮捕令在有的成员国遭遇宪法问题,有的成员国在适用时表现出对其他国家法律制度的不信任,还有一些国家的国内转化法存在着与框架决定不尽一致的规定.但从总体上来看,欧洲逮捕令在欧盟范围内已得到全面执行并取得了初步成功.     

Investigation of drug-related deaths. An overview

Drug-related deaths encompass fatal overdoses, the medical derangements from chronic consumption, and violent death from the alteration of normal behavioral patterns. Determining the extent to which a drug contributed to a death necessitates correlation of all aspects of the death investigation; autopsy and toxicologic findings must be interpreted in the light of antecedent events, medical and social history, and thorough scene investigation. The approach to the medicolegal investigation of drug-related deaths is discussed along with some legal ramifications and certain potential problems of death certification.     

New Trends in the Criminalization of Stalking in the EU Member States

Article 34 of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence obliges signatory states to criminalize stalking. This article provides an inventory of criminal anti-stalking legislation in the 28 EU Member States in order to see whether they live up to this obligation. Although the number of Member States with dedicated legislation has increased significantly (n = 21) there are some questionable trends, such as the proliferation of criminal provisions which require the victim to have experienced fear or distress or an inclusion of an exhaustive list of stalking tactics. Although the states are not in evident violation of article 34 their perception of what constitutes stalking sometimes deviates from the intentions of the Convention.     

WTO对成员国贸易法律制度的要求——透明度

WTO要求,各成员国实施的有关贸易的政策、法令及各成员国间签订的影响国际贸易的现行协定,都必须公布,使之具有透明度,使企业和个人都容易了解到.     

An overview of the legal and cultural issues for migrant Muslim women of the European union: A focus on domestic violence and Italy

The migration of Muslims into European nations and the intolerance exhibited towards them has been a growing challenge for the members of the European Union. The differences between the religion and cultures from which the Muslim women migrate and the receiving countries of the European Union may hamper the provision of social services to them when they experience domestic violence from their intimate partners. This article examines the potential for cross-cultural misunderstanding by examining domestic abuse in Italy in the context of both the social mores and the legal framework of that country. A comparison is made to the traditional perception of the role of women in Islamic culture. The research available on domestic violence in this context is examined as it relates to Italy and its Muslim migrants. The article suggests that what is needed are multidisciplinary cross-cultural solutions to provide services and meet the needs of Muslim victims of domestic violence in Italy.     

Special report on labor and employment. The Department of Labor issues final regulations for the federal Family and Medical Leave Act

The FMLA is a complicated and comprehensive regulatory scheme, and it is impossible to review any but the most basic provisions in this article. The final regulations provide very detailed guidance on such issues as benefits continuation, reinstatement rights, notice requirements, and enforcement measures. Personnel policies and practices must be revised to be consistent with these final regulations, and care must be taken that leave policies do not restrict rights under the FMLA or unintentionally create expanded leave rights. In complying with the FMLA, employers must also keep in mind that there are complex interplays between the federal FMLA, state laws that provide family and medical leave, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and state workers' compensation laws, that can require expert advice depending on the particular circumstances.     

火灾模拟有限元软件综述

近年来随着计算机技术的普及和计算速度的不断提高,有限元分析在工程设计中得到了越来越广泛的重视,已经成为解决复杂的工程分析计算问题的有效途径,其中FDS、ANSYS、FLUENT、PHOENICS、CFAST等软件被广泛应用于火灾模拟研究和工程应用中,本文通过对上述软件的功能、特点和应用等方面的详细介绍,纵观当今国际上CAE软件的发展情况,得出火灾模拟有限元分析软件未来将与CAD软件的无缝集成,具有更为强大的网格处理能力,由求解线性问题发展到求解非线性问题和由单一结构场求解发展到耦合场问题的求解.尤其是FDS场模拟火灾软件和cFAsT区域模拟软件亟需与CAD软件的无缝集成,这样才能更加有利于工程应用人员对火灾场景模型的建立.     

The Department of Health and Human Services issues proposed regulations on physician incentive payments by hospitals

Hospitals tempted to operate their own physician incentive plans are reminded that, under OBRA 1986, they are precluded from paying physician incentives of any kind to reduce or limit Medicare or Medicaid covered services. In light of the proposed regulations and the guidance of the preamble, hospitals should review their incentive plans to determine whether physicians providing direct patient care are receiving prohibited payments. Further, supervising physicians who are receiving incentives for certain hospital departments may not influence direct care over patients served by those departments, even through other physicians. Some risk may also exist if incentives are based on a formula that considers patients of the supervising physician's medical group. Finally, it may be useful to develop a utilization and quality of care review program specifically designed to assure that patient undertreatment does not occur as a result of any supervising physician incentive program.     

从宪法条约看欧盟与成员国之间的权力分配——兼评法、荷对宪法条约的否决以及欧盟的意义

为了解《建立欧洲宪法的条约》中对于成员国与欧盟机构之间的权力分配,本文从:欧盟权限的范围、欧盟如何在其授权范围内进行立法决策、欧盟法的效力等三个角度对该条约进行了分析。可以看出,宪法在对欧盟进行广泛授权的同时,仍然从根本上维护了成员国的主权,宪法条约并没有从根本上推进原有的条约体系已经达到的一体化的程度。但兼顾了一体化和各民族特征的欧盟本身正是二十世纪政治文明最重要的创新性成果,是其他国家和地区学习的典范。     

Exceptions to Article 226: Alternative Administrative Procedures and the Pursuit of Member States

This article considers the procedures used in EC law to prosecute infringements committed by Member States, in addition to the well-known Article 226 (ex Article 169) EC. It has three purposes. The first is to systematise the main categories of these, to examine the reasons for the creation of these procedures and the interaction among them, using Article 226 as the main point of reference. The basic criterion is the distinction between procedures established by the EC Treaty and procedures established by secondary legislation but without a clear legal basis in the Treaty. The second purpose is to explain why Member States have accepted the development of new procedures, even though they serve to reinforce the Commission's powers. The article argues that this acceptance can be explained, first, by the active participation of Member States, through committees, in the establishment of these procedures; and, secondly, a deliberate strategy to convince Member States, on both a sectoral basis, and a case-by-case basis, by the Commission. The article concludes, however, that the current procedures should be improved and that it is time for them to be realigned and rationalised.     

Energy Security and the Division of Competences between the European Community and its Member States

Abstract: Securing energy supply for Europe has been for decades at the forefront of the energy policies of individual European Community member countries. However, dealing with energy issues in general and securing energy supply in particular is a new phenomenon within the EU's regulatory framework. One important issue which has not yet been discussed by legal scholars and which has been questioned repeatedly by energy experts, is the question who is actually responsible to guarantee security of energy supply in Europe? Is it the European Community alone? Is it the Member States alone? Or is it both? This question cannot be answered without a detailed legal analysis of the EU law in general, and EU law on division of competences between the Community and the Member States in particular. This article seeks to highlight the complications of this area of law within the EU and expand it to cover the energy sector in order to determine who and under what circumstances is responsible for guaranteeing security of energy supply for the consumers within the EU borders.