International environmental law as a complex adaptive system

Complex adaptive systems are a special kind of self-organizing system with emergent properties and adaptive capacity in response to changing external conditions. In this article, we investigate the proposition that international environmental law, as a network of treaties and institutions, exhibits some key characteristics of a complex adaptive system. This proposition is premised on the scientific understanding that the Earth system displays properties of a complex adaptive system. If so, international environmental law, as a control system, may benefit from the insights gained and from being modelled in ways more appropriately aligned with the functioning of the Earth system itself. In this exploratory review, we found evidence suggesting that international environmental law is a complex system where treaties and institutions self-organize and exhibit emergent properties. Furthermore, we contend that international environmental law as a whole is adapting to exogenous changes through an institutional process akin to natural selection in biological evolution. However, the adequacy of the direction and rate of adaptation for the purpose of safeguarding the integrity of Earth’s life-support system is questioned. This paper concludes with an emphasis on the need for system-level interventions to steer the direction of self-organization while maintaining institutional diversity. This recommendation stands in contrast to the reductionist approach to institutional fragmentation and aims at embracing the existing complexity in international environmental law.     

Fraud against European Public Funds

This article considers the approach adopted towards the fight against fraud within the European Union. It considers the role(s) of the various agencies at both a transnational and national level. It concludes that it is impossible to effectively fight transnational fraud across fifteen different legal systems. There is an urgent need for the “Corpus Juris” proposals to be adopted so that a defined European legal space can be created which is able to deal with crimes against the European budget. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Historical changes in the Canadian university presidency: An empirical analysis of changes in length of service and experience since 1840

The number of Canadian university presidents terminated by their Boards of Governors has increased dramatically. Examining this phenomenon requires situating it in its historical context, yet there has been little empirical work. This study examines the total length of service and the average years of experience of presidents at 102 Canadian institutions. The analysis runs from 1840 until 2011 and shows that presidents spend much less time in office than was historically the case. The percentage of women serving in these roles increased during the 1980s reaching approximately 20% in the mid‐1990s and has since remained at that level. The recent increase in terminations and early departures are discussed in light of the changing nature of the university presidency.     

Navigating Risk: Understanding the Impact of the Conflict on Children and Young People in Northern Ireland

Twenty years on from the 1994 cease-fires, Northern Ireland is a markedly safer place for children and young people to grow up. However, for a significant number, growing up in post-conflict Northern Ireland has brought with it continued risks and high levels of marginalization. Many young people growing up on the sharp edge of the transition have continued to experience troubling levels of poverty, lower educational attainment, poor standards of childhood health, and sustained exposure to risk-laden environments. Reflecting on interdisciplinary research carried out since the start of the “transition” to peace, this article emphasizes the impact that embedded structural inequalities continue to have on the social, physical, mental, and emotional well-being of many children and young people. In shining a light on the enduring legacy of the conflict, this article moves to argue that greater attention needs to be given to the ongoing socioeconomic factors that result in limited lifetime opportunities, marginalization, and sustained poverty for many young people growing up in “peacetime” Northern Ireland.     

Implementing the Mental Health Act 2007 in British general practice: Lessons from Ireland

Changes in mental health legislation (e.g. Mental Health Act 2007 in England and Wales, Mental Health Act 2001 in Ireland) have generally improved adherence to international human rights standards, but also present challenges to primary care providers. When mental health legislation was substantially reformed in Ireland, 62.9% of general practitioners (GPs) felt the new legislation was not user-friendly. Majorities of GPs who felt the legislation affected their practice reported increased workloads (85%) and various other difficulties (53%). GPs who had received training about the legislation were more likely to find it user-friendly (43% versus 30.9%), and informal training (e.g. from colleagues) was just as likely as formal training to be associated with a GP finding it user-friendly. With similar changes to mental health legislation being introduced in England and Wales, it is significant that informal training is just as good as formal training in helping GPs work with new mental health legislation.