Vertrag über Stabilit?t, Koordinierung und Steuerung in der WWU und Europ?ischer Stabilit?tsmechanismus

Anfang Februar 2012 unterzeichneten die 17 Euro-Staaten den Vertrag über die Einrichtung eines permanenten Europ?ischen Stabilit?tsmechanismus ("ESM-Vertrag"). Einen Monat sp?ter wurde von 25 der 27 EU-Mitgliedstaaten der Vertrag über Stabilit?t, Koordinierung und Steuerung in der Wirtschafts- und W?hrungsunion ("VSKS") zum Abschluss gebracht. Beide Vertr?ge sind Teil des Krisenbew?ltigungsprogramms in der Union, stehen aber au?erhalb des EU-Vertragswerks. Aufgrund der Ausgestaltung als rein zwischenstaatliche Vereinbarungen werfen die beiden Vertr?ge hinsichtlich ihres Verh?ltnisses zu und ihrer Vereinbarkeit mit dem Recht der Europ?ischen Union einige interessante Fragen auf, die der vorliegende Beitrag n?her untersuchen will.     

On the Efficiency of By-Product Lobbying

To explain the existence of large lobbying groups, Olsonproposes a `by-product theory': large lobbies are by-productsof industry associations that operate as monopolists inprivate goods markets. This paper explicitly formulatesOlson's by-product theory of lobby funding and examines itsefficiency as a funding method. Lobbying efficiency isenhanced by the association's ability to price-discriminate.Price discrimination, in turn, is facilitated by theassociation's superior knowledge of its members'characteristics. The paper also examines the relationshipbetween lobby strength and industry size, as well as thequestion of `who exploits whom' under by-product lobbying.     

Case of Fatal Starvation: Can Stable Isotope Analysis Serve to Support Morphological Diagnosis and Approximate the Length of Starvation?

The diagnosis of death as a result of starvation is established on anthropological measurements, visual appearance of the deceased on external and internal examination, microscopic analysis, laboratory testing, and exclusion of other causes of death. Herein, we present our findings on a case of 95‐year‐old man who died of starvation. After the diagnosis of starvation was established by traditional forensic medicine methods, we have conducted retrospective segmental analysis of stable carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) isotope ratios in hair sample. This method reveals periods of starvation through decrease in δ¹³C and increase in δ¹⁵N along the strand of hair. Our analysis revealed the decrease of 0.6 ‰ in δ¹³C during the last 10–12 weeks prior to death, similar as reported in other investigations. Also, a decrease of 0.7 ‰ in δ¹⁵N during the last 8–10 weeks prior to death was determined that was different than observed in previous studies.     

Post-mortem changes in skeletal muscle protease and creatine phosphokinase activity — A possible marker for determination of time of death

The pattern of change in activity of two enzymes in rat skeletal muscle during body storage after death has been determined. Myofibrillar protease activity was found to increase linearly with time of storage post mortem at room temperature but not at 4 °C. In contrast, creatine phosphokinase activity declines linearly with time, and again storage at 4 °C prevented the change in enzyme activity. Starvation of animals for 5 days or forced exercise prior to death did not markedly alter the rate of change in activity of the two enzymes, although creatine phosphokinase specific activity at time of death was higher in the starved and exercised rats as compared to control animals. A plot of the logarithm of protease/creatine phosphokinase specific activities ratio versus time post mortem yields a linear curve at room temperature. These observations offer a potential method for estimating time of death.     

Privacy, Efficiency, and the Equality of Men and Women: A Revisionist View of Sex Discrimination in Employment

The Supreme Court's decision in City of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power v. Manhart has engendered a considerable debate, much of which has appeared in the pages of this Journal. Defenders of the Manhart decision take its critics to task for failure to appreciate the place of that decision in the overall jurisprudence of employment discrimination. In this article, the authors challenge the underlying conception of the law of sex discrimination that is said to dictate the result in Manhart. Far from erecting a per se rule against all sex classifications, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is shown to recognize both the relevance of prevalent social norms about sex differences and the legitimacy of certain interests of employers as limited justifications for the maintenance of sex-conscious lines in some circumstances, a recognition that contrasts sharply with the statute's categorical prohibition on racial classifications. It follows from this discussion that Manhart's outcome was not ordained by the ethos of the laws against sex discrimination.