Access to justice

Conclusion The central aim of providing access to justice should be to ensure that every citizen receives implementation of his legal rights at the lowest overall cost, not just the cost to litigants, or the courts' budget, or insurers, but to society as a whole. How far the proposals in the Report will achieve that will have to be seen when they are implemented, whether in whole or in part. Although the proposals are radical in many ways, it is certainly possible to argue that on one construction they merely preserve the present distinction between small claims, County Court, and High Court cases, with a variety of significant modifications. If that be so, it is equally arguable that very much the same result could be achieved by modifications to both the County Court and High Court rules without the need for universal sweeping changes. Certainly all practitioners and judiciary are going to find that the next few years are full of challenge and interest. It will be fascinating to observe the changes and the outcome. Q.C., M.A., LL.M. (Cantab), J.D. (Chicago), one of Her Majesty's Circuit Judges since 1987. The opinions expressed in this article are purely personal to the author and should not be attributed to any other member of the judiciary.     

Profiling of the public‐service élite: A demographic and career trajectory survey of deputy and assistant deputy ministers in Canada

Abstract: In the summer of 2006, a survey was sent to the 941 senior public administration executives who held the rank and title of deputy minister or assistant deputy minister in the federal, ten provincial and three territorial jurisdictions in Canada. The survey explored, among other variables, age, education, gender, ethno‐racial status, aboriginal background and career trajectory. The response rate to this survey was 43.61 per cent. Obviously those in the deputy/assistant deputy cadre (referred to in this article as the “public‐service élite,” or pse ) are important actors in the life of the Canadian state, but relatively little is known about them. The authors report on and analyse the meaning and significance of their findings not only for a Canadian perspective but also, on the value of such research in the broader comparative sense. Their data also allow the examination of various dimensions of representative bureaucracy at the most senior levels in Canada. Sommaire: Au cours de l'été 2006, un sondage sous forme de questionnaire a été envoyé aux 941 cadres supérieurs de la fonction publique qui occupaient des postes de sous‐ministres ou de sous‐ministres adjoints au gouvernement fédéral, au gouvernement des dix provinces et des trois territoires du Canada. Le sondage portait, entre autres variables, sur l'âge, l'éducation, le sexe, le statut ethno‐racial, les origines autochtones et la trajectoire de carrière. Le taux de réponse à ce sondage a été de 43,61 pour cent. Évidemment, les personnes qui occupent les postes de sous‐ministres et de sous‐ministres adjoints (désignés dans le présent article sous le nom d' «élite de la fonction publique» ou «éfp ») sont des acteurs importants dans la vie de l'État canadien, mais on les connaît assez peu. Les auteurs donnent un compte rendu et font une analyse de la signification et de 1'importance des résultats, non seulement pour avoir une perspective canadienne, mais aussi pour voir la valeur d'une telle recherche à des fins de comparaison plus vaste. Leurs données permettent également d'examiner diverses dimensions de la bureaucratie représentative aux niveaux les plus élevés du Canada.     

A sudden death with lung embolism after inadvertent infusion of zinc oxide shake lotion

A 74-year old woman in postoperative treatment after a colonic surgery died immediately after perfusion of about 1.5 mL of a white emulsion which was believed to contain 1% propofol via cardiac catheter into the right atrium. It was strongly suspected that a syringe with a zinc oxide shake lotion (consisting of 20% ZnO, 20% talc, 25% glycerol and 35% water) which was intended for external treatment had been mistaken for the propofol syringe. During autopsy, an anatomic cause of death could not be found. In order to exclude an intoxication and to determine the significance of the perfusion fluid in this context, toxicological and histological investigations were performed. Propofol and other drugs applied to the patient were found in therapeutic or sub-therapeutic range. However, in comparison to a control case, the zinc concentrations determined by AAS were about 200 times higher in lung tissue, 10 times higher in heart blood and 3–4 times higher in kidney and liver tissue. No increase was seen in venous blood. Histology showed a strong embolism of the lung tissue with birefingent sharp-edged crystals, which were identified as the talcum, and an amorphous component (ZnO). The same embolism was seen to a medium extent also in the brain sections and to a low extent in heart, liver, pancreas and kidney. Pulmonary embolism by talcum and zinc oxide was established as the cause of death which occurred by syringe swap due to insufficient security precautions in the drug administration. The results are discussed in context of pulmonary microembolism cases frequently described for drug addicts after injection of crashed talcum containing tablets.     

Exporting governance: Lithuania adapts a Canadian policy management model

Abstract: Lithuania's efforts to join the European Union were faltering in the late 1990s. A moribund policy management system offered scant hope for quick reversal. To break the impasse, Lithuania's prime minister negotiated a unique, CIDA‐funded project to modernize their decision‐making system by partnering with the Ontario Public Service and the Institute of Public Administration of Canada. Although slow to gain traction, inspired leadership by a new Lithuanian prime minister, his chancellor and government secretary re‐energized efforts to adapt an Ontario policy management model, which endures today. The results, in terms of pace and scope of reform, were impressive. But did they make a difference? In the absence of useful public benchmarks from oecd governments, the project collaborated with the World Bank to develop its own set of indicators for each stage of the policy process. Two surveys, conducted in 2000 and 2002, revealed a dramatic turnaround, underscoring how major change can be quickly implemented when supported by determined leadership. This article reviews the project, the survey methodology and results. Given the centrality of Ontario to Lithuania's reform, the article concludes with a cursory exploration of whether the province applies its own best practices. The answer, not surprisingly, is that it does so, sometimes. Sommaire: Les efforts déployés par la Lituanie pour se joindre à l'Union européenne s'affaiblirent à la fin des années 1990. Un système moribond de gestion des politiques offrait peu d'espoir d'un revirement rapide. Pour mettre fin à l'impasse, le Premier ministre de la Lituanie a négocié un projet unique financé par lacdi pour moder‐niser leur système de prise de décision, en établissant un partenariat avec la Fonction publique de l'Ontario et l'Institut d'administration publique du Canada. Même si ce projet fut lent à démarrer, un leadership inspiré par le nouveau Premier ministre litu‐anien, son chancelier et secrétaire d'État relança les efforts pour adapter un modèle ontarien de gestion des politiques, qui se trouve toujours en place aujourd'hui. Les resultats, en termes de rapidité et de portée de la réforme, furent impressionnants. Mais ont‐ils changé quelque chose? En l'absence de points de repère publics utiles de la part des gouvernements de locde , le projet a collaboré avec la Banque mondiale au développement de ses propres indicateurs pour chaque étape du processus de politique. Deux enquêtes, menées en 2000 et 2002, ont révélé un redressement remar‐quable, soulignant comment un changement majeur peut être rapidement mis en ceuvre lorsqu'il a I'appui d'un leadership déterminé. Cet article passe en revue le projet, la méthodologie et les résultats des enquêtes. Étant donné la grande importance de l'Ontario dans la réforme de la Lituanie, en conclusion, l'article examine brièvement si la province applique elle‐même ses meilleures pratiques. La réponse, qui n'est pas surprenante, est que oui, elle les applique…Parfois.     

Excessive Prices: Using Economics to Define Administrable Legal Rules

European competition laws condemn as ‘exploitative abuses’the pricing policies of dominant firms that may result in adirect loss of consumer welfare. Article 82(a) of the EC Treaty,for example, expressly states that imposing ‘unfair’prices on consumers by dominant suppliers constitutes an abuse.Several firms have been found to abuse their dominant positionsby charging excessive prices in cases brought by the EuropeanCommission and the competition authorities of several MemberStates. Those cases show that the assessment of excessive pricingis subject to substantial conceptual and practical difficulties,and that any policy that seeks to detect and prohibit excessiveprices is likely to yield incorrect predictions in numerousinstances. In this paper, we evaluate the pros and cons of alternativelegal standards towards excessive pricing by explicitly consideringthe likelihood of false convictions/acquittals and the costsassociated with those errors. We find that the legal standardthat maximizes long-term consumer welfare, given the informationtypically available to regulators, would involve no ex postintervention on the pricing decisions of dominant firms. A possibleexception to this general rule is discussed.     

EU update

This is the latest edition of the Bristows column on developments in EU law relating to IP, IT and telecommunications. This news article summarises recent developments that are considered important for practitioners, students and academics in a wide range of information technology, e-commerce, telecommunications and intellectual property areas. It cannot be exhaustive but intends to address the important points. This is a hard copy reference guide, but links to outside web sites are included where possible. No responsibility is assumed for the accuracy of information contained in these links.     

When Supply Creates Demand: Social Democratic Party Strategies and the Evolution of Class Voting

This paper focuses on the policy strategies adopted by social democratic parties and their impact on the class basis of their support. It is argued that political appeals matter for explaining the development of class voting. This argument is tested through a comparison of the policy strategies of social democratic parties in Austria and Switzerland and the evolving patterns of class voting in the two countries. Using election surveys and data on the policy positions and media representation of the political parties from the 1970s to the 2000s, the article finds that the Social Democratic Party in Austria maintained a strong working class base. In contrast, the Social Democratic Party in Switzerland facilitated a major transformation of the class basis of its support by emphasising new cultural issues. It became the party of the ‘new middle classes’, leaving the working class to realign in support of the Swiss People’s Party.     

Multiple Winning Formulae? Far Right Voters and Parties in Eastern Europe

Abstract

Can theories explaining far right voting in Western Europe be extended to post-communist Eastern Europe? We address this question with a comparative demand-side analysis of far right parties and their voters in four post-communist countries: Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, and Slovakia. Our findings indicate the emergence of two distinct types of far right party. While the Latvian and Lithuanian far right resemble the new radical right (NRR) model, the Bulgarian far right comes closer to the welfare chauvinist ideal type. The far right mobilised anti-Semitic voters in Latvia, Slovakia and Bulgaria. In all four cases, the far right was especially successful in capturing the votes of ethnic majority members who are the most opposed to their country’s formerly dominant ethnic group.     

Direct investment and industrial concentration

Cross‐national comparison of industrial concentration is considered here in terms of two hypotheses. The ‘technology/market size’ hypothesis [Merhav, 1969] predicts greater concentration in less developed countries than in the larger markets of developed countries. The ‘miniature replica’ hypothesis predicts that, when the degree of foreign ownership is high, industries in less developed countries may be less concentrated than their counterparts in advanced countries. Most cross‐national comparisons of firm size distributions support a predominance of ‘technology/market size’ effects. In this paper, data from the pharmaceutical industry in Brazil and other less developed countries are used to suggest that under certain conditions ‘miniature replica’ effects may prevail.