Sovereignty Without Sovereignty: Derrida’s <Emphasis Type="Italic">Declarations Of Independence</Emphasis>

This article questions the common assumptions in legal theory regarding Derrida’s well-known Declarations of Independence. Through a close reading of this text, well-known ground such as the relation between speech and writing, the notion of representation, speech act theory, the signature, and the proper name is covered. The contribution that this analysis makes in the present context lies in the additional ‘step’ that it takes. The article seeks to give an explanation of the laws at work in Derrida’s thinking in the above respects and to explain more specifically how they find expression in Declarations of Independence. The article in this regard also investigates the importance and role of the ‘notions’ of death, loss of meaning, loss of ownership, and loss of sovereignty in Derrida’s thinking. The contention is that if we take account of Derrida’s reading in Declarations of Independence, it is possible to view constitutions in a very different way, more specifically their ‘origins’, with inevitable implications for constitutional interpretation.

Troubled Waters: China's Claims and the South China Sea

Among China's unresolved frontier questions, the South China Sea has become the most complex and troubled, and arguably the most significant and disconcerting. The economic and security stakes are high and the stake-holding states numerous and diverse. The claims that China (and others) make about the region reflect such interests but they are, ultimately, legal claims. Beijing's assertions of rights to the disputed areas have rested on three conceptually distinct grounds. Each presents a different mix of challenge and accommodation to international legal norms and the interests of other states, including China's neighbors, near-neighbors and the United States.while China's behavior (as well as that of other interested states) has been more and less assertive at various times, China's three basic arguments claiming rights to the region have been comparatively stable. Both China's pattern of multiple legal arguments and fluctuating actions and rhetoric do little to resolve the debate over whether a rising China will be deeply disruptive of the regional and international order or whether it can—with sufficient skill and tolerable adjustments—be accommodated and integrated. Although China's stance on rights in the South China Sea may be partly the accidental product of conflicting agendas and shifting assessments, Beijing's embrace of three distinct lines of legal argument arguably constitutes a strategy that serves China's interests given the factual, legal and strategic environment that China faces.     

Development and Validation of a Method Using Dried Oral Fluid Spot to Determine Drugs of Abuse

A liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry method using dried oral fluid spots was developed and validated for the simultaneous quantification of cocaine, benzoylecgonine, cocaethylene, amphetamine, and 3,4‐methylenedioxymethamphetamine. The oral fluid was applied to a Whatman 903 grade paper and submitted to a drying time of 2.5 h. The extraction procedure was optimized by chemometric approach using simplex centroid design. Spots were extracted with a mixture of acetonitrile, buffer, and methanol. Calibration curves covered a linear concentration range of 40–500 ng/mL. Validation parameters of linearity, precision, accuracy, selectivity, carryover, matrix effects, and stability were evaluated and showed satisfactory results. Spot homogeneity was also satisfactory, with less than 15% of deviation from nominal concentration. Spot volume did not influence accuracy when less than 100 μL of the sample was applied to the spot. The validation of the proposed method suggests a potential application in different scenarios in toxicology.     

Predictors of adult attitudes toward corporal punishment of children

This study identifies predictors of favorable attitudes toward spanking. Analyses were performed with survey data collected from a representative sample of 1,000 adults from Quebec, Canada. According to this survey, a majority of respondents endorsed spanking, despite their recognition of potential harm associated with corporal punishment (CP) of children. The prediction model of attitudes toward spanking included demographics, experiencing or witnessing various forms of family violence and abuse in childhood, and perceived frequency of physical injuries resulting from CP. Spanking was the most reported childhood experience (66.4%), and most violence and abuse predictors were significantly and positively correlated. Older respondents who were spanked in childhood and who believed that spanking never or seldom results in physical injuries were the most in favor of spanking. On the other hand, respondents who reported more severe physical violence or psychological abuse in childhood were less in favor of spanking. Findings are discussed in terms of prevention of CP and family coercion cycle.     

Risk assessment and offender victim relationship in juvenile offenders

The present study compares the Historical, Clinical, and Risk Management-20 (HCR-20) checklist in a male offender population of 108 adolescents using the relationship between the offender and the victim as a classification factor. Two types of relationship were retained for comparison purposes: family victim/known victim and unknown victim. All adolescents admitted to the Adolescent program of Montréal's Philippe-Pinel Institute from February 1998 to April 2003 were assessed and their families were met. The HCR-20 checklist was completed for each adolescent. Statistically significant differences were observed for the mean rank of the total score of the HCR-20 and two sub-scales, the historical subscale (H) and the risk management subscale (R). The results indicate that the adolescents who victimize strangers have more violent risk factors compared to those who victimize family/known victims. These results have important implications regarding prevention and treatment.     

LIVING THE DREAM

<正>Dynamic entrepreneur finds her calling—and love—on Kulangsu Island Wandering through a maze of alleyways just a stone’s throw away from the crowded Sanqiutian Wharf on Kulangsu Island in Xiamen,Fujian Province,the surrounding peace and tranquility is broken only by the whisper of banyan tree leaves in the gentle     

SWIMMING AGAINST THE TIDE

<正>A maverick has become one of Kulangsu’s most endearing and emblematic figures When memory fades and blurs the boundary between reality and fantasy,larger-than-life characters may emerge.Han Guangle is one of them.In his late60s—he doesn’t even know his real age—Han is the epitome of eccentricity,a modernday Beau Brummel who cuts a striking figure in     

The Chinese new Civil Code and the law of contract

China-EU Law Journal - The purpose of this contribution is to present to the readers the Chinese Civil Code which entered into force the first of January 2021, and to bring to their attention the...