Liberty: human rights and mental health

In this paper, Lord Phillips reflects on the present state of the law relating to mental health; he considers the place of the common law doctrine of necessity as the basis for the detention of patients; he reviews a number of issues arising from the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg and a number of recent decisions of the Court of Appeal. Finally, he considers the prospects for change in the law foreshadowed in the Government's White Paper on the Reform of Mental Health Law (2000).     

Government delays release of medical marijuana supply

The federal government's initiative to make marijuana available for medical use continues to run into problems and delays. In a recent development, the first crop produced by the government's designated grower turned out to be too impure to use. The delays have led to the launch of a lawsuit against the federal government.     

Y chromosome STR haplotypes in three UK populations

Eleven Y chromosome short tandem repeat markers: DYS19, DYS385, DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS437, DYS438 and DYS439, have been typed in the three main UK population groups: Caucasians, Afro-Caribbeans and South Asians. Existing PCR reactions were adapted to incorporate DYS437, DYS438 and DYS439. The observed 11 loci haplotypes and the individual allele frequencies for each locus are presented. Distinct differences for most markers were observed between the population groups studied.     

Detection of cocaine and its metabolites in breast milk

A method was developed for measuring cocaine and its metabolites, benzoylecgonine, ecgonine methyl ester, norcocaine, ecgonine ethyl ester, cocaethylene, and m-hydroxybenzoylecgonine, in breast milk by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Limits of detection for this method ranged from 2.5 to 10 ng/mL, and limits of quantitation ranged from 5 to 50 ng/mL. For each of the compounds measured by this method, linear response was demonstrated to 750 ng/mL. Breast milk was collected from 11 mothers who admitted to drug use during pregnancy and ten drug-free volunteers serving as control subjects. Cocaine was detected in six of the specimens obtained from drug-exposed subjects, and in none of the drug-free control subjects. In breast milk specimens where cocaine and one or more of its metabolites were detected, the concentration of parent compound was greater than any of the metabolites. The highest cocaine concentration found was over 12 microg/mL. Breast-fed infants of cocaine abusing mothers may be exposed to significant amounts of drug orally.     

The art of the unsettlement

The best litigation lawyer, it is often said, is not the onewhose rapier-like wit demolishes the foe in court but the onewho knows how to negotiate. Having demonstrated that your clienthas the upper hand, why grind remorselessly through the mechanismsof the court when you can press your advantage home by sellingthe losing party a settlement agreement? There is so much to be said in favour of settlement. The losing     

Strong trade marks and the likelihood of confusion in European law

Legal context. One of the fundamental assumptions of trade marklaw is that provision should be made to prevent the registrationor commercial exploitation of trade marks that are likely tobe confused with earlier marks. The justification for this assumptionis however unclear. Is it to protect the expectation of itsowner that a trade mark will provide a comfort zone, an areawithin which other traders simply may not enter? Is it to encourageinvestment in the development of a relationship between thetrade mark owner and his prospective customers by offering interference-freemarketing opportunities? Is it to protect the efficiency ofthe market by facilitating the making of decisions by consumersas to which product or process they wish to purchase? Or isit to protect the vulnerable consumer against the personal consequencesof his inattention or inability to discern the differences betweenproducts or services? Key points. This article examines the development of Europeanlaw relating to the protection of strong trade marks, thosewhich are highly distinctive or well known, against similarmarks that may or may not be likely to cause consumer confusion.It demonstrates the manner in which the European Court of Justiceseeks to address the likelihood of confusion in terms whichappear to draw more from legal abstractions than from marketrealities. After giving a favourable review of the controversialdecision of that court in the PICARO/PICASSO case, the articlelists further issues which European trade mark litigation hasso far failed to address. Practical significance. Armed with an understanding of the principlesemployed by the European Court of Justice, trade mark proprietorsin Europe will obtain a better appreciation of the strategiesto be used in either challenging competitors' marks in courtor adopting commercial measures to combat them.     

Women Solicitors as a Barometer for Problems within the Legal Profession – Time to Put Values before Profits?

This article will consider the theoretical explanations for why women are not remaining within and progressing through the ranks of the solicitors' profession in England and Wales. It sets out the findings from a Law Society commissioned project to examine the reasons why women have had a break from practice or chosen to leave the profession. Finally, it considers whether one of the purported strategies used to empower women solicitors – the business case for equality of opportunity in the solicitors' profession – is actively working against women and the profession (more broadly), and that only a return to a wider values-based approach to professional identity will meet the criticisms raised by many of the women who participated in this research.