The social construction of electronic space

Computer‐mediated communication is a phenomenon of post‐industrial society. As a consequence of the interactivity and persistent textual nature of this form of communication, new spaces of sociality are constructed which can be analysed and interpreted with the epistemologies and methodologies utilised in understanding more conventional places. This approach reveals that electronic spaces are constructions firmly tied to the cultural and social experiences of ‘real‐world’ existences. Electronic identities, then, are built from this wide base of experience and ‘real‐world’ identity rather than, as is sometimes claimed, begun afresh. These connections to understood material culture and the prevalence of the typed word in electronic spaces permits a digital archaeology, inspired by material culture studies, which is both revealing of the users of these spaces as well as the wider social constructions of post‐industrial society.     

Mendel's Ark: Conservation Genetics and the Future of Extinction

Amid the current biodiversity crisis and the ongoing threat of mass extinctions caused by modern anthropogenic factors such as industrialization, poaching and habitat destruction, conservation genetics provides tools (such as somatic‐cell nuclear transfer) that could help to ensure the survival of species and ecosystems. Yet as conservation genetics shifts from the laboratory and scientific communities into mainstream awareness, numerous political questions arise. For example, which species should be priorities for research and restoration via expensive biotechnology interventions? Does the increasing availability of biotechnological tools alter our perception of the biodiversity crisis and the natural world? Why are some stakeholders so opposed to using advanced biotechnology in conservation? Finally, and perhaps most controversially, what are the realistic outer limits of such tools with respect to the idea of “conquering extinction”?     

The Hamdan Case and Conspiracy as a War Crime: A New Beginning for International Law in the US

In the Hamdan decision, Judge Stevens, writing for the majority,addressed the boundaries of the law of war and specificallywhether the conspiracy charge lodged against Hamdan constituteda violation of this body of customary international law. TheSupreme Court persuasively held that conspiracy does not constitutea war crime.     

Reclaiming Fundamental Principles of Criminal Law in the Darfur Case

According to the authors, the Report of the UN Commission ofInquiry on Darfur and the Security Council referral of the situationin Darfur to the International Criminal Court (ICC) bring tolight two serious deficiencies of the ICC Statute and, moregenerally, international criminal law: (i) the systematic ambiguitybetween collective responsibility (i.e. the responsibility ofthe whole state) and criminal liability of individuals, on whichcurrent international criminal law is grounded, and (ii) thefailure of the ICC Statute fully to comply with the principleof legality. The first deficiency is illustrated by highlightingthe notions of genocide and genocidal intent, as well as thatof joint criminal enterprise. The second is exposed by drawingattention to the uncertainties and ambiguities surrounding suchnotions as recklessness and dolus eventualis, and in additionto the frequent reliance in both international case law andthe legal literature on customary international law and looseconcepts such as proportionality. The authors finally pointout that if the ICC tries to operate as a real criminal courtunder the rule of law and shows sensitivity to the rights andinterests of the accused, US fears of politicized prosecutionwill diminish.