Reformnotwendigkeiten des Jagdrechts aus Sicht einer Harmonisierung mit dem europäischen und internationalen Recht der Biodiversität und dem Artenschutzrecht

Auf internationaler und nationaler Ebene gibt es eine Vielzahl von Regelungen zum Schutz von Tier- und Pflanzenarten, deren Koh?renz fraglich ist. Der folgende Beitrag geht dieses Problem systematisch an, setzt hierbei einen Akzent auf das europ?ische und internationale Artenschutzrecht zur Erhaltung der Biodiversit?t und dessen Verh?ltnis zum (nationalen) Jagdrecht. Die Reformnotwendigkeiten werden aufgezeigt. Handelsverbote, wie sie insbesondere das Washingtoner Artenschutzübereinkommen und seine europarechtlichen Auspr?gungen aufstellen, k?nnen nur am Rande (tabellarisch) berücksichtigt werden.     

Die neuen wasserrechtlichen Instrumente des Hochwasserschutzgesetzes vom 3.5.2005

Das Hochwasserschutzgesetz vom 3.5.2005 (BGBl. I S. 1224) reagiert auf die Erfahrungen mit katastrophalen Hochwasserereignissen. Es sucht der Verbauung gew?ssernaher Fl?chen entgegenzuwirken, den Flüssen Rückhaltefl?chen zurückzugeben und Schadenspotentiale zu mindern. Den Schwerpunkt des Gesetzes bilden die §§ 31a–32 Wasserhaushaltsgesetz (WHG). Deren wasserrechtliche Instrumente schneiden tief in das Bauplanungsrecht ein. Dies gilt vor allem für die neuen überschwemmungsgebiete mit speziellen Nutzungsregelungen, dem grunds?tzlichen Verbot der Ausweisung neuer Baugebiete und dem neuen Genehmigungsvorbehalt für bauliche Anlagen (§ 31b WHG). Die L?nder müssen die bundesrechtlichen Regelungen bis zum 10.5.2007 ausfüllen und überschwemmungsgebiete neuen Rechts bis zum 10.5.2012, in Gebieten mit hohem Schadenspotential bis zum 10.5.2010, festsetzen. Erschwerend wirkt sich aus, dass das Hochwasserschutzgesetz an zahlreichen Zweifelsfragen leidet.     

Can epidemiological studies assist in the evaluation of community treatment orders? — The experience of Western Australia and Nova Scotia

Epidemiological studies using administrative databases have several advantages over other methodologies in studying the effectiveness of compulsory community treatment such as community treatment orders (CTOs). We compared patients placed on CTOs in Western Australia with controls drawn from both within the jurisdiction and from another without this measure (Nova Scotia). Although in different countries, the mental health services in both jurisdictions share common characteristics. Notably, we were able to control for forensic history in our comparison within Western Australia. We analysed predictors of admission and number of bed-days using multiple, logistic or Cox regression as appropriate. Of the 274 subjects placed on a CTO, we were able to find controls for up to 96% (n = 265). CTO placement was not associated with reduced admissions or mean bed-days, although there was a threshold effect with a reduced risk of inpatient stays exceeding 100 days. Outpatient contacts were significantly greater for the CTO group. However, we do not know whether the intensity of treatment, or its compulsory nature, effected outcome.     

Book Reviews

Books reviewed:
The Law of Energy for Sustainable Development , edited by Adrian J. Bradbrook, Rosemary Lyster, Richard Ottinger and Wang Xi , published by Cambridge University Press, 2005, 630pp, £75.00, hardback.
Fresh Water and International Economic Law , edited by Edith Brown Weiss, Laurence Boisson de Chazournes and Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder , published by Oxford University Press, 2005, 506pp, £70.00, hardback.
Handbook of Global Environmental Politics , edited by Peter Dauvergne , published by Edward Elgar, 2005, 560pp, £125.00, hardback.
Emerging Forces in Environmental Governance , edited by Norichika Kanie and Peter M. Haas , published by United Nations University Press, 2004, 320pp, US$36.00, paperback.
Economic Globalization and Compliance with International Environmental Agreements edited by Alexandre Kiss, Dinah Shelton and Kanami Ishibashi , published by Kluwer Law International, 2003, 352pp, £85.00, hardback.
German Environmental Law for Practitioners , edited by Horst Schlemminger and Claus-Peter Martens , 2nd edition, published by Kluwer Law International, 2004, 833pp, £119.25, hardback.
The International Climate Change Regime: A Guide to Rules, Institutions and Procedures , Farhana Yamin and Joanna Depledge , published by Cambridge University Press, 2004, 730pp, £40.00, paperback.     

The impact of litigants' baby-facedness and attractiveness on adjudications in small claims courts

The effects of litigants' facial appearance on judicial decisions were investigated in 506 cases heard in small claims courts. Replicating previous laboratory studies, both baby-facedness and attractiveness exerted a significant impact on adjudications. As plaintiffs increased in attractiveness, defendants were more likely to lose the case. Also, as defendants increased in baby-facedness, they were more likely to win cases involving intentional actions and less likely to win cases involving negligent actions, although the latter simple effect was not significant. Finally, as defendants increased in facial maturity, they were required to pay larger monetary awards to baby-faced plaintiffs, albeit not to average or mature-faced plaintiffs. This pattern of decisions was interpreted as reflecting assumptions about the psychological attributes of baby-faced versus mature-faced individuals. The effects of the extralegal variables of litigant attractiveness and baby-facedness were sufficiently large to have practical as well as statistical significance, and they were independent of each other and the age of the litigants as well as of legal variables predicting adjudications.This research was supported by NIMH grant No. BSR 5 R01 MH42684 to the first author. Thanks are extended to Philip Shapiro for his help with legal terminology, to Steven Samuels for his help in the data collecton, and to Michael Berbaum and Avron Spiro III for their statistical assistance in the data analysis.