Sovereign Debt and Social Rights-Legal Reflections on a Difficult Relationship

The relationship between the sovereign debt of developing countriesand the protection of social rights in those countries has receiveda lot of attention from an economic, political and moral perspective,but relatively little has been written about the legal sideof this relationship. This article addresses the underlyingissues from three different angles. First of all, it analyseswhat is and could be the role of international social rightsobligations in the context of debt repayment policies and decisions,and how conflicts between social rights protection and contractualrepayment obligations can and should be resolved under internationallaw. A second issue is what the protection of social rightsin national constitutions might add to the discussion, particularlywith regard to the justiciability of social rights. Thirdly,it will be examined whether and how social rights can be usedas a defence in proceedings for debt repayment.     

Kontaminierter Boden als Abfall

Seit dem 7. 9. 2004 liegt ein weiteres Urteil des EuGH zum europäischen Abfallbegriff vor. Danach ist Benzin, das unbeabsichtigt in den Boden und das Grundwasser gelangt, ebenso als Abfall zu qualifizieren wie das verunreinigte Erdreich selbst. Nach Ansicht des Gerichtshofs spielt es dabei keine Rolle, ob der Boden nach der Verschmutzung ausgehoben worden ist oder nicht. Diese Rechtsprechung steht nicht länger im Einklang mit der ständigen Rechtsprechung deutscher Gerichte und wirft insbesondere mit Blick auf die fehlende Sonderrechtsfähigkeit nicht ausgehobenen kontaminierten Erdreichs Fragen auf, denen im folgenden Beitrag nachgegangen werden soll.     

Identification of a corpse using autosomal and gonosomal STR markers

The identification of unidentified corpses poses an exceptional challenge in the field of forensic medicine, because visual traits are often unspecific. Forensic genetics offer a reliable means to determine the identity of a corpse unambiguously. In the process, Y and X chromosomal markers play an important role. Here, we report about a case out of the ordinary where a corpse was properly identified using forensic genetic methods.     

Suicide by multiple blunt head traumatisation using a stone

Apart from collisions with road or rail vehicles and falls from height, self inflicted blunt force is a rare suicide method and mainly seen in psychiatric patients. The paper presents a rare case of suicide by active blunt force. A 68-year-old man committed suicide by repeatedly hitting his head with a stone. He sustained a craniocerebral trauma and finally died from hypothermia due to the low outdoor temperature. According to the relatives, the man was not diagnosed with a mental disorder or suicidal tendencies. Uncommon manners of self-harm are challenging for those involved in the investigation, and a differentiation between suicide, accident and homicide can only be made in synopsis of all findings.     

From book to stage to screen: semiotic transformations of Gothic horror genre conventions

ABSTRACT

This paper adopts a multimodal social semiotic approach for exploring the semiotic changes involved in the transformation of a novel into stage and screen productions. It examines how semiotic resources are deployed in each medium through elements of mise-en-scène, such as speech, music, sound, lighting, props, staging, and cinematographic techniques, and the viewing perspectives that are thus established for audiences. The genre of Gothic horror is selected for this purpose, given how this form of performance has transfixed audiences for centuries and has been adapted for both the stage and the screen. In order to demonstrate how each performance medium has produced its own unique set of foregrounding devices to enthral and captivate audiences, a comparative analysis of excerpts from the novel The Woman in Black by Susan Hill, a videotaped theatrical performance, and the 1989 British television film of the same name is undertaken. The paper discusses the implications of the multimodal semiotic approach for developing a better understanding of the semiotic transformations that horror genre conventions undergo in different media and the viewership positions that are thus re-drawn for audiences. The paper concludes with a view of multimodal recontextualisation processes which form the underlying basis of human sociocultural life.     

The Effect of Family Violence on Sexual Victimization among Young Women

Young people who grow up in a violent family context are more vulnerable to become victims of sexual aggression outside the family context. The present study contributes to the understanding of the mechanisms that explain this link among young women by looking at the mediating role of sexual exposure behavior and target vulnerability. Data were used from an online survey among 237 young women aged 16 to 26 (M?=?21.0 years, SD?=?2.75). Experiencing violence from (one of) the parents and to a lesser extent witnessing interparental violence were related to an elevated risk for sexual victimization. Witnessing interparental violence was related to increased target vulnerability but this factor did not mediate the link with sexual victimization. Experiencing parental violence was related to both increased sexual exposure behavior and increased target vulnerability and these factors did mediate the link with sexual victimization.