New developments in Belize Laws and Regulations affecting Trusts and Service Providers

The months of April and May 2007 have seen the enactment oftwo new pieces of legislation and one set of regulations. InJune 2007 the Regulations governing the Trust (Amendment) Act2007 and the International Financial Services Commission (Amendment)Act 2007 were passed. ‘The Trust and Company Services Providers (Best Practices)Regulations 2007’ were published in the Belize Gazetteon 7 April and came into force on 16 April. ‘The Trusts (Amendment) Act 2007’ and ‘TheInternational Financial Services Commission (Amendment) Act2007’ were signed on 30 May and were both published inthe Belize Gazette on 2 June. The regulations for these two, ‘The International TrustsRegulations 2007’ and ‘International Financial ServicesCommission (Licensing) Regulations 2007’ were enactedon     

Identifying predictors of negative psychological reactions to stalking victimization

Victims of stalking often experience a number of negative psychological problems including such things as fear, symptoms of depression, and anger. However, research on factors that lead to these outcomes is limited. The goal of this study was to first identify distinct subgroups of stalking victims based on measures of psychological problems resulting from being stalked. Once identified, the next step was to examine the influence of demographic and stalking-related variables on the probability of subgroup membership. The results revealed that respondents who were female, had a prior relationship with the stalker, experienced a greater variety of stalking behaviors, were divorced/separated, and reported receiving government assistance were more likely to be classified into subgroups characterized by a high probability of experiencing multiple negative outcomes.     

The Role of Panels in Enhancing Legal Predictability

This article considers the justification for using panels of judges to make decisions in common law systems. The usual argument is that panels are more likely than lone judges to make correct judgments. This article suggests an additional justification: panels increase the law's predictability, so potential litigants can anticipate correctly which legal rules will apply in their cases. Three models, each with a different conception of the legal process, are employed to demonstrate the predictability-enhancing effect of panels. Comparison of the models suggests the effect is strongest when precedent has a substantial impact on how judges make decisions.     

Fast gas chromatography of explosive compounds using a pulsed-discharge electron capture detector

The detection of a mixture of nine explosive compounds, including nitrate esters, nitroaromatics, and a nitramine in less than 140 sec is described. The new method employs a commercially available pulsed-discharge electron capture detector (PDECD) coupled with a microbore capillary gas chromatography (GC) column in a standard GC oven to achieve on-column detection limits between 5 and 72 fg for the nine explosives studied. The PDECD has the benefit that it uses a pulsed plasma to generate the standing electron current instead of a radioactive source. The fast separation time limits on-column degradation of the thermally labile compounds and decreases the peak widths, which results in larger peak intensities and a concomitant improvement in detection limits. The combination of short analysis time and low detection limits make this method a potential candidate for screening large numbers of samples that have been prepared using techniques such as liquid-liquid extraction or solid-phase microextraction.