Abolishing Exequatur in the European Union: The European Enforcement Order

Netherlands International Law Review -     

Phenibut screening and quantification with liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry and its application to driving cases

An analytical strategy for identification by an LC–MS/MS multitarget screening method and a suitable LC–MS/MS based quantification were developed for the psychotropic drug phenibut. The samples analyzed were collected during traffic control and were associated with driving under the influence of drugs. A positive sample for phenibut was identified in a single case of driving under the influence. The quantification revealed a drug concentration of 1.9 μg/mL. An interaction with blood alcohol (BAC = 0.10%) was discussed as the explanation of the way of driving and deficit manifestations observed (swaying, nystagmus, quivering of the eyelid, and reddened eyes). According to the available information, the quantified phenibut concentration could be explained by an intake of four tablets (self-reported) during the day containing 250 mg of the drug. Chromatography was performed with a Luna 5 μm C18 (2) 100 A, 150 mm × 2 mm analytical column, and a buffer system consisted of 10 mM ammonium acetate and 0.1% acetic acid (v/v) included in mobile phases marked as A (H₂O/methanol = 95/5, v/v) and B (H₂O/methanol = 3/97, v/v). An effective limit of detection (LOD = 0.002 μg/mL) could be achieved for the multitarget screening method. The quantification of phenibut was performed on a second LC–MS/MS system with LOD/LOQ values of 0.22/0.40 μg/mL. Since phenibut quantification data are rare, the presented information can be used with caution for evaluation of positive cases in the future.     

Error in expert assessment

On the basis of the statutory code of physicians' duties in Poland, the authors discuss a new category of professional error, namely "error in expert assessment." Expert assessment comprises: Issue of certificates stating temporary inability to work (L-4 forms); Issue of certificates allocating patients to appropriate disability categories; Issue of certificates entitling patients to special services; Issue of certificates for legal purposes According to regulation any physician can be required to provide an expert assessment, because institutions requesting such an opinion refer to persons or institutions so as to obtain special information. In certain cases physicians may request to be released from this obligation. Nevertheless, if they accept it and then pass an erroneous opinion they may be liable to a charge of malpractice. The authors have pointed out that errors in expert assessment usually result from: Inadequate professional knowledge; Examination of the records with no clinical examination; Failure to take account of information included in the patient's file; Illogical or unjustified conclusions about the cause and result relationship. The most common errors in the formulation of expert assessments are: "Overdiagnosis" of the results of an accident; Unjustified statements that death has resulted from an accident or from bad working conditions in cases of death from natural causes; Incorrect reconstruction of the events leading up to an accident or of the mechanism of injuries.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Forensic microradiology: micro-computed tomography (Micro-CT) and analysis of patterned injuries inside of bone

When a knife is stabbed in bone, it leaves an impression in the bone. The characteristics (shape, size, etc.) may indicate the type of tool used to produce the patterned injury in bone. Until now it has been impossible in forensic sciences to document such damage precisely and non-destructively. Micro-computed tomography (Micro-CT) offers an opportunity to analyze patterned injuries of tool marks made in bone. Using high-resolution Micro-CT and computer software, detailed analysis of three-dimensional (3D) architecture has recently become feasible and allows microstructural 3D bone information to be collected. With adequate viewing software, data from 2D slice of an arbitrary plane can be extracted from 3D datasets. Using such software as a "digital virtual knife," the examiner can interactively section and analyze the 3D sample. Analysis of the bone injury revealed that Micro-CT provides an opportunity to correlate a bone injury to an injury-causing instrument. Even broken knife tips can be graphically and non-destructively assigned to a suspect weapon.     

Forensic anthropology and the most probable cause of death in cases of violations against international humanitarian law: an example from Bosnia and Herzegovina

This study presents the results of the analysis of at least 298 predominantly male individuals, between 15 and 75 years, who were recovered from an open cast mine in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Particular attention is paid to identifying the mechanisms of injury and determination of the most probable cause of death based on the assessment of lethal or lethal-if-untreated injuries recorded in the skeleton. It was calculated that at least 38.9% (155/398) of individuals sustained gunshot wounds (GSWs) (plus one shrapnel wound) and may have died as consequence of these injuries. Among individuals who died from GSWs, there were 142 males (91.60%), eight females (5.1%) and five cases that were (3.2%) undetermined. One male individual sustained shrapnel injuries. This study presents an example of the multidisciplinary approach to the effective forensic investigation of violation against International Humanitarian Law, as well as an example of how it is possible to obtain meaningful results to assist the needs of the prosecution in these kind of cases despite the large number of cases and technological constraints.     

Gender Equality on the Boards of EU Companies: Between Economic Efficiency,Fundamental Rights and Democratic Legitimisation of Economic Governance

Currently, there is a large gap between the proportion of employed and well‐educated women and those sitting on the boards of EU companies. This gap should be significantly diminished because it is mandated by the EU fundamental right of equality between women and men (Article 23 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights), and by the need for democratic legitimisation of the EU and of its economic governance (Articles 2 and 3(3) TEU). However, the Commission's proposal for a directive on improving the gender balance among non‐executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges does not constitute an appropriate legal solution for this problem because it infringes the principles of proportionality and subsidiarity. There are many other instruments than compulsory gender quotas that can be used by EU institutions to promote more gender‐balanced boards of EU companies. The potential of such measures has not been utilised yet in full.     

Party-related primacy effects in proportional representation systems: evidence from a natural experiment in Polish local elections

We study the primacy effects that occur when voters cast their votes because a candidate or party is listed first on a ballot. In the elections that we analyzed, there are three potential types of such effects that might occur when voters vote for (1) the first candidate listed on the ballot in single-member district (SMD) elections (candidate primacy); (2) the first party listed on the ballot in open-list proportional representation (OLPR) elections (party primacy); or (3) the first candidate on a party list in OLPR elections (list primacy). We estimated the party primacy effect (2) and established that there was no interaction between (2) and (3). A party primacy effect is especially difficult to estimate because parties’ positions on ballots are typically fixed in all multi-member districts (MMDs) and it is impossible to separate the first-position “bonus” from a party’s normal electoral performance. A rare natural experiment allowed us to estimate the primacy party bonus between 6.02 and 8.52% of all votes cast for the 2014 Polish local elections. We attribute the large size of such bonus to the great complexity of voting in the OLPR elections, especially the much longer ballots, voting in many simultaneous elections, and ballot design as a booklet rather than a sheet.