Constitutional Rights in the Irish Home Rule Bill of 1893

In 1893, Prime Minister Gladstone introduced the second Irish home rule bill in parliament. The bill broke with tradition in Britain and the empire, as it included provisions from the bill of rights of the United States. Its significance was clear at the time: it was debated for nine days in the committee stage and, with one minor amendment, it remained part of the bill that passed the Commons. However, the bill was defeated in the Lords and, at least in the United Kingdom, bills of rights were dismissed as unnecessary or detrimental to sound governance until well after the second world war. This article therefore tries to understand how this early bill of rights was regarded at the time. Who suggested, or demanded, its inclusion? How did they expect it to be applied? And how did the debate reflect and influence thinking about constitutional law in Britain and the empire?     

Human Rigghts: A Culture of Controversy

Many arguments in favour of constitutionally entrenched Bills of Rights are undermined by the inherently controversial nature of human rights with respect to their content, their form, and their valence. Even in the case of civil and political rights, the concretization of rights at the level of specificity required to decide particular cases must always be politically and morally controversial. There is no accepted moral or legal method that can be utilized to give the requisite objectivity to the value choices inherent in human rights jurisprudence. Positivization of human rights increases their utility but compromises their moral status. It follows that legitimate articulation of human rights requires ongoing democratic dialogue and decision-making. Although perceived as a stop-gap measure, the Human Rights Act 1998 could facilitate an enduring partnership between courts and parliaments, placing human rights more firmly on the political agenda and establishing a proper balance between the inputs of courts and parliaments which recognizes that the development of positivized human rights must be primarily located in electorally-based politics.     

Near‐fatal Intoxication with the “New” Synthetic Opioid U‐47700: The First Reported Case in the Czech Republic

Recreational use of the potent synthetic opioid 3,4‐ dichloro‐N‐(2‐(dimethylamino)cyclohexyl)‐N‐methylbenzamide (U‐47700) is rising, accompanied by increasingly frequent cases of serious intoxication. This article reports a case of near‐fatal U‐47700 intoxication. A man was found unconscious (with drug powder residues). After 40 h in hospital (including 12 h of supported ventilation), he recovered and was discharged. Liquid chromatography/high‐resolution mass spectrometry (LC/HRMS) or gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) were used to detect and quantify substances in powders, serum and urine. Powders contained U‐47700 and two synthetic cannabinoids. Serum and urine were positive for U‐47700 (351.0 ng/mL), citalopram (<LOQ), tetrahydrocannabinol (THC: 3.3 ng/mL), midazolam (<LOQ) and a novel benzodiazepine, clonazolam (6.8 ng/mL) and their metabolites but negative for synthetic cannabinoids. If potent synthetic opioids become cheaper and more easily obtainable than their classical counterparts (e.g., heroin), they will inevitably replace them and users may be exposed to elevated risks of addiction and overdose.     

Online Grooming and Preventive Justice

In England and Wales, Section 15 of the Sexual Offences Act (2003) criminalizes the act of meeting a child—someone under 16—after grooming. The question to be pursued in this paper is whether grooming—I confine myself to online grooming—is justly criminalized. I shall argue that it is. One line of thought will be indirect. I shall first try to rebut a general argument against the criminalization of acts that are preparatory to the commission of serious offences. Grooming is one such act, but there are others, sometimes associated with terrorism. According to me, the general argument misapplies certain considerations about autonomy that are alleged to be in force in other areas of criminal law. Contrary to that general argument, criminalization of preparatory acts does not, in general, bypass the agency of citizens. Moreover, the criminalization of preparatory acts can disrupt activity that would have led to very serious crime, and with relatively low costs to the perpetrators, costs that reflect the non-occurrence of the more serious crime. There is evidence that grooming is harmful in itself, and so another point against the general argument is its assumption that preparatory offences are often harmless or at least victimless. There are objections to some of the undercover policing techniques that lead to a Section 15 prosecution, but these objections are not all weighty.     

K9 water searches: scent and scent transport considerations

Increased use of water search dogs for detecting submerged bodies has created the need for a better understanding of scent emanating from the bodies and how it transits the water to the dog's nose. A review of recent literature identifies likely scent sources, potential scent transport processes, and research needs. Scent sources include gases in bubbles or dissolved in the water, liquids as buoyant plumes and droplets or dissolved in the water, and solids consisting of buoyant particulates with secretions, bacteria, and body fluids. Potential transport processes through the water include buoyancy, entrainment, and turbulence. Transport processes from the water surface into the air include volatilization and evaporation enhanced by bubble bursting, breaking waves, splashing, and wind spray. Implications for the use of water search dogs are examined. Observations of submerged, decomposing bodies are needed to quantify the physical and chemical characteristics of the scent and scent transport processes.     

EU update

This is the latest edition of Baker &; McKenzie’s column on developments in EU law relating to IP, IT and telecommunications. This article summarises recent developments that are considered important for practitioners, students and academics in a wide range of information technology, e-commerce, telecommunications and intellectual property areas. It cannot be exhaustive but intends to address the important points. This is a hard copy reference guide, but links to outside web sites are included where possible. No responsibility is assumed for the accuracy of information contained in these links.     

Police Officer Attitudes Toward Muslims and Islam: “Worlds Apart”?

American Muslims may be the most diverse group of Muslims in any country in the world. There are an estimated 5–7 million Muslims in the United States. They represent a number of different nationalities, ethnicities, and interpretations of Islam. Moreover, over the past few years there appears to be an increase in the immigration of Muslims to the United States. Law enforcement agencies are currently concerned with the danger of “homegrown” terrorists and terrorism in the U.S. American Muslims likely represent the best source of information regarding those who have been dangerously radicalized within their various communities. To cull important information from the community, police agencies need to contact and communicate with their Muslim population. The ability to achieve these goals would seem to be shaped by both organizational and individual officer understanding and perception of both Muslims and Islam. Organizations and officers with accurate views would likely find efforts at communication and information exchange more fruitful. The current research seeks to assess the knowledge of and attitudes toward Muslims and Islam among our sample of American police officers. Four general areas will be explored in the survey. First, we examine the respondents’ general understanding of many of the basic tenets of Islam. Next, we wish to explore some of the respondents’ attitudes regarding Muslims and Islam. Third, we explore the respondents’ perception of media treatment of Muslims and Islam. Last, the level of officer contact with Muslims is examined.