Die gesetzliche Ausgestaltung der mietvertraglichen Erhaltungspflicht und die Grenzen ihrer Disponibilität (1. Teil)

Die Ausgestaltung der mietvertraglichen Erhaltungspflicht im ?sterreichischen Recht, va das Verh?ltnis von § 1096 Abs 1 Satz 1 ABGB zu einschl?gigen bestandschutzrechtlichen Sondernormen, sowie die Grenzen der Disponibilit?t der mietvertraglichen Erhaltungspflicht stellen mittlerweile die am intensivsten diskutierten Fragen des ?sterreichischen Wohnrechts dar. Der folgende Beitrag unternimmt den Versuch, ein Resümee aus dieser Diskussion zu ziehen und unter Würdigung m?glichst aller bereits vorgetragenen Argumente zu ermittlen, welche Antwort auf diese Fragen den Vorgaben des geltenden Rechts am besten gerecht wird.     

Suicide by means of a charcoal grill. Casuistic report with review of the literature

Due to the conversion of the gas supply from city gas to CO-free natural gas and the introduction of the catalytic converter technology for motor vehicles the number of suicides by CO poisoning has decreased considerably. Nevertheless suicides by CO poisoning are still committed once in a while. In the described case from the autopsy material of the Institute of Legal Medicine at Münster, the suicide used a charcoal grill as the source of carbon monoxide.     

Criminal recidivism in sexual homicide perpetrators

Forensic psychiatric reports on 166 sexual homicide perpetrators in Germany were retrospectively analyzed for criminal risk factors. Follow-up information about release and reconvictions from federal criminal records was available for 139 offenders; 90 (64.7%) had been released. The estimated recidivism rate (Kaplan-Meier analyses) for 20 years at risk was 23.1% for sexual and 18.3% for nonsexual violent reoffences. Three men (3.3%) were reconvicted for attempted or completed homicide. Only young age at the time of sexual homicide resulted in higher sexual recidivism, whereas increased nonsexual violent recidivism was related to previous sexual and nonsexual delinquency, psychopathic symptoms, and higher scores in risk assessment instruments. Increased recidivism with any violent reoffence was associated with age-related factors: young age at first sexual offence, at homicide, and at release and duration of detention. The impacts of the results for risk assessment, relapse prevention, and supervision are discussed.     

Die Kolonien in Europa

Ohne Zusammenfassung

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The Role of the Internet in Political Campaigns in Germany

The Internet has become an important infrastructure for political campaigns around the world, and various online tools have become pervasive campaigning devices. Still, most research on the role of the Internet and online tools in political campaigns focuses on US presidential campaigns. Due to the specific institutional context in the US, this research might not provide realistic observations about the role of the Internet in future campaigns in other countries. Researchers will have to enrich the debate through systematic studies of the role of the Internet and various online services in campaigns in political, legal and cultural contexts different from those prevailing in the US. This special issue aims to add to the discussion by presenting a number of empirical studies focusing on the role of the Internet and various online services during the campaign for the German federal election of 2009 and its aftermath.     

The Clandestine Political Economy of War and Peace in Bosnia

Most contemporary intrastate military conflicts have a criminalized dimension: In various ways and to varying degrees they use smuggling networks and criminal actors to create and sustain the material basis for warfare. Despite its importance, the criminalized side of intrastate war and its legacy for postwar reconstruction is not a central focus of analysis in most scholarly accounts of armed conflict. A detailed examination of the Bosnian conflict illustrates the explanatory usefulness of a "bottom up," clandestine political economy approach to the study of war and post-war reconstruction. Drawing on interviews with former military leaders, local and international officials, and in-country observers, I argue that the outbreak, persistence, termination, and aftermath of the 1992–1995 war cannot be explained without taking into account the critical role of smuggling practices and quasi-private criminal combatants. The article suggests the need for greater bridging and broadening of the study of security, political economy, and crime.     

‘AlterNative’ approaches to criminal justice: John Braithwaite’s theory of reintegrative shaming revisited

Conservative crime control measures, such as incarceration, capital punishment, and boot camps, have done little, if anything, to prevent and control crime in North America and elsewhere. What, then, is to be done? Like other progressive criminologists, I contend that we need to radically rethink the administration of justice and seek insight from First Nations societies and communities that rely on informal means of resolving a wide range of conflicts. The main objective of this essay is to demonstrate that such ‘AlterNative’ social control strategies are more effective and humane means of curbing crime and achieving social justice. The progressive initiatives proposed here are heavily informed by the Inuit model of restorative justice and John Braitwaite’s theory of reintegrative shaming. These have the potential to alleviate much pain and suffering caused by crime and other symptoms of structured social inequality.