Judicial alignment and criminal justice: evidence from Russian courts

This paper investigates the effect of informal ties between judges (as represented by regional court chairpersons) and prosecutors on the repressive implementation of criminal justice in Russia in the area of fraud convictions. The authors utilize criminal law statistics of Russian regional courts for 2006–2010 to determine the alignment between chairpersons and prosecutors by measuring the length of their mutual career paths. The informal ties have a strong impact on trial outcome, which, however, changes over time. During periods of high bureaucratic risks and uncertainty, regions with a higher extent of informal ties between judges and prosecutors exhibit more repressive law enforcement. If external risks decrease, informal coalitions seem to increase the independence of the courts, insulating them from bureaucratic pressures and limiting their repressiveness.     

The Changing Faces of Europeanisation: How Did the European Union Influence Corruption in Slovakia Before and After Accession?

The paper looks at the European Union's impact on corruption in Slovakia, both before and after the country's accession to the European Union. It shows that even though pre-accession channels of influence diminish or disappear, membership brings new means of influence. Our methodology looks beyond institutional changes and explicit anti-corruption mechanisms. Before 1999, the European Union's influence on corruption was close to zero, and between 1999 and 2004, its influence was strong and positive. Post-accession developments are more ambiguous, but despite an apparent worsening of corruption after 2004, we observe a transformation rather than a loss of European Union influence.     

Conflict Transformation and Civil Society: The Case of Nagorno-Karabakh

If Armenian and Azerbaijani negotiators ever agree on the future status of Nagorno-Karabakh, it will not necessarily resolve the long-running conflict, because any peace treaty would require the consent of the Karabakh Armenians, whose political representatives are currently excluded from peace negotiations. It is difficult to imagine the Karabakh Armenians consenting to such a treaty without a change in their perception of the Azerbaijanis. According to the theory of conflict transformation/peacebuilding, Nagorno-Karabakh’s civil society should be able to make a contribution to this change. Using the example of four Nagorno-Karabakh civil society organisations, this study shows how they positively or negatively influence conflict transformation.     

Summit diplomacy of the seventeenth century: William III and Peter I in Utrecht and London, 1697-98

This article evaluates the meetings of the Russian Tsar Peter I and the English King William III in 1697-98 as the high point of Russia's 18-month Great Embassy to western Europe. The emphasis is on the diplomatic aspects of Anglo-Russian summits as well as on their results for international relations and diplomacy in Europe with particular focus on dramatic changes in Russia's attitude to international cooperation. Reform of Russian diplomatic machinery, enacted by Peter I as a follow-up of his European journey, were as well to a great degree motivated by his personal contacts with William III and his English and Dutch diplomatic advisors. Based on British and Russian archival sources, the article attempts to prove that Anglo-Russian summitry, and, in the first place, the rendezvous in Utrecht (1 September 1697, old style), signified Russia's intention to acquiesce to the raison d'etat principle in international relations and in practical diplomatic behaviour, thus abandoning religious and political prejudices that had kept Russians on the periphery of European diplomacy.     

Privatisation and liberalisation in the utility sector: the case of telecommunications in the Czech and Slovak Republics

This article addresses the issue of telecommunications reform in the context of economic, political and technological changes. It reviews recent approaches to utilities and telecommunications management from the perspective of socio‐economic theories and with reference to European Union (EU) telecommunications policies. It then addresses telecommunications reform in the Czech and Slovak Republics as they prepare to join the EU. The emphasis is on the efficiency, pricing, quality and scope of services, as well as the social consequences of liberalisation. The indications are that, while liberalisation is favoured, certain basic government guarantees are still required in the ‘public interest’. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Case of Fatal Starvation: Can Stable Isotope Analysis Serve to Support Morphological Diagnosis and Approximate the Length of Starvation?

The diagnosis of death as a result of starvation is established on anthropological measurements, visual appearance of the deceased on external and internal examination, microscopic analysis, laboratory testing, and exclusion of other causes of death. Herein, we present our findings on a case of 95‐year‐old man who died of starvation. After the diagnosis of starvation was established by traditional forensic medicine methods, we have conducted retrospective segmental analysis of stable carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) isotope ratios in hair sample. This method reveals periods of starvation through decrease in δ¹³C and increase in δ¹⁵N along the strand of hair. Our analysis revealed the decrease of 0.6 ‰ in δ¹³C during the last 10–12 weeks prior to death, similar as reported in other investigations. Also, a decrease of 0.7 ‰ in δ¹⁵N during the last 8–10 weeks prior to death was determined that was different than observed in previous studies.     

The Reliability of Chronological Age Determination by Means of Mandibular Third Molar Development in Subjects in Croatia*

Abstract: The aim of this study was to determine the development of the mandibular third molar and its relation to chronological age. The evaluated material consisted of 979 orthopantomograms of patients of Croatian Caucasian origin aged between 5.7 and 14.6 years. Third molar developmental stages were evaluated according to the stages proposed by Nolla. The frequencies of different stages of mineralization and the mean value of the mineralization of the mandibular third molars with regard to age, gender, and size of the mandible were determined and the coefficient of correlation determined between the age of the subject and the stage of development of the mandibular molars. Statistically significant correlation was determined between mineralization of the mandibular third molar and chronological age of the subjects (boys, mandibular left third molar r = 0.779, right third molar r = 0.793; girls, mandibular left third molar r = 0.746, right third molar r = 0.725). It can be concluded that the accuracy of age estimation based on Nolla’s method is applicable for Croatian children.