Radbruch and Hart on the Grudge Informer: A Reconsideration

Hart's defense of the separation of law and morality is partly based on his refusal to accept Radbruch's solution of the well‐known grudge informer case, in his famous article “Statutory Injustice and Suprastatutory Law.” In this paper, I present a detailed reconstruction of the “debate” between Radbruch and Hart on this case. I reach the conclusion that Hart fails to address the issue that was Radbruch's primary concern, namely the legal position of the judiciary when dealing with criminal statutes. I suggest that Hart's separation thesis cannot be upheld in the face of this concern. In my argument, Hart's mistaken understanding of the verdict of the Oberlandesgericht Bamberg that he refers to plays a crucial role.     

A critique of Mark Colvin's, crime and coercion: An integrated theory of chronic criminality

Colvin (2000) argues that thepropensity for chronic criminal behaviorresults from developmental andsocialization processes that ultimatelyoriginate in the application of erraticcoercive control. He further argues thatthis process operates at multiple levels(i.e., individual, group, andorganizational). In addition, he arguesthat the relationship between the types ofcontrol and criminal behavior is mediatedthrough intergenerational and developmentaleffects, suggesting that the control typethat has the greatest effect on behavior isone that will be passed on to the nextindividual, group, or organization.In this paper, we critique the theoryproposed by Colvin. First, we summarizethe theory. Second, we categorize it interms of its relationship to other types ofcriminology theories. Third, we criticizeit for failing to sufficiently specify itsempirical assertions in order to facilitateempirical testing, and we suggest sixhypotheses that we think capture at least asmall portion of the theory itself.     

Amplification of a variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) locus (pMCT118) by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and its application to forensic science

A genetic locus (D1S58, defined by DNA probe pMCT118) that contains a variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) has been successfully amplified from a very small amount of genomic deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The DNA sequence of the locus was determined and was found to consist of a 16-base consensus sequence and flanking sequences. Oligonucleotide primers complementary to the flanking sequences were synthesized to serve as primers for amplification of MCT118 by the PCR method. Human genomic DNA isolated from blood (2 ng from each sample) was successfully amplified at the MCT118 locus, and polymorphic bands were detectable by ethidium bromide staining after electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gels. Determination of genotypes at this VNTR locus can now be routinely achieved within 24 h, without the need for Southern blots or radioactive materials. Furthermore, the small size (387 to 723 base pairs) of the DNA fragments produced in the PCR amplification permits good resolution of individual alleles that differ by only one repeat unit. The precise specification of the number of tandem repeats present in each allelic fragment is reproducible from one analysis to another.     

Recent Developments of Swiss Federalism

Since the year 2000, Switzerland has had a totally revised constitution.The main changes deal with issues of federalism. Globalizationhas and will have strong centralizing effects, although localizationmight trigger emotional and nationalistic reactions within thedifferent ethnic communities of Switzerland. The growing mobilityof people and the important percentage of foreigners livingin Switzerland (20 percent) are additional challenges to thealready existing but constitutionally provided diversity. Thisarticle explains the new constitution within this frameworkof the modem world. In particular, it focuses on the specificityof Swiss diversity and the new balance between self-rule andshared rule.     

Development management: Plain or fancy? Sorting out some muddles

This paper explains why development thinking has been caught up in polemical divisions, and cautions against skipping over a sound, basic approach to development management in favour of more complex approaches which in some cases are premature or inappropriate. While we largely recognize the need for better development management, we have not been clear about how to get it. Instead, symbols have been made out of management models and means confused with ends, techniques with goals. Because, for example, the participation of people in their own growth is valued, it is assumed that Western management models that stress this value can be exported, wholesale, to a far less organized Third World contexta perfect example of confusing techniques with goals. When projects are no longer run on rhetoric, and means confused with ends, the need to choose between management models (such as ‘people-centred’ versus ‘blueprint’ management) ends. Instead, actual field conditions can be focused on. Actual conditions often demand nuts-and-bolts skills first. What is needed (and described here) are straightforward, basic management skills to meet equally straightforward, basic weaknesses in organizational structure. Neither fancy nor fashionable, these basics are the forgotten backbone of development management.