A socio-legal analysis of the Belgian protective legislation towards victims of aggravated forms of migrant smuggling

Crime, Law and Social Change - As many scholars have shown, and other than what is suggested by their legal definition, migrant smuggling and human trafficking are not always easily distinguishable...     

Urgent issues and prospects at the intersection of culture,memory, and witness interviews: Exploring the challenges for research and practice

The pursuit of justice increasingly relies on productive interactions between witnesses and investigators from diverse cultural backgrounds during investigative interviews. To date, the role of cultural context has largely been ignored by researchers in the field of investigative interviewing, despite repeated requests from practitioners and policymakers for evidence-based guidance for the conduct of interviews with people from different cultures. Through examining cultural differences in human memory and communication and considering specific contextual challenges for investigative interviewing through the lens of culture, this review and associated commentaries highlight the scope for considering culture and human diversity in research on, and the practice of, investigative interviewing with victims, witnesses, and other sources. Across 11 commentaries, contributors highlight the importance of considering the role of culture in different investigative interviewing practices (e.g., rapport building, questioning techniques) and contexts (e.g., gender-based violence, asylum seeking, child abuse), address common areas of cultural mismatch between interviewer–interviewee expectations, and identify critical future routes for research. We call for an increased focus in the investigative interviewing literature on the nature and needs of our global community and encourage constructive and collaborative discussion between researchers and practitioners from around the world to better identify specific challenges and work together towards evidence-based solutions.     

Das neue Infrastrukturplanungsbeschleunigungsgesetz – auf dem Weg zu zügigerer Realisierung von Vorhaben?

Anl?sslich des Inkrafttretens des neuen Infrastrukturplanungsbeschleunigungsgesetzes zum 17.12.2006 stellt der folgende Beitrag die wesentlichen Regelungen des Gesetzes dar und erl?utert m?gliche Auswirkungen auf laufende oder zukünftige Planungsverfahren.     

The 'Best Interests of the Child' and Parental Separation: on the 'Civilizing of Parents'

The concept of the 'best interests of the child' is both pivotal in family law and yet essentially contested. This paper reflects on the concept's position within a number of longer-term histories – of the jurisprudence surrounding child custody, of the social construction of childhood, and of the emotional constitution of family life more broadly. The turn to a co-parenting model from the 1970s onwards and the rise of the concept of the 'civilized divorce' is analysed by drawing on Norbert Elias's analysis of 'processes of civilization' in Western social life. The paper argues that the post-separation co-parenting model is only partially explained as the outcome of political manoeuvring by particular social and professional groups; it should also be understood as part of longer-term trends in family life, emotional management, and the socio-legal construction of childhood, as part of the on-going 'civilizing of parents'.     

Antwort auf die Replik von Daniel Göler zum Beitrag “Das Regieren jenseits des Nationalstaates und der Mythos einer 80-Prozent-Europäisierung in Deutschland”

Ohne Zusammenfassung “In zehn Jahren werden 80% der Wirtschaftsgesetzgebung, vielleicht auch der steuerlichen und sozialen, gemeinschaftlichen Ursprungs sein.“ Rede von Jacques Delors am 6.7.1988 vor dem Europ?ischen Parlament (Nr. 2-367/157)     

Political Participation and Civic Community of Ethnic Minorities in Four Cities in the Netherlands

In this article, the political participation of Turkish, Surinamese and Moroccan immigrants in four cities in the Netherlands is related to the civic community of these groups. The usefulness of Robert Putnam's civic community perspective is tested for the immigrant communities in Dutch cities in the Netherlands. The relationship between the networks in the migrant communities and political participation found in earlier research can partly explain the differences between the ethnic groups and between the cities, but some additional explanatory factors are suggested.