German Supreme Court stands firm on liability for unjustified warning letters

In one of its very rare decisions, the Grand Senate of the GermanSupreme Court has ruled that intellectual property right ownersface damages claims if they issue warning letters in cases wherethere is no infringement and the claim has been brought at leastnegligently, thus putting an end to the tendency in some Germancourts—including the First Senate of the German SupremeCourt itself—to lessen the liability of senders of unjustifiedwarning letters.     

Justice and Public Opinion from a Comparative Perspective

Toril Aalberg’s book links a wide array of issues and perspectives that conventionally are kept apart. She combines normative theory with empirical justice research, takes a longitudinal as well as a cross-national perspective, and she discusses her results against the background of the socio-structural and institutional context. The book provides a detailed picture of the attitudinal landscape and is a rich source of comparative data on social justice attitudes. The exceptionally wide variety of approaches that are used represents an asset of this analysis and addresses the need for an encompassing view on the issue of justice. At the same time, when recapitulating the results, it becomes evident that this strategy also entails dangers: Aalberg’s approach requires a more comprehensive conceptual framework that allows a coherent interpretation of her findings. It is argued that normative institutionalism would offer a suitable frame of interpretation for the subject and design employed.     

’Old law’ and ‘divine law’ in the German peasant war

The paper treats the two core concepts of the Peasant War in the form of a report on the present state of research on law and social conflict in the late Middle Ages. The author attempts to outline a history of the meaning of the terms, based on the results of legal, constitutional and religious historians. The complex method of inquiry is particularly significant and may very well serve as a model for comparative studies of similar but different ideas of legitimation for revolts. Her tentative results suggest the necessity of revision of many hitherto uncritically accepted simplifications and promises to open up new vistas through in‐depth analysis of the terminology of the rebellious peasants.     

"Natural" death of a person under the care of a custodian

An ambulance service doctor was called to the death of a 76-year-old woman and attested cardiac arrest and psycho-organic brain syndrome as the cause of death on the death certificate. At the second external examination mandatory before cremation, extensive hematomas were detected on the right thorax and multiple haematomas in the face and on the forehead. The autopsy initially ordered by the public health officer revealed serial rib fractures and a fractured skull. After notifying the prosecutor, a forensic autopsy was ordered and death was found to have been caused by fat embolism following massive blunt force to the thorax with serial rib fractures and haematopneumothorax. After that, the adopted son, who had been appointed care custodian for the woman, and his wife were suspected, because they had given contradictory explanations for the injuries. At first, they were only suspected of failure to render assistance, but in the end they were both charged with murder. Only because of the second external examination prescribed by the law still in force could the errors of the improper first external examination be corrected.     

Massive systemic fat embolism detected by postmortem imaging and biopsy*

Postmortem computed tomography (pmCT) and pmCT angiography (pmCTA) provide a minimally invasive method to determine the cause of death. Postmortem image-guided biopsy allows for precise sampling of histological specimens. This case study describes the findings of lethal systemic fat embolism (FE) on whole-body unenhanced pmCT, pmCTA, and image-guided biopsy, with autopsy and histopathologic correlation. Unenhanced pmCT revealed a distinct fat level on top of sedimented layers of corpuscular blood particles and serum in the arterial system and pulmonary trunk. Subsequent pmCTA showed reproducible results, and image-guided biopsy confirmed fatal FE. pm CT/pmCTA combined with image-guided biopsy established the cause of death as right heart failure as a result of systemic fatal FE prior to autopsy. All imaging findings were consistent with traditional autopsy and histological specimens. This unique case demonstrates new imaging findings in massive, fatal FE and highlights that postmortem imaging, supplemented by image-guided biopsy, may detect the cause of death prior to traditional autopsy.     

GSR2005—Continuity of the ENFSI Proficiency Test on Identification of GSR by SEM/EDX

Abstract:  Within the framework of the ENFSI Expert Working Group "Firearms" a proficiency test on the detection and identification of GSR by energy-dispersive scanning electron microanalysis (SEM/EDX) is carried out in a 2 years term. The latest test was performed in 2005/2006 and was denoted as GSR2005 . Seventy-five laboratories from 28 countries participated in this proficiency test and submitted in total 83 independent data-sets. The participating laboratories were requested to determine the total number of PbSbBa containing particles on a synthetic test sample following their own laboratory specific methods of automated GSR particle search and detection by SEM/EDX. Furthermore size and position of the detected particles had to be reported by the laboratories and were evaluated statistically. The results were compiled by means of z -scores according to the IUPAC and EURACHEM guidelines—assessing individual laboratory achievements (inter-laboratory) as well as intra-laboratory performance—and were compared to the results of the previous proficiency test run GSR2003 ( 1 ). The comparison shows that there is a noticeable improvement in the method's detection capability.     

Grenzgänge: Stiften zwischen zivilgesellschaftlichem Engagement und symbolischer Anerkennung

Bislang von den Sozialwissenschaften nur wenig beachtet, gewinnen Stiftungen in den letzten Jahren zunehmend an Bedeutung. Insbesondere vor dem Hintergrund der gegenwärtigen Debatten über Möglichkeiten einer Entstaatlichung moderner Gesellschaften jenseits des Marktes, werden immer wieder Forderungen nach der Stärkung zivilgesellschaftlicher Dimensionen laut. In diesem Beitrag soll das Stiftungswesen als Kernelement der institutionellen Infrastruktur von Zivilgesellschaften analysiert werden. Der Schwerpunkt der Argumentation liegt einerseits auf der historischen und systematischen Rekonstruktion der Autonomisierung des Stiftungswesens und andererseits auf der Analyse stifterischen Handelns als einer besonderen Interaktionsform, die es dann erlaubt, die Sozialfigur des Stifters als eines Grenzgängers genauer zu umschreiben.