Convergence Criteria for Participation in the Flexible Mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol

We suggest a multi-layered system of three convergence criteria – similar to those used in the run-up to the European monetary union – that define the notion of "demonstrable progress" towards reaching the emission commitments under the Kyoto Protocol. These are the existence of an independently evaluated national emissions inventory, the level of domestic policies and measures, and the quantitative convergence of emissions towards the Kyoto target. While the first of these criteria constitutes a necessary condition for use of the Kyoto Mechanisms, the other two should determine the degree of participation allowed for any given Annex I country.     

The natural history of extended co-offending

Most criminal acts are committed in very small groups or alone, and are repeated sporadically. But that is not always the case. Co-offending can include larger groups, cooperating sequentially or simultaneously, knowing each other or at least knowing about one another. We may use the term “extended co-offending” to subsume varieties of crime organization, crime networks, gangs, and criminal clusters. Extended co-offending also includes vaguely organized crime repetitions, and is a matter of degree. Criminal cooperation can be extended in time, space, numbers of persons involved, and types of criminal action. The extension process has a very wide span of possibilities. Drawing ideas from Max Weber and others, this paper suggests that the natural history of criminal cooperation progresses in four stages, with steeply decreasing prevalence: (1) primordial clusters of offenders, (2) small-scale charismatic leadership of offenders, (3) a medium-scale patrimonial system of offenders, and (4) and an extended patrimonial system of criminal cooperation. Primordial co-offending occurs on a very local level, with little or no hierarchy or systematic repetition. Extended criminal cooperation usually requires personal trust among offenders, favoring patrimony over formal organization.     

Haftung bei Vereitelung der “ohne Gentechnik”-Kennzeichnung: ein legislatorischer Unfall

Zusammenfassung  Die Novellierung des Gentechnikrechts von April/Mai 2008 l?sst die zivilrechtliche Haftungsnorm des § 36a GenTG unberührt. Mittelbar wird die Haftungslage durch eine Modifizierung der ?ffentlichrechtlichen Vorschriften zur “ohne Gentechnik”-Kennzeichnung jedoch drastisch versch?rft. Dies weckt europa- und verfassungsrechtliche Bedenken und wirft die Frage auf, ob diese Konsequenz vom Gesetzgeber wirklich beabsichtigt war. Der Beitrag untersucht die neue “ohne Gentechnik”-Kennzeichnung, arbeitet ihre haftungsrechtlichen Folgen heraus und zeigt die europa- und verfassungsrechtlichen Bedenken des eklatant versch?rften Haftungsumfangs auf.     

Chloroquine distribution in postmortem cases

Chloroquine concentrations in blood and tissues were examined in overdose and non-overdose cases to determine appropriate ranges for interpretation. Twenty-nine literature overdose cases and 8 non-overdose literature cases were compared with this laboratory's findings. The results indicate significant postmortem redistribution of chloroquine. Combining this laboratory's results and the literature results indicates that using a liver concentration of 150 mg/kg as a cutoff between overdose and non-overdose concentrations properly identified 30 of the 34 published cases containing liver chloroquine and 19 of the 20 presented cases.     

De-Europeanization by Default? Germany's EU Policy in Defense and Asylum

Since the end of the Cold War and unification, Germany's policy toward and within the European Union (EU) has undergone significant changes. Once a model "Europeanist," Germany has become increasingly reluctant to support the progressive implementation of key projects of European integration. Neither an instance of a planned strategic change nor a result of an inevitable adaptation to structural shifts at the systemic level, these changes in German foreign policy, incremental yet significant as they are, evade both deterministic and voluntaristic accounts of foreign policy change. Integrating insights from foreign policy analysis, integration theory, and social theory, the article develops an innovative framework for analysis that is applied to Germany's European asylum and refugee policy as well as its security and defense policy. The origins of both policy fields at the European level can be traced back to initiatives that were supported by or even originated in Germany. However, as the 1990s progressed Germany increasingly obstructed further institutionalization. While in the field of asylum and refugee policy the Amsterdam summit marks a clear turning point in Germany's position, the transformation of German policies on European security and defense proceeded rather as an incremental decrease in material support, aggravating substantive progress in the policy field more broadly. An unanticipated consequence of earlier initiatives, in both cases Germany has found it increasingly difficult to live up to the expectations it has helped to raise.     

Recent developments in the patentability of software in the UK

Over the past few months there has been renewed debate at the UK Intellectual Property Office (“UK IPO”) and in the UK courts over whether computer programs can be considered patentable inventions. In particular, concern persists that the UK authorities and the European Patent Office (“EPO”) are applying different tests for the patentability of computer software, even though they are applying the same legislation. This article reviews the positions taken by the UK and the EPO tribunals, and how these impact upon businesses wishing to patent inventions encompassed in software.     

Norms versus Action: Why Voters Fail to Sanction Malfeasance in Brazil

We show that Brazilian voters strongly sanction malfeasant mayors when presented with hypothetical scenarios but take no action when given the same information about their own mayor. Partnering with the State Accounts Court of Pernambuco, we conducted a field experiment during the 2016 municipal elections in which the treatment group received information about official wrongdoing by their mayor. The treatment has no effect on self‐reported voting behavior after the election, yet when informing about malfeasance in the context of a vignette experiment, we are able to replicate the strong negative effect found in prior studies. We argue that voters' behavior in the abstract reflects the comparatively strong norm against corruption in Brazil. Yet on Election Day, their behavior is constrained by factors such as attitudes toward local political dynasties and the greater salience of more pressing concerns like employment and health services.