香港的海事审判管辖权

根据香港高等法院法令第12条的规定,介绍了香港海事法院的管辖事项的范围、管辖权的行使方式、提出管辖权异议的理由,以及香港海事法院的收费标准等。     

AT ARM'S LENGTH WITH DIRTY HANDS: TAXING THE AUSTRALIAN PUNTER

Abstract: Taxes on betting are a major source of revenue for Australian state governments. Specific taxes on the racing industry date from 1915. However, the revenue potential has only been tapped in all the states since the legalisation in the past 30 years of off-course betting through the state-run totalisator (TAB). The introduction of the TAB followed a long period when various states adopted different policies towards off-course betting, ranging from legalisation of bookmakers' betting shops to attempts at complete suppression. In tracing the history of these policies, the focus is on "implementation failure", or the many administrative pitfalls and obstacles that were experienced. These include insurmountable tax evasion by bookmakers, regulatory capture of betting boards by bookmakers and corruption of the law enforcement agencies. State governments also had to accommodate a range of conflicting interests, including the interests of the racing industry itself and the demands of the anti-gambling lobby. The TAB is shown to be a happy and convenient resolution of most, but not all, of these administrative and political dilemmas.     

A report of an international collaborative experiment to demonstrate the uniformity obtainable using DNA profiling techniques.

This paper describes a collaborative exercise intended to demonstrate whether uniformity of DNA profile results could be achieved between different European laboratories. It was shown that this goal can be obtained provided that a common protocol is followed (specifically the use of a common electrophoretic buffer as being the most important parameter). Generally, lower molecular weight loci (with lower molecular weight fragments) such as YNH24 perform better than higher molecular weight loci such as MS43a. The results of the exercise are discussed in relation to the objectives of the European DNA profiling group (EDNAP).     

The use of phosphate buffered saline for the recovery of cells and spermatozoa from swabs.

In the forensic science laboratory, the recovery of spermatozoa from vaginal swabs, or vaginal cells from penile swabs, can help determine if sexual intercourse may have taken place. There are several methods used to recover spermatozoa and cells from the swabs before visualisation on a microscope slide and most of these methods use water. Phosphate buffered saline (PBS) is a non-toxic solution used in many biological laboratories. Unlike water, PBS prevents cells rupturing or shrivelling up due to osmosis. This study demonstrates that PBS can be used for the extraction of spermatozoa and cells from swabs and that PBS does not affect subsequent DNA profiling.     

Organic impurity profiling of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) tablets seized in The Netherlands.

In this study, a new method was developed for the impurity profiling of illicit MDMA tablets. The extraction efficiency, linearity, repeatability and reproducibility of the method were evaluated. Eighty two MDMA tablets coming from presumed unrelated large seizures in 2004 (n >500 tablets) were analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) in order to assess the discrimination power of the method. The latter was found to be practical, robust, relatively easy to perform, highly discriminative and yielding good chromatography. In addition, some new impurities were detected and identified. Their chemical structures and mass spectra are reported.     

Wasserrechtlicher Eigentümergebrauch und Rohstoffgewinnung

Mit der Einführung einer Entgeltpflicht für die Entnahme von Wasser in Nordrhein-Westfalen ist der erlaubnisfreie wasserrechtliche Eigentümergebrauch in den Mittelpunkt des Interesses gerückt. Denn wer Wasser im Rahmen des Eigentümergebrauchs aus einem oberirdischen Gewässer entnimmt, ist von dieser Entgeltpflicht befreit. Der folgende Beitrag erläutert die im Zusammenhang mit der Gewinnung nichtenergetischer Rohstoffe insoweit relevanten Fragen. * Die Verfasser sind, Mitarbeiter der Anders u.Thomé Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH in Krefeld