Fine Art, High Finance

正China becomes the art market's boomtown in the emerging East Buying art can be as prestigious as owning a downtown luxury apartment, a high-powered Mercedes-Benz or other pricy toys the rich use to fight ennui and establish status. In China's modern times, the main difference between a fancy limousine and a painting is that the limousine     

Informationsverein Lentia und die Folgen

Der Europäische Gerichtshof für Menschenrechte hat mit dem berühmten "Lentia"- Urteil Ende 1993 die österreichische Rundfunkrechtslage als konventionswidrig qualifiziert. Die Öffnung des Rundfunkmonopols erfolgte daraufhin nur zögerlich und war zudem durch mehrere Aufhebungen der Rechtslage durch den VfGH begleitet. Seit dem Jahr 2001 hat sich der rechtliche Rahmen für das duale Rundfunksystem dynamisch entwickelt und stark wettbewerbsrechtliche Züge angenommen. Michael Holoubek hat sowohl als Wissenschaftler, als auch als Mitglied der Rundfunkbehörden maßgeblich zur Entwicklung dieses Rechtsgebiets beigetragen.     

Post-mortem radiological CT identification based on classical ante-mortem X-ray examinations

Radiological identification is important in forensic medicine. Identification using comparison of individualising structures with ante- and post-mortem conventional radiographs has been known for a long time. New radiological procedures such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are being increasingly used for identification. In this paper, a new comparative approach using various radiological methods is described and its application demonstrated. This new approach is the comparison of ante-mortem conventional radiographs with projected images calculated from post-mortem CT data. The identification procedure will be illustrated with reference to the frontal sinus and the pelvis.     

The Social Issue Courtroom Drama as an Expression of American Popular Culture

Drawing on recent works of commercial Hollywood cinema and topical made-for-television movies, this paper explores the cultural implications of two distinct varieties of the American courtroom picture: the problem film in the guise of a legal drama and the trial movie which may take the form of a social issue film. Both types merge into a category that overtly abounds with liberal stances and humanitarian attitudes, films that portray actual or – only rarely – fictional excesses of rigid conservative orthodoxy, movies that have also succeeded in capturing the interest of the public on both sides of the Atlantic. Further, the aesthetics of the documentary tradition related to this generic strain is examined in such a way as to cast light on the quality of critical reflection and certain ideological inferences thereof.     

Inside versus outside lobbying: How the institutional framework shapes the lobbying behaviour of interest groups

Different types of interest groups use different lobbying strategies. This article presents an investigation of this already well‐established hypothesis once more, but additionally proposes that the institutional framework of the country in which interest groups operate also influences their lobbying behaviour. More specifically, it is shown that groups working in the interest of the public are better integrated into the policy‐making process when direct democratic instruments, such as referendums, occur regularly (as in Switzerland) than when referendums are the exception (Germany). The article demonstrates that Swiss cause groups – often also referred to as ‘public interest groups’ in the literature – use a more balanced mixture of insider and outsider strategies than their German peers, but also that this moderating effect cannot be found for specific interest groups, such as industry groups or unions.     

Speculative fees and their impact on access to justice: German experiences

The paper explores the long road to the Federal Constitutional Court's 2006 landmark decision on the unconstitutionality of the century-old prohibition of output-based remuneration of lawyers, analyses the court's ruling and outlines the regulation of speculative fee agreements that is now in place in Germany. Another focus of the paper is an analysis of how the change has affected the German legal services market, drawing on empirical research on the subject carried out between 2006 and 2014.     

New alleles and mutational events at 14 STR loci from different German populations

The molecular origin of DNA mutations and the mutation rates were analyzed at 14 short tandem repeat (STR) loci with samples from trio cases derived from 10 different German population samples. STR loci comprised of D2S1360, D3S1744, D4S2366, D5S2500, D6S474, D7S1517, D8S1132, D10S2325, D12S391, D18S51, D19S246, D20S480, D21S226, and D22S689. In a total of 488 meioses, 16 isolated genetic inconsistencies in 8 different STRs were observed, whereas no mutations were found at the other loci. The data of five mutations suggested the presence of silent or null alleles due to sequence variation in primer binding site. This could be confirmed for four suspected cases by the use of alternative primer sets and by DNA sequence analyses. Furthermore, this study revealed nine new allelic variants at five different loci.     

Alternatives to Public Provision: The Role of Legal Expenses Insurance in Broadening Access to Justice: The German Experience

The literature suggests that the main barriers to justice range from a general lack of knowledge about legal rights, and the related prevalent use of technical language within justice systems (which has led to commentators describing law as a 'leviathan'), to a vague 'fear of the unknown'. In Germany the principal barrier is thought to be the problem of funding legal services. Empirical research indicates that the question of whether or not to consult a lawyer is primarily one of cost, although over one–third of potential clients have little idea about lawyers' fees. To find ways to surmount this barrier is therefore of paramount importance for a modern society. In broad terms, there are three potential attitudes to legal costs: reliance on one's own resources; hope for third party assistance (such as legal aid or pro bono ); and insurance. This article concentrates on the last of these three options, comparing, in particular, the systems in Germany and England and Wales.