Democracy through War?

This article brings together three strands of democracy research which have thus far seldom been informed by one another: the empirical research associated with the ‘democratic peace’ thesis, the juridical-normative questions of legality, and moral-philosophical reasoning about just war. Linking the statistical analysis of the democratic peace to the findings of comparative research on democratization and to the normative debates occurring in law and philosophy on just and legitimized wars, there is an inescapable conclusion that: jus ad bellum and jus post bellum criteria must be closely tied. The protection of people threatened by mass murder and brutal violations of human rights requires not only a short-term military intervention, but also the intensive support to establish sustainable rule of law and democracy. External actors intervening for humanitarian reasons equally have a duty to contribute to long-term sustainable state- and democracy-building. Forced regime change and an international trusteeship protectorate can become legitimate and necessary means to guarantee justice after war and to reconcile jus ad bellum principles with duties post bellum. A premature withdrawal of intervening forces, for example in Afghanistan or in Iraq, would amount to a flagrant violation of external actors' post-war duties.     

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)--standardised investigations and classification: recommendations

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) still accounts for considerable numbers of unexpected infant deaths in many countries. While numerous theories have been advanced to explain these events, it is increasingly clear that this group of infant deaths results from the complex interaction of a variety of heritable and idiosyncratic endogenous factors interacting with exogenous factors. This has been elegantly summarised in the "three hit" or "triple risk" model. Contradictions and lack of consistencies in the literature have arisen from diverse autopsy approaches, variable applications of diagnostic criteria and inconsistent use of definitions. An approach to sudden infant death is outlined with discussion of appropriate tissue sampling, ancillary investigations and the use of controls in research projects. Standardisation of infant death investigations with the application of uniform definitions and protocols will ensure optimal investigation of individual cases and enable international comparisons of trends.     

Die Begründung der Geschworenengerichtsurteile

Seit der Wiedereinführung der Geschworenengerichte nach dem Kriege laufen die Debatten um eine Reform auf dieselben Argumente hinaus. Das Ergebnis ist Geschmackssache. In letzter Zeit ist jedoch das Fehlen der Begründung des Wahrspruchs immer mehr in den Vordergrund der Kritik getreten, unterstützt von einem Urteil des EGMR vom Januar 2009. Der Gesetzgeber ist aufgerufen, Abhilfe zu schaffen. Diese Abhandlung befasst sich damit, wie das am besten geschehen soll.     

Soziale Gerechtigkeit und die drei Welten des Wohlfahrtskapitalismus

Der Aufsatz verbindet die normative Diskussion über Soziale Gerechtigkeit in der politischen Philosophie mit empirischen Ergebnissen aus der Sozialstaatsforschung. Damit verknüpft er zwei Diskussionsstränge, die bisher meist isoliert voneinander verlaufen sind. Die Argumentation wird über die Beantwortung von vier Fragen entfaltet. Der normativen Frage: welche regulativen Leitideen liefert die Gerechtigkeitsdebatte in der politischen Philosophie? Der handlungstheoretischen Frage: welche Urteilskriterien und Handlungspräferenzen lassen sich für eine gerechtigkeitsorientierte Politik gewinnen? Der empirischen Frage: Wie lassen sich die drei Welten des Wohlfahrtskapitalismus auf dem Hintergrund der hierarchisch geordneten Gerechtigkeitskriterien beurteilen? Sowie schließlich der institutionellen Frage: welche institutionelle Logik eine (notwendig gewordene) Reform des Sozialstaats tragen soll, wenn diese gleichzeitig sozial gerecht sein und eine realistische Aussicht auf ihre Verwirklichung haben soll.     

Explosive "Roman find"

A case of a 40-year-old hobby archeologist is presented who searched for remains from Roman times. After finding an oblong, cylindrical object, he opened it with a saw to examine it, which triggered an explosion killing the man. The technical investigation of the remains showed that the find was actually a grenade from the 2nd World War. The autopsy findings and the results of the criminological investigation are presented.     

An unusual occupational accident: fall into a sewage plant tank with lethal outcome

Occupational accidents, often presenting with lethal outcomes, are a rarely reported issue in forensic literature. However, these incidents are part of medicolegal casework with special regard to reconstruction, liabilities and insurance law-related issues, respectively. We report on a lethal occupational accident in a metropolitan sewage plant. When performing routine controls, a technician fell into an overflow sewer and was immediately pulled into a 30 cm diameter drain. Rescue efforts were initiated immediately, but had to be terminated due to gas warning. Rescue teams continued the search, however, the body remained undiscoverable. Forty-eight hours later, the cadaver was found in an adjacent digester tank, from where it was finally rescued. It was concluded, that the body had been transported between the overflow sewer and the digester tank through a 120 m pipeline with several 90 degrees bendings and branch connections with a minimum diameter of 25 cm at the discharge valve. On medicolegal examination, the cadaver showed marked signs of advanced decomposition caused by anaerobic microorganisms in the 37 degrees C biomass environment. Moreover, as a consequence of the passage of the pipeline system, signs of massive trauma (several comminuted and compound fractures) were disclosed at autopsy. To us, this is the first report on a lethal occupational accident in a sewage plant; our observations demonstrate the rapid progress of putrefaction in a warm anaerobic bacterial environment and the massive trauma sustained.     

Medical malpractice charges in Germany--role of the forensic pathologist in the preliminary criminal proceeding

Medical malpractice charges from 1989 to 2002 were evaluated. A rising number of cases during this period is evident. The charges of practice falling below the standard of care (n = 285) were surveyed to determine who informed the prosecution, which clinical subjects are involved, what kind of charges can be found and whether such allegations can be appropriately assessed by means of a forensic autopsy. Forensic pathologists were found to be useful for ascertainment and interpretation of autopsy findings. If special questions arise, an additional expert opinion should be suggested by the forensic pathologist. There was no relevant shift in the range of subjects involved compared to former studies. The investigated charges might represent only a small fraction of cases of medical practice falling below the standard of care.     

The consolidation of post‐autocratic democracies: A multi‐level model

The mainstream of theoretical and empirical ‘consolidology’ speaks of consolidated and non‐consolidated democracies. This crude dichotomy does not allow for more differentiated judgments about the stage of consolidation of newly democratized political systems. To overcome this shortcoming, a multi‐level model of democratic consolidation is proposed, consisting of four interdependent levels. The particular configuration of each has specific impact on the consolidation of the other levels. The four levels are: constitutional, representative, behavioural, and civic cultural consolidation. This model helps us to understand why new democracies survive or collapse, to identify the degree to which they are consolidated and the levels on which they are most vulnerable to internal and external shocks. It helps us to locate the parts of the political system where reforms should be implemented, or stopped or reversed in order to consolidate and stabilize a new democratic regime.