Radbruch and Hart on the Grudge Informer: A Reconsideration

Hart's defense of the separation of law and morality is partly based on his refusal to accept Radbruch's solution of the well‐known grudge informer case, in his famous article “Statutory Injustice and Suprastatutory Law.” In this paper, I present a detailed reconstruction of the “debate” between Radbruch and Hart on this case. I reach the conclusion that Hart fails to address the issue that was Radbruch's primary concern, namely the legal position of the judiciary when dealing with criminal statutes. I suggest that Hart's separation thesis cannot be upheld in the face of this concern. In my argument, Hart's mistaken understanding of the verdict of the Oberlandesgericht Bamberg that he refers to plays a crucial role.     

Injuries due to deliberate violence in areas of Denmark. II. Victims of homicide in the Copenhagen area

As part of a transcultural investigation of injuries due to deliberate violence in Denmark and South America, homicides in the Copenhagen area were studied for a 1-year period. Forty-five cases corresponding to a rate of approximately 2/10(5) per year were recorded. The rate seems to be increasing and the pattern changing with a higher frequency of stabbing and with an increasing frequency of high blood-alcohol concentrations in the victims. The highest number were killed at home. In the majority of cases the aggressor and the victim knew each other. A reduction in alcohol consumption is indicated as a possible preventive measure.     

A critique of Mark Colvin's, crime and coercion: An integrated theory of chronic criminality

Colvin (2000) argues that thepropensity for chronic criminal behaviorresults from developmental andsocialization processes that ultimatelyoriginate in the application of erraticcoercive control. He further argues thatthis process operates at multiple levels(i.e., individual, group, andorganizational). In addition, he arguesthat the relationship between the types ofcontrol and criminal behavior is mediatedthrough intergenerational and developmentaleffects, suggesting that the control typethat has the greatest effect on behavior isone that will be passed on to the nextindividual, group, or organization.In this paper, we critique the theoryproposed by Colvin. First, we summarizethe theory. Second, we categorize it interms of its relationship to other types ofcriminology theories. Third, we criticizeit for failing to sufficiently specify itsempirical assertions in order to facilitateempirical testing, and we suggest sixhypotheses that we think capture at least asmall portion of the theory itself.     

Recent Developments of Swiss Federalism

Since the year 2000, Switzerland has had a totally revised constitution.The main changes deal with issues of federalism. Globalizationhas and will have strong centralizing effects, although localizationmight trigger emotional and nationalistic reactions within thedifferent ethnic communities of Switzerland. The growing mobilityof people and the important percentage of foreigners livingin Switzerland (20 percent) are additional challenges to thealready existing but constitutionally provided diversity. Thisarticle explains the new constitution within this frameworkof the modem world. In particular, it focuses on the specificityof Swiss diversity and the new balance between self-rule andshared rule.     

Development management: Plain or fancy? Sorting out some muddles

This paper explains why development thinking has been caught up in polemical divisions, and cautions against skipping over a sound, basic approach to development management in favour of more complex approaches which in some cases are premature or inappropriate. While we largely recognize the need for better development management, we have not been clear about how to get it. Instead, symbols have been made out of management models and means confused with ends, techniques with goals. Because, for example, the participation of people in their own growth is valued, it is assumed that Western management models that stress this value can be exported, wholesale, to a far less organized Third World contexta perfect example of confusing techniques with goals. When projects are no longer run on rhetoric, and means confused with ends, the need to choose between management models (such as ‘people-centred’ versus ‘blueprint’ management) ends. Instead, actual field conditions can be focused on. Actual conditions often demand nuts-and-bolts skills first. What is needed (and described here) are straightforward, basic management skills to meet equally straightforward, basic weaknesses in organizational structure. Neither fancy nor fashionable, these basics are the forgotten backbone of development management.