Entrenching Bills of Rights

The entrenchment of a bill of rights, and the consequent removalof the matters covered in the bill from the domain of the legislature,is commonly thought to constitute a transfer of power from thelegislature to the courts. Yet the simple answer to this thoughtis that, strictly speaking, no such transfer takes place, forin acquiring power to determine the content of a bill of rightsthe courts do not acquire the power to legislate that the billdenies to the legislature. The more complex response is thatwhat the courts acquire when a bill of rights is entrenchedis the power to set a constitutional agenda, a power that thelegislature may never have had and so has not necessarily lost,a power the political significance of which depends on the formand content of what is entrenched and the value and characterof the power it leaves in the hands of the legislature. In particular,the entrenchment of a project of governance (as typified bythe positive duties conventionally associated with economicand social rights) raises concerns about the power exercisedby courts that are not raised by the entrenchment of a projectof non-governance (as typified by the negative duties conventionallyassociated with civil and political liberties). Non-governancemay be objectionable, but not because the courts secure it.Governance, however, may be objectionable just because the courtssecure it.     

Investigating the Postmortem Molecular Biology of Cartilage and its Potential Forensic Applications

This study investigated the postmortem molecular changes that articular cartilage undergoes following burial. Fresh pig trotters were interred in 30‐cm‐deep graves at two distinct locations exhibiting dissimilar soil environments for up to 42 days. Extracts of the metacarpophalangeal (MCP) and metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint cartilage from trotters disinterred weekly over 6 weeks were analyzed by Western blot against the monoclonal antibody 2‐B‐6 to assess aggrecan degradation. In both soil conditions, aggrecan degradation by‐products of decreasing molecular size and complexity were observed up to 21 days postmortem. Degradation products were undetected after this time and coincided with MCP/MTP joint exposure to the soil environment. These results show that cartilage proteoglycans undergo an ordered molecular breakdown, the analysis of which may have forensic applications. This model may prove useful for use as a human model and for forensic investigations concerning crimes against animals and the mortality of endangered species.     

An Inquiry into Balanced Scorecards within Best Value Implementation in UK Local Government

The aim is of this paper is to conduct an exploratory study into the use of Balanced Scorecards as an approach to implementing Best Value in UK local government. Furthermore, a participant-observation method is used to study the development into a Balanced Scorecard within local government.
There is a need to critically evaluate approaches to implementing Best Value so that local government can determine how to achieve the service performance levels laid down in the framework. There is a paucity of systematic studies exploring and critiquing the effectiveness of using the Balanced Scorecard in Best Value implementation. The paper describes an exploratory multiple case research study followed by longitudinal participant-observer research on Balanced Scorecard development in a Best Value context. The findings show that the Balanced Scorecard can play a key role in Best Value implementation. Moreover it is also useful in linking other improvement initiatives. However, the Balanced Scorecard process must be informed by organizational and environmental information that is both accurate and adequate. The audit functions of the Business Excellence Model go some way to providing this information.