Tierfäkalien auf öffentlichen Straßen, Plätzen und in öffentlichen Grünanlagen

Die Verunreinigung ?ffentlicher Stra?en, Pl?tze und in ?ffentlichen Grünanlagen durch Tierf?kalien stellt ein zunehmendes Problem für die ?ffentliche Reinlichkeit dar, das wegen der in den F?kalien oftmals enthaltenen Krankheitserreger auch Auswirkungen auf die menschliche Gesundheit haben kann. Im st?dtischen Bereich tritt das Problem in erster Linie durch Hundekot auf, au?erdem durch Taubenkot, der zudem aufgrund seiner ?tzenden Wirkung zu massiven Sch?den gerade an historischer Bausubstanz führen kann. In l?ndlichen Gegenden spielen Verschmutzungen ?ffentlicher Stra?en durch Viehtrieb eine Rolle.     

Die Umweltverträglichkeitsprüfung bei Rodungen und Erstaufforstungen

In Umsetzung der europarechtlichen Vorgaben aus der UVP-Änderungsrichtlinie erfuhr das UVP-Gesetz des Bundes mit Wirkung ab 3. 8. 2001 umfangreiche Änderungen, die auch eine Anpassung zahlreicher landesrechtlicher Vorschriften erforderlich machten. So wurden mit Gesetz vom 25. 5. 2003 in das Bayerische Waldgesetz neue Vorschriften eingefügt, die bestimmte Rodungen und Erstaufforstungen der Pflicht zur Umweltverträglichkeitsprüfung (UVP) unterwerfen. Im folgenden Beitrag wird am Beispiel der Rechtslage in Bayern aufgezeigt, welche Rodungen und Erstaufforstungen UVP-pflichtig sind und wie sich das Verfahren im Einzelnen ausgestaltet. *) Der Verfasser ist am Landratsamt Neustadt an der Waldnaab als Jurist u. a. für Forstrecht zuständig.

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Terrorism and piracy: A legal view

Abstract

Terrorist attacks on persons or property on the high seas or in the newly designated “exclusive economic zones” bear analogy closer to the traditional international law of “piracy” than most observers suspect. In traditional practice “private ends” in the usual sense was not an essential element of the offense; the label and its legal results were attached to unrecognized belligerents too. The latest codifications of the international law relating to piracy, principally those deriving from the 1958 Geneva Convention on the High Seas, are patently defective. A new formulation is proposed, with a commentary that, among other things, points out how international criminal law and universal jurisdiction can be coordinated with the generally accepted international law of armed conflict to clarify what is currently a chaotic legal situation.     

Freedom of Opinion and Freedom of Expression: Some Reflections on General Comment No. 34 of the Un Human Rights Committee

The United Nations Human Rights Committee is a body of 18 independent experts (including a member from the Netherlands, Professor Cees Flinterman) who are tasked with monitoring compliance with the provisions of the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (in force 23 March 1976). The Committee deploys four principal activities — periodic examination of State Party reports, interpretation and progressive development of the provisions of the Covenant in the form of General Comments, and adjudication of individual complaints under the Optional Protocol, as well as follow-up procedures. This article analyzes the Committee’s second General Comment on Article 19 of the Covenant, which stipulates freedom of opinion and freedom of expression. In 52 paragraphs the General Comment systematically examines, defines and delimits the concepts contained in the three subparagraphs of Article 19, basing itself primarily on the Committee’s concluding observations upon examination of State Party reports and on the case-law in response to petitions under the Optional Protocol. The Committee highlights the primacy of freedom of opinion, recognizing that it is crucial for a democratic society that persons have access to truthful, reliable and pluralistic information, including through the internet, in order to develop a personal opinion whose expression must then be protected by law. The Committee notes, however, that whereas it is inadmissible to impose any restrictions on freedom of opinion, there are certain responsibilities that attach to the exercise of freedom of expression, namely the respect of the reputation of others as well as considerations of health, morals and national security. The Committee holds that so-called ‘memory laws’ as well as blasphemy laws are incompatible with Article 19 and that defamation laws must strike a balance between competing rights and interests. Paragraph 49 of the General Comment clearly affirms the right to hold non-conformist historical views and the right to be wrong. While it is not the function of lawyers or judges to establish what historical truth is, Article 20 of the Covenant imposes an obligation on governments to prohibit incitement to racial hatred or violence, the criminalization of which requires narrow definition of the elements of the crime.

     

ALTERNATIVE ARRANGEMENTS FOR COST EFFECTIVE POLLUTION ABATEMENT: THE NEED FOR IMPLEMENTATION ANALYSIS

After examining policies and proposals designed to achieve cost-effective pollution abatement, the authors argue that design of economically elegant solutions to pollution control problems needs implementation analysis if the policies are to be successfully carried out. They review some institutional obstacles to implementation and conclude that these impediments should not prevent adoption.     

Leaders,coalition politics,and policy‐formulation in China: The great leap forward revisited

This article is a detailed critique of the thesis contained in David Bachman's book on the origins of the Great Leap Forward (GLF). By adopting the so‐called “neo‐institutional” approach, Bachman argues that Li Fuchun and Bo Yibo, leaders of a “Planning and Heavy Industry Coalition” “which had defeated a rival “Finance Coalition “ in 1957, were responsible for initiating and determining the development strategy of the GLF. It follows that Mao's role in the “leap” was very limited; the GLF was made possible when he gave official blessing to the programs of the victorious coalition. The author examines the historical and documentary sources on the GLF to demonstrate the contradictions contained in Bachman's theoretical framework, and the many faulty ways he interprets the data. He argues that Bachman's attempt to debunk the Mao‐dominant model in policy‐making during the GLF is a failure.