Patterns and strategies of court administration in Canada and the United States

Abstract. This paper argues that patterns of court administration and the strategies pursued by judiciaries in Canada and the United States are quite different as a result of contrasting constitutional principles. Parliamentary supremacy in Canada has led to executive department administration of the courts, while the American separation of powers doctrine has encouraged judicial branch administration of the courts. Constitutional differences have also promoted more unified systems of court administration in Canada than in the United States. As a result of these differences, Canadian judiciaries have pursued an encapsulation strategy and have depended on the legal community to serve as their patron. On the other hand, American judiciaries have promoted organizational growth and sought empowerment — the development of a separate power base — rather than relying on powerful allies. Sommaire. D'après l'auteur de cet article, les scénarios de l'administration des tribunaux et les stratégies adoptés par les fonctionnaires judiciaires sont très différents au Canada et aux Etats-Unis, par suite de la divergence de leurs principes constitutionnels. La suprématie du parlement, au Canada, a conduit à l'exercice d'un contrǒle par l'exécutif sur l'administration des tribunaux alors que la doctrine américaine de la séparation des pouvoirs a encouragé l'exercice de ce contrǒle par le pouvoir judiciaire lui měme. Les différences constitution-nelles ont aussi contribuéà promouvoir des systèmes d'administration des tribunaux plus unifiés au Canada qu'aux Etats-Unis. A cause de ces différences, les fonctionnaires judiciaires canadiens ont adopté une stratégie de retranchement, comptant sur la communauté des juristes pour leur servir de protecteurs. Leurs homologues américains, par contre, ont cherché ce promouvoir la crois-sance de leur organisation et de ses pouvoirs en fait le devéloppement d'un pouvoir siparé-au lieu de se fies à des allies puissants extérieurs.     

Indigenous Peoples in International Environmental Cooperation: Arctic Management of Hazardous Substances

This article reviews the international legal framework on hazardous substances, with an emphasis on the Arctic and the roles of indigenous peoples. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and heavy metals pose significant risks to Arctic indigenous populations, mainly through the consumption of traditional foods. Treaties of particular relevance include the Protocols on Heavy Metals and POPs to the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (1998) and the Stockholm Convention on POPs (2001). Arctic indigenous groups have exerted considerable influence on hazardous substance management through lobbying of national governments, participation in domestic and international scientific assessments, and direct advocacy in regional and global political fora. Their engagement on environmental issues has also helped to shape circumpolar consciousness and political activism among different indigenous groups. At the same time, there remain important limitations on the independent authority and ability to act of indigenous groups. Challenges for Arctic indigenous groups and States include continuing collaborative abatement work targeting many POPs and heavy metals, as well as addressing linkages between hazardous substances and climate change, which is another issue of great Arctic concern.     

An ACIR Perspective on Intergovernmental Institutional Development

This article traces the creation and demise of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (ACIR) and assesses the prospects for restoring an ACIR‐like capability to the federal system. Recent initiatives by the National Academy of Public Administration, the Big 7 state and local government official associations, and Congress are summarized, and the facilitating and inhibiting factors associated with intergovernmental institutional development are examined. At least three ingredients in the formula that gave birth to the ACIR in 1959 will need to be present more than 50 years later: (1) support from congressional champions, the president, and public interest groups; (2) visibility and urgency of intergovernmental fiscal and management issues and the need for a permanent intergovernmental presence to address them; and (3) “homework and spadework” to enlist potential conservative and liberal interest group and think tank backers.     

Further Evidence on the Anatomical Placement of the Human Eyeball for Facial Approximation and Craniofacial Superimposition*

Abstract: Recently a small sampled cadaver study (n = 4) suggested that the human eyeballs are placed closer to the orbital roof and lateral orbital wall as first reported in the anatomical literature many years previously. This contrasts with central positioning of the eyeball within the orbit as advocated by the facial approximation literature. Given the limits of such small samples, this study re-examined globe position in nine new cadavers to help clarify which relationship is accurate. The results essentially confirm prior empirical findings except that the mean lateral divergences from the orbit center were found to be larger—the eyeball was found to be “displaced” 1.4 mm superiorly and 2.4 mm laterally. Medians calculated across all 13 cadavers from this study and the above-mentioned recent report refine these measurements to 1.4 and 2.3 mm respectively. Globe projection values were identical to those observed for living individuals (c. 16 mm).     

Risk Factors Associated with the Chronicity of High Potential for Child Abuse and Neglect

The present 4-year follow-up study involves 56 mothers who were evaluated by social agencies as being abusive and neglectful or at high risk for child abuse and neglect. The aim of the study is to analyze the relationship between psychosocial risk factors (relating to the history and current situation of the mothers) that were present at the time the families were initially recruited and the fact that some of the mothers continue to show a high potential for child abuse and neglect (chronic abuse and neglect), whereas others were able to overcome the problem (transitory abuse and neglect). Results indicate that the following variables are particularly associated with situations involving chronic problems of abuse and neglect: initial level of severity of potential for abuse and neglect; dual-parent status; a large number of children at the time of intervention (3.13 times more risk of chronicity for large families); the fact that as a child the mother herself had been placed in a foster home (3.7 times more risk); that she had been sexually abused (3.5 times more risk); and that as an adolescent she had run away from home (3.02 times more risk). Our results indicate that mothers who have a combination of more than eight risk factors are four times more likely to be in the chronic group.