Seeking Asylum at Embassies: A Right to Entry under International Law?

Is the processing of asylum claims at embassies and the grantof ‘humanitarian visas’ within the framework ofProtected Entry Procedures a mere expression of the politicalbenevolence on behalf of potential host states vis-à-visprotection seekers, or do both reflect legal obligations owedto the individual applicant? If so, does international law providefor a right to entry in such cases? In this article, the existenceof a legally binding right to seek asylum encompassing an entrycomponent shall be explored first together with the questionwhether any such right may have any implications on the practiceof Protected Entry Procedures. Second, the relevance of explicitprohibitions of refoulement shall be explored together withimplied protection norms of human rights law (to be found inthe ICCPR, the ECHR and the CRC). The article concludes thatthe UDHR, the EU Charter, the CSR51, the CAT and the ICCPR donot offer any right of entry in the framework of Protected EntryProcedures. However, the ECHR and the CRC do contain an impliedright to access under certain specified conditions.     

Zur Charakteristik Italiens als „verspätete Nation“. Helmuth Plessners Idealtypus und die Diagnose der Gegenwartslage eines EU-Gründungsmitglieds

Italy’s current crisis conceals a sociological issue that deserves qualified attention: The plurality of European modernity. Starting from a critical assessment of Shmuel N. Eisenstadt’s concept of multiple modernities the paper deals with the internal differentiation of the classical model of European modernity. Plessner’s concept of “belated nation” allows a survey of different components and speeds of modernisation processes. Applying Plessner’s model to Italy’s current situation presupposes however to work out more precisely its ideal typical structure and sociological foundation. Furthermore, the normative bias of Plessner’s study on Germany has to be put methodologically in parenthesis, so that Plessner’s analytical frame can be used beyond its original context. First, the article elaborates Plessner’s model ideal typically and differentiates between its political-, economical-, religious-, intellectual- and culture-sociological issues. In the second step, the implicit references to the sociological work of Karl Mannheim and Max Weber are reconstructed. In the third step, the paper evaluates the fruitfulness of Plessner’s approach with regard to its application to Italy’s current crisis. Concluding it retraces the limits of Plessner’s analysis and indicates which further inquiries are necessary to develop an ideal typical concept of the plurality within the European modernity.     

Probleme in der Umsetzung von EU-Naturschutzrecht in ?sterreich

Die Anwendung des Gemeinschaftsrechts in einem f?deralen System ist stets eine besondere Herausforderung. Im Bundesstaat ?sterreich sind die Angelegenheiten des Naturschutzes Zust?ndigkeit der L?nder in Gesetzgebung und Vollziehung. Es ist daher von Interesse, wie die Implementierung der Naturschutzrichtlinien der EU in ?sterreich erfolgt und welche Probleme dabei festzustellen sind.     

Correspondence

The paper argues for the possibility of reworking the concept of ideology in such a way as to depend neither on a problematic of truth and error, nor on a division of the world into two parts one of which is more real than the other, nor on an expressive relation of subjects to meaning. The political force of the concept can be retained if ideology is thought as a provisional state of discourse (a function of its appropriation and use) rather than as a content or an inherent structure. Any discursive system produces a particular configuration of subject-positions which are the conditions of entry of individuals into discourse; but these acquire political significance only through the (historically variable) codification of discourse in terms of a play of relations of power, and the positions available can be refused or undermined. Some implications of this argument for models of the social and for discourse theory are discussed     

Recovering fraudulent claims for Australian federal expenditure on pharmaceuticals and medical devices

The Australian Federal Government expends increasingly large amounts of money on pharmaceuticals and medical devices. It is likely, given government experience in other jurisdictions, that a significant proportion of this expenditure is paid as a result of fraudulent claims presented by corporations. In the United States, legislation such as the False Claims Act 1986 (US), the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act 2009 (US), the Stark (Physician Self-Referral) Statute 1995 (US), the Anti-Kickback Statute 1972 (US), the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act 1938 (US), the Social Security Act 1965 (US), and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act 2010 (US) has created systematic processes allowing the United States Federal Government to recover billions of dollars in fraudulently made claims in the health and procurement areas. The crucial component involves the creation of financial incentives for information about fraud to be revealed from within the corporate sector to the appropriate state officials. This article explores the opportunities for creating a similar system in Australia in the health care setting.