Section 994 of the Companies Act 2006 and the Primacy of Contract

The Court of Appeal's decision in Fulham Football Club (1987) Ltd v Richards & Anor is both of interest and significance. By embracing the idea of the parties’ ability to ‘contract out’ of their statutory right to petition the court for relief under section 994 of the Companies Act 2006 (the so‐called ‘unfair prejudice’ remedy), their Lordships have not only contrived to stunt the future development of unfair prejudice as a minority shareholder remedy but, and more importantly for the purposes of this case note, their decision has reasserted and extended the contractual analogy in modern UK company law.     

Of mice and men: will the intersection of social science and genetics create new approaches for intimate partner violence?

The past two decades have yielded a recognition that intimate partner violence is ubiquitous. Although violence within relationships is bidirectional, there is acknowledgment that violence directed against women is more persistent and dangerous. Strategies for treatment of men have been largely unsuccessful, and studies of women centered approaches to prevention are in their infancy. An emerging concept in the brain-behavior field is the recognition of genetics as a powerful influence on aggressive and violent behaviors. Mouse models of human health and disease have facilitated our understanding of the role of genetics in the manifestation of these traits. There is a need to push the boundaries of research on intimate partner violence by adopting biosocial approaches to understand its causes.     

The "GeneTrustee": a universal identification system that ensures privacy and confidentiality for human genetic databases

This article describes a generic model for access to samples and information in human genetic databases. The model utilises a "GeneTrustee", a third-party intermediary independent of the subjects and of the investigators or database custodians. The GeneTrustee model has been implemented successfully in various community genetics screening programs and has facilitated research access to genetic databases while protecting the privacy and confidentiality of research subjects. The GeneTrustee model could also be applied to various types of non-conventional genetic databases, including neonatal screening Guthrie card collections, and to forensic DNA samples.