Tackling Ill-Treatment in Places of Detention: The Work of the Council of Europe’s “Torture Committee”

The article examines the working methods and effectiveness of the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the CPT) which, since 1990, has been carrying out visits to places of detention. It also examines the impact the Committee has had upon European standards and expectations, and, in particular, upon the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, and raises certain issues in respect of the establishment of the United Nation’s Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment of the Committee against Torture. This article draws upon material to be published in The Treatment of Prisoners: European Standards (Council of Europe Press: 2006).     

Direct comparison of post-28-cycle PCR purification and modified capillary electrophoresis methods with the 34-cycle “low copy number” (LCN) method for analysis of trace forensic DNA samples

The investigation of samples with low amounts of template DNA remains at the forefront of forensic DNA research and technology as it becomes increasingly important to gain DNA profile information from exceedingly trace levels of DNA. Previous studies have demonstrated that it is possible to obtain short tandem repeat (STR) profiles from <100 pg of template DNA by increasing the number of amplification cycles from 28 to 34, a modification often referred to as “low copy number” or LCN analysis. In this study, we have optimised post-PCR purification techniques applied after only 28 cycles of PCR, as well as using modified capillary electrophoresis injection conditions and have investigated the progressive application of these enhanced approaches. This paper reviews the characteristics of the profiles obtained by these methods compared with those obtained on the same samples after 34-cycle PCR. We observed comparable sensitivity to 34-cycle PCR in terms of the number of profiles with evidence of DNA and the number of allelic peaks per profile and we noted improved peak height and area magnitude with some sample types. Certain parameters reported to be adversely affected in 34-cycle LCN investigations, such as non-donor allele peaks and increased stutter peak ratio, were reduced by this approach. There are a number of advantages for trace samples in progressing from the standard 28-cycle process to the post-PCR processing method as compared to 34-cycle PCR method, including reduced sample consumption, reduced number of PCR amplifications required, and a staged approach to sample processing and profile interpretation.     

Methodological Issues in Researching Criminal Justice Policy: Belief Systems and the ‘Causes of Crime’

Despite the influence of Heclo and a few other scholars, traditional conceptions of policy-making have failed to link the intellectual and political, economic and institutional aspects of the process by close ties of mutual relevance... The failure to link together ideas and events has seriously reduced the ability of these models to explain how policies change (Majone 1989: 148).     

Back to first principles: a new model for the regulation of drug promotion

The US Food and Drug Administration''s (‘FDA’ or the ‘Agency’) current regulatory framework for drug promotion, by significantly restricting the ability of drug manufacturers to communicate important, accurate, up-to-date scientific information about their products that is truthful and non-misleading, runs afoul of the First Amendment and actually runs counter to the Agency''s public health mission. Our article proposes a New Model that represents an initial proposal for a modern, sustainable regulatory framework that comprehensively addresses drug promotion while protecting the public health, protecting manufacturers’ First Amendment rights, establishing clear and understandable rules, and maintaining the integrity of the FDA approval process. The New Model would create three categories of manufacturer communications—(1) Scientific Exchange and Other Exempt Communications, (2) Non-Core Communications, and (3) Core Communications—that would be regulated consistent with the First Amendment and according to the strength of the government''s interest in regulating the specific communications included within each category. The New Model should address the FDA''s concerns related to off-label speech while protecting drug manufacturers’ freedom to engage in truthful and non-misleading communications about their products.     

Peasant farming in Russia

Russia started its decollectivisation effort in earnest after the abortive 1991 coup attempt. A legislative foundation has been laid and over one‐quarter million peasant farms have been created, many through the act of exiting a collective by a farm worker, taking his or her land and asset shares along. Yet significant obstacles remain in the path of both continued peasant farm creation and the viability of those already functioning.     

传统民事审判方式的弊端及改革构想

传统民事审判方式的弊端表现在：法官包揽调查,当事人基本上不负举证责任;开庭审判走过场,基本上是先定后审;庭审采取纠问式,当事人被动应答,较少主动行为,合议庭合而不议,审而不判,作用不显;当事人的处分权受到较大限制。在改革中,应强调当事人举证责任,完善举证制度;强调公开审判,充分发挥庭审功能;强化合议庭和独任审判页的职责,实现“审”与“判”的统一;加强法院自身的改革。