The Prosecution Service Function within the Swiss Criminal Justice System

The criminal justice system of Basel is described as a cantonal example for Switzerland. Special attention is paid to the Prosecution Service Function within this framework and its relationship to police and courts. The article not only refers to legal provisions but to the factual handling of criminal cases as well.     

Pürgy, Erich: Natura 2000. Auswirkung und Umsetzung im innerstaatlichen Recht, Forschungen aus Staat und Recht 142. 2005, 398 S., brosch., € 78,–/sFr 129,–, Springer Verlag, Wien New York. ISBN 3-211-28251-3

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Design protection for technical products

Legal context. The shape and the function of a product are oftenclosely related (‘form follows function’) whichopens the way for double protection of novel features by a patentand a design. The simultaneous application for both rights canbe done in a fast and cost efficient way by using the figuresof the patent application for the design registration. Key points. With this in mind, the design registration may notcover the novel features in its broadest terms, since designlaw does not apply to ideas, concepts, or methods. However,the design provides protection for a concrete embodiment andthereby offers some relief for a patent applicant in need ofimmediate action against copying. Although, certain conditionshave to be observed where simultaneous protection is sought,there is no doubt that a patent covering an invention in itsgeneral form and a registered design protecting a specific embodimentof the invention may coexist with no mutual negative effectto their respective validity. Practical significance. Having an enforceable protection rightfor an embodiment of an invention at hand a long time beforethe corresponding patent is granted is a valuable asset in anIP portfolio. The additional costs incurred by a design registrationare insignificant in comparison with the costs for the patent.     

Investment Treaty Arbitration as a Species of Global Administrative Law

The article outlines a simple thesis: that international investmentarbitration – pursuant to regional and bilateral investmenttreaties – offers the clearest example of global administrativelaw, strictly construed, yet to have emerged. We present thisthesis by explicating four key features of investment treaties:they permit investor claims against the state without exhaustinglocal remedies; they allow claims for damages; they allow investorsto directly seek enforcement of awards before domestic courts;and they facilitate forum-shopping. Our argument is that, owingto this unique conjunction of features, the regulatory conductof states is, to an unusual extent, subject to control throughcompulsory international adjudication. Having highlighted thesefeatures, we then claim that investment arbitration is bestanalogized to domestic administrative law rather than to internationalcommercial arbitration, especially since investment arbitrationengages disputes arising from the exercise of public authorityby the state as opposed to private acts of the state. Further,we claim that the linkages between investment arbitration anddomestic legal systems are more direct and more closely integratedthan other forms of international adjudication in the publicsphere. For these reasons, we argue that the emerging regimeof investment arbitration is to be understood as constitutingan important and powerful manifestation of global administrativelaw.     

On Extremism in our Time

Extremism—in attitudes and actions—appears to be expanding. What makes one prone to extremism? Umberto Eco’s The Prague Cemetery, a narrative built on diary entries of the man who forged the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, exposes the two-self nature of extremists. It also exposes the two-self nature of the Narrator, who imposes coherence on the diary entries. This essay peels off the layers of images that allow extremists of all kind to appear other than they truly are.