Police Shootings and the Role of Tort

In Ashley v Chief Constable of Sussex , the House of Lords ruled that a civil claim in trespass to the person may be sustained against an individual police officer in respect of a fatal shooting, in circumstances where the officer had already been acquitted in criminal proceedings and where liability to compensate in respect of all losses had been conceded. Two members of the majority clearly ruled that trespass torts may have a vindicatory purpose which survives a concession of liability to compensate, thus deepening the connection between tort, and the protection of fundamental rights, and suggesting an intriguing distinction between the functions of civil and criminal law.     

Choice of Law in Tort—Blending in with the Landscape of the Conflict of Laws?

The reformed choice of law in tort rules contained in the Private International Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1995 have proved a source of great controversy. This piece attempts to show that there are wider concerns fuelled by the Act. It seeks to demonstrate that one can not reform one area of the Conflict of Laws (such as choice of law in tort) in isolation from other areas (such as jurisdiction in tortious matters and choice of law in contract) and to illustrate the unsatisfactory state that the statutory reforms have had on these other areas. The analysis of the problems generated by the Act may be used as a model for a far more fundamental proposition: namely that the tendency to regard choice of law and jurisdiction as separate areas throughout the Conflict of Laws, rather than as combining to form a coherent law of international litigation, is a critical shortcoming of the study of the subject.     

Justice, at last, in the archetypical patent entitlement dispute

The Court of Appeal has held that Cinpres was not estopped fromsucceeding in its entitlement claim, despite having failed inan earlier claim concerning the related application, and isthe rightful owner of a disputed European patent.     

Coronial Inquests,Indigenous Suicide and the Colonial Narrative

Critical Criminology - This article explores the over-representation of Indigenous people in suicide statistics internationally as indicative of the broader impacts of colonialism. The purpose of...     

Color Separation in Forensic Image Processing Using Interactive Differential Evolution

Color separation is an image processing technique that has often been used in forensic applications to differentiate among variant colors and to remove unwanted image interference. This process can reveal important information such as covered text or fingerprints in forensic investigation procedures. However, several limitations prevent users from selecting the appropriate parameters pertaining to the desired and undesired colors. This study proposes the hybridization of an interactive differential evolution (IDE) and a color separation technique that no longer requires users to guess required control parameters. The IDE algorithm optimizes these parameters in an interactive manner by utilizing human visual judgment to uncover desired objects. A comprehensive experimental verification has been conducted on various sample test images, including heavily obscured texts, texts with subtle color variations, and fingerprint smudges. The advantage of IDE is apparent as it effectively optimizes the color separation parameters at a level indiscernible to the naked eyes.     

Ancestry and BMI Influences on Facial Soft Tissue Depths for A Cohort of Chinese and Caucasoid Women in Dunedin,New Zealand

This study measured and assessed facial soft tissue depths (FSTDs) in adult female Chinese and New Zealand (NZ) Europeans (Caucasoids). Ultrasound was used to obtain depths at nine landmarks on 108 healthy subjects (51 Chinese, 57 NZ European), erect positioned, of same age group (18–29 years). Height and weight were also recorded. Statistical analysis focused on comparison of tissue depth between the two ancestry groups and the influence of Body Mass Index (BMI) (kg/m²). Results showed mean depth differences at Supra M2 and Infra M2 landmarks significantly greater for Chinese than Caucasoid women for all three BMI Classes (BMI <20, 20 ≤ BMI < 25, 25 ≤ BMI < 30), even BMI <20. For both groups BMI positively correlated with FSTD values at all landmarks except Labrale superius. This study enabled ancestry and BMI influence on FSTDs to be observed and compared for two distinct groups. Results add to knowledge about facial tissue depth variation.