Lessons from Philosophy? Interdisciplinary Justice Research and Two Classes of Justice Judgments

More and more scholars of social justice have been calling for a closer collaboration between empirical and normative disciplines. Psychological and sociological research, as well as philosophical theories can, so they claim, learn from one another and work should be based on results obtained in the other fields of research. Some political philosophers do not share this view. They argue that, since most empirical research does not capture people's moral views on justice, its results cannot be of any value to their theories. Based on this critique I suggest in the first part of this paper that empirical research should distinguish between two classes of justice judgments: First, justice judgments in a narrow sense, which are made under conditions of impartiality and grounded in moral principles, and second, justice attitudes, which differ from other types of social attitudes only in their attitude objects. In the second part I present a quasi-experimental study that aimed at testing the two different classes of justice judgments empirically. The results show that justice judgments in the narrow sense can be obtained even under conditions in which complex experimental manipulations cannot be employed. In the third part of this paper I hypothesize that justice judgments which are based on the two formal criteria provided by political philosophy (impartiality and reference to moral principles) may serve as important intervening variables when trying to explain the impact of justice beliefs on different patterns of human behavior.     

Zur verfassungsrechtlichen Beurteilung des Vertrags über Stabilit?t, Koordinierung und Steuerung in der Wirtschafts- und W?hrungsunion (Fiskalpakt)

Der Vertrag über Stabilit?t, Koordinierung und Steuerung in der Wirtschafts- und W?hrungsunion ("VSKS" - vulgo "Fiskalpakt") wurde dem ?sterreichischen Parlament als gesetz?ndernd bzw gesetzeserg?nzend zugeleitet. Er enth?lt jedoch einige verfassungs?ndernde Bestimmungen. Es sind dies Beschr?nkungen der Budgethoheit des Nationalrats, die übertragung von Hoheitsrechten auf Organe der EU, und eine neuartige Verpflichtung zur Normenkontrolle. Der VSKS bedürfte daher vor seiner Ratifikation der Erlassung eines Bundesverfassungsgesetzes. Dies deshalb, weil weder die Bestimmungen über die Ab?nderung von EU-Prim?rrecht (Art 50 Abs 1 Z 2 iVm Abs 4 B-VG) noch die Erm?chtigung zur übertragung von Hoheitsrechten (Art 9 Abs 2 B-VG), die derartige Verfassungs?nderungen decken k?nnten, auf den VSKS anwendbar sind.     

European Union Soft Law: New Developments Concerning the Divide Between Legally Binding Force and Legal Effects

The judgment in Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa sheds light on the legal effects of soft law instruments that the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) will recognise, while distinguishing between their legally binding force and their legal or practical effects. European soft law is now often relied on in national courts, and can have an important impact on the rights and obligations of individuals. However, some of the goals of the Commission are only partly attainable due to the specific legal status of soft law instruments, and the current languages policy of the European Union. Given that soft law was not found to expressly impose obligations on individuals, the Court held that there was no requirement to publish it in all the official languages of the European Union. This has a negative impact on transparency and legal certainty, diminishing the role of soft law instruments in promoting such goals.     

Differential diagnostics of stomach contents showing blue discoloration

A 42-year-old man evidently had died from an intoxication. On the basis of the findings at scene it was primarily assumed that the man had ingested a larger quantity of an ethylene glycol-containing antifreeze for suicidal purposes. The man was said to have had an alcohol problem and did not only consume drinking alcohol, but also other alcoholic liquids. At autopsy, a bluish liquid with an aromatic smell was found in the oesophagus and stomach. However, toxicological analyses did not furnish evidence of ethylene glycol--as expected--but a potentially fatal concentration of ethanol (blood alcohol concentration 4.01 per mille). The blue colour (patent blue C.I.42051) came from a liquid used in the wind-screen washer system in winter, which now contains ethanol (denatured with 2-butanone) instead of ethylene glycol. The results of the toxicological findings including the analysis of congener alcohols and the differential diagnostics of blue-coloured stomach contents are discussed.     

Land- und Forstwirtschaft im Umweltgesetzbuch – Wird der Referentenentwurf den ökologischen Herausforderungen gerecht?

Zusammenfassung  Eine wesentliche Ursache für den anhaltenden Rückgang der Biologischen Vielfalt und der Belastung des Naturhaushaltes ist die moderne land- und forstwirtschaftliche Bewirtschaftung. Ein zukunftsf?higes Naturschutzrecht, welches den 2010-Zielen und der Nationalen Biodiversit?tsstrategie der Bundesregierung dienen soll, muss bei diesem Wirtschaftszweig ansetzen. Der Beitrag untersucht, inwieweit der Referentenentwurf des Bundesumweltministeriums vom 20. Mai 2008 diesem Anspruch gerecht wird.     

Fatal thoracic compression after being partially run over by an automobile

The authors report on a fatal pedestrian accident in which the victim lay on the street and got under a car being run over by one of the front wheels. Both the car driver and the killed pedestrian were strongly alcohol-intoxicated at the time of the accident (2.45 a.m.). After the car had come to a standstill, the pedestrian remained trapped under the car until she was rescued by the fire brigade. On the basis of the autopsy findings and the technical expert opinion it could be reconstructed that the pedestrian's death was not caused by the consequences of being run over by the car, but by the subsequent compression of her thorax in the final accident position.     

Die Fischereigenossenschaft nach dem LFischG NRW: Was ist das?

Natur und Recht - Vor 50 Jahren – im Jahr 1972 – wurde in Nordrhein-Westfalen das Preußische Fischereigesetz von 1916 durch das Landesfischereigesetz NRW a.F. abgelöst. Dieses...     

The business case for sustainability in retrospect: A Scandinavian institutionalism perspective on the role of expert conferences in shaping the emerging “CSR and corporate sustainability space”

This paper is concerned with the rise and, in retrospect, successful “positioning” of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate sustainability as a management idea. It answers to calls that more research is required into the “business case for sustainability,” especially the link between rhetoric and reality. We allow for a narrative-driven and dynamic perspective to frame the analysis of the discourse, rhetoric, and arguments in use during the emergence of “modern CSR” in Europe in the early 2000s. On the one hand, it shows that the European Union/Commission acted as an “enabler” of business case rhetoric. On the other hand, empirical evidence from two expert conferences series in Germany 2004–2008 leads to the conclusion that a wide coalition of interested parties continuously and progressively filled, shaped, and energized the early “CSR and corporate sustainability space” with presenting CSR as a rationale and progressive (management) idea.