Ausgeschlossenheit von Richtern im Wiederaufnahmeverfahren

Gem § 43 Abs 4 StPO ist ein Richter von der Entscheidung über einen Antrag auf Wiederaufnahme ausgeschlossen, wenn er im Verfahren bereits als Richter t?tig gewesen ist. Das gilt auch für Rechtsmittelrichter uneingeschr?nkt. Jede im (Grund-)Verfahren erfolgte Befassung eines Richters mit der Sache selbst führt dazu, dass er in Ansehung einer Entscheidung über einen Antrag auf Wiederaufnahme des Verfahrens ausgeschlossen ist. Die Mitwirkung an einem Beschluss sowohl über den Einspruch gegen die Anklageschrift als auch über eine Beschwerde gegen die Verh?ngung oder Fortsetzung der Untersuchungshaft umfasst eine solche die Ausschlie?ung begründende richterliche T?tigkeit.     

The continuing Kurdish problem in Turkey after O¨calan's capture

This article sets out to critically explore an important dimension of the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) recent bid for economic stability, namely the transparency requirements vis-à-vis emerging market economies. The article argues that this requirement symbolises an attempt to bolster ideological obligation to neoliberalism while progressing towards a certain form of legal obligation between states. This claim is developed by first identifying three facets that have undermined the economic stability of the global system: (1) the emergence of 'competition states'; (2) a non-hegemonic political economy; and (3) the reperipheralisation (or re-marginalisation) processes in the global South. After establishing this larger analytical backdrop, the article goes on to evaluate the Fund's transparency requirements as an attempt to preserve the status quo in the global political economy.     

Normative power and organized hypocrisy: European Union member states' arms export to Libya

The 2011 Libyan civil war prompted a reassessment of the normative foundation of the EU's conventional arms export control regime as armaments manufactured in Europe were used by Gaddafi's forces during the war. The EU's foreign policy identity is based, partly, upon a common approach to arms export involving respect for common criteria for export licences. Yet, prior to the civil war, considerable amounts of military equipment had been exported by member states to Libya, notwithstanding grounds for restraint on the basis of several of the criteria. This article traces member states' arms export to Libya during 2005–2010 to explore whether member states favoured restraint or export promotion. It concludes that although aware of the risks of exporting, in a competitive market for military goods, member states sought commercial advantage over restraint, and comprehensively violated export control principles. This casts doubts on assertions of the EU acting as a “normative power”.     

Zur Zulässigkeit körperlicher Eingriffe im Strafverfahren

Dieser Beitrag bespricht die Entscheidung des EGMR Jalloh gegen Deutschland, No 54810/00 vom 11. Juli 2006. Dadurch soll zugleich an die Grundprinzipien des modernen Strafverfahrens erinnert und die Bedeutung eines allgemeinen Instrumentalisierungsverbotes in unserer Rechtsordnung, inbesonders aber im Strafrecht aufgezeigt werden. Derzeit besteht keine gesetzliche Grundlage für zwangsweise körperliche Eingriffe in einem gerichtlichen Strafverfahren in Österreich. Das wird sich durch das Strafprozessreformgesetz, das mit 1. Jänner 2008 in Geltung tritt, ändern. Daher soll auch beurteilt werden, ob ein Vorgehen, wie es dem Anlassfall zugrunde liegt, künftig im österreichischen Strafverfahren zulässig wäre.     

Sugar and fatty acid analysis in ecstasy tablets

Sugars and stearates (composed of fatty acids) are both frequent components used in the production of ecstasy tablets. Their analysis can therefore provide supplementary information useful for drug intelligence. Links established using these substances would be very significant as they should give us information about the manufacturer of the tablets. Two methods have been developed for the analysis of sugars and fatty acids by GC-MS and were applied to 109 ecstasy tablets. Characterisation of the samples should allow the differentiation of a certain number of them and furthermore their classification into groups. This is obtained by analysing the raw data using chemometric methods. Several pre-treatments have been tested together with six similarity measures on a small number of ecstasy samples in order to determine which combination would best characterise one ecstasy sample and differentiate it from the others at the same time. Normalisation followed by the fourth square and applied together with the squared cosine function appeared to give the best results and has been applied to all samples. The correlation values obtained of each sample with all others express the probability of a presence of a link between two samples. In order to verify the signification of these values, and thus of a link, all samples have been compared considering the data visually according to three selected criterions. The 109 examined samples could be divided into 67 groups, with 43 of them containing only one sample. Considering the distribution of their correlation values, sample pairs showing a value below 0.23 can be considered as linked. As the excipients are necessarily related to the blending, which also includes the active substance, and variation in the excipient content has been proven by the grouping of the samples, a low similarity value does indicate a link with regard to the producer. In conclusion, it appears that the result obtained with the excipients is certainly very valuable, but all other available information has to be taken into account as well before making any conclusions.     

Origin assignment of unidentified corpses by use of stable isotope ratios of light (bio-) and heavy (geo-) elements--a case report

An unknown male body was found near an expressway in Germany. As different criminalistic and forensic methods (e.g. tooth status, fingerprint or DNA-analysis) could not help to identify the person, multielement stable isotope investigations were applied. The combined analysis of stable isotope ratios of light (H, C, N) and heavy elements (Pb, Sr) on the man's body tissues supported to assign him to Romania. The case report demonstrates an application of multielement-isotope analysis in the forensic fields and its potential.     

Voraussetzungen einer Vorverurteilung nach § 28a Abs 1 SMG

Enth?lt ein nach früherer Rechtslage (§ 12 SGG) ergangenes Urteil keine Feststellungen zum Reinheitsgrad der seinerzeit manipulierten Suchtgiftmenge, bedarf es zur abschlie?enden Beurteilung der Qualifikation des § 28a Abs 2 Z 1 SMG origin?rer, die damalige Aktenlage würdigender Tatsachenfeststellungen.     

On the Psychology of the Advantaged: How People React to Being Overpaid

Based on the idea that overpaid people are in conflict between hedonic principles (i.e., what makes them pleased) and what they believe to be right, two studies tested the hypothesis that it should be relatively difficult for people to make satisfaction judgments regarding outcomes in which they are being advantaged. In line with this hypothesis, Study 1 demonstrated that response latencies of satisfaction judgments were longer when participants were being overpaid, compared to when they were underpaid or equally paid. Study 2 extended these findings by demonstrating that people required more time to make satisfaction judgments when they were overpaid in the context of a close relationship (i.e., in which the conflict between hedonic and concerns for the other’s need should be stronger) than when overpaid in the context of a non-close relationship. Theoretical implications regarding the social-cognitive processes underlying reactions to overpayment are discussed.