Proportionality in the philosophy of punishment: From “why punish?” to “how much?”

This article is a substantially revised version of a paper originally prepared for the International Conference on Justice in Punishment, Jerusalem, Israel, March 27–31, 1988.     

Contrasting Strategies within the War Crimes Trials of Kesselring and Wolff

This article compares the different ways in which, during the post-war decades, the Allied war crimes trials programme responded to the war criminality of two prominent German officials: Field Marshal Albert Kesselring and SS General Karl Wolff. It explores the question of why Wolff, whose complicity was arguably much greater than that of Kesselring, received more favourable treatment, and the role of various political and geo-political factors, including those influencing the interventions of US intelligence officials, as explanations for this apparent legal discrepancy. Dr. Kerstin von Lingen is a researcher at the Centre for Studies on Experiences in War (SFB 437 “Kriegserfahrungen”) at Tubingen University, Germany; Dr. Michael Salter is Professor of Law at The Law School, University of Central Lancashire, United Kingdom.     

Introduction

Abstract. The author recalls a distinction between philosophy conceived as "analytics of truth" and philosophy as "ontology of the actual." The latter might be seen as a diagnostics of our times. For this second type of philosophy questions of legitimation are prominent. According to the author, one can distinguish three main sources of legitimacy of beliefs and practices: religion, reason, and nature. Reason has been considered the most important legitimating ground as far as modernity is concerned. Nevertheless, it has never been very clear what reason as a source of legitimation amounts to. The author, finally, points to the fact that, in times of increasing menace to the biosphere, "nature"– metaphorically speaking – may set a standard for human laws.     

Postmortem decomposition of neutral lipids. Use of modern methods of analysis (HPLC, capillary GC, GC-MS and NMR) in adipocere formation

The chemical composition of subcutaneous fats was analyzed in a corpse that had died from drowning. The skin of the cadaver examined postmortem showed different stages of adipocere. Samples from these regions were chemically compared with the fatty tissue of a person who had died recently. HPLC, GC, GC-MS, NMR (1H- and 13C-NMR), TLC and titrimetrical methods were used to evaluate the degree of decomposition. The fatty acid pattern of the triglycerides (TG) and the free fatty acids (FFA) obtained by TLC separation was also investigated. Some discrepancy was observed between the autopsy findings and the results of the chemical analysis. It is suggested that the autopsy should be supplemented by chemical analysis in order to describe the state of adipocere correctly.     

Textile fibres under the prepuce--criminalistic proof for a sexual assault (author's transl)]

1. One day after a sexual assault the male suspect was investigated by a physician who found yellow textile fibres on his penis. 2. The police secured yellow fibres from the bed-cover, the socks and the panties of the victim. 3. At the laboratory the four kinds of fibres were analyzed. The fibres from the bed and the penis gave identical results by six different methods.     

Starker Steuerwettbewerb – starke Reformen? Ein neuer Blick auf Unternehmenssteuerreformen in 15 EU‐Staaten (1998‐2011)

Although many EU‐countries have reduced corporate taxes in the recent years, there is still a substantial variance between the 12 oldest EU‐member states. This contribution revisits this variation and analyses the determinants of corporate tax reforms and their magnitude from a perspective which is new in two respects: First, we combine logistic panel regression and fsQCA analysis allowing for an integration of qualitative assessments of tax reforms in the QCA analysis. This adds to the existing studies on tax reform which almost exclusively rely on regression techniques. Second, we focus on the time period 1998‐2011 where we expect tax competition to be especially intense. The results of our analyses confirm the major impact of tax competition on national corporate tax policies. This relationship dominates the regression analyses as well as the fsQCA. Furthermore, our findings allow nuancing the existing results on the influence of institutional constraints and partisan politics.