The information infrastructures of 1985 and 2018: The sociotechnical context of computer law & security

This article identifies key features of the sociotechnical contexts of computer law and security at the times of this journal's establishment in 1985, and of its 200th Issue in 2018. The infrastructural elements of devices, communications, data and actuator technologies are considered first. Social actors as individuals, and in groups, communities, societies and polities, together with organisations and economies, are then interleaved with those technical elements. This provides a basis for appreciation of the very different challenges that confront us now in comparison with the early years of post-industrialism.     

Profiling the scent of weathered training aids for blood-detection dogs

At outdoor crime scenes, cadaver-detection and blood-detection dogs may be tasked with locating blood that is days, weeks or months old. Although it is known that the odour profile of blood will change during this time, it is currently unknown how the profile changes when exposed to the environment. Such variables must be studied in order to understand when the odour profile is no longer detectable by the scent-detection dogs and other crime scene tools should be implemented. In this study, blood was deposited onto concrete and varnished wood surfaces and weathered in an outdoor environment over a three-month period. Headspace samples were collected using solid phase microextraction (SPME) and analysed using comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography – time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC×GC–TOFMS). The chemical odour profiles were compared with the behavioural responses of cadaver-detection and blood-detection dogs during training. Data interpretation using principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) established that the blood odour could no longer be detected using SPME–GC×GC–TOFMS after two months of weathering on both surfaces. Conversely, the blood-detection dogs had difficulty locating the blood samples after one month of weathering on concrete and after one week of weathering on varnished wood. The scent-detection dogs evaluated herein had not been previously exposed to environmentally weathered blood samples during training. Given that this study was conducted to test the dogs' baseline abilities, it is expected that with repeated exposure, the dogs' capabilities would likely improve. The knowledge gained from this study can assist in providing law enforcement with more accurate training aids for blood-detection dogs and can improve their efficiency when deployed to outdoor crime scenes.     

Judicial Review,Irrationality, and the Legitimacy of Merits-Review

The definition of the irrationality ground of judicial review recognises the constitutional principle of the separation of powers, in allowing for judicial control of the executive only very rarely. The author in a previous article in this study found that the courts, on occasions, had intervened in circumstances where administrative decisions arguably were not irrational. To this end, the purpose of this article is to assess the constitutionality of these seemingly low standards of irrationality. The author does so by reference either to the manner of review employed—the use of the proportionality principle, for example—or the context of the administrative decision under scrutiny, such as the infringement of the applicant’s fundamental rights. The author finds that the cases from the previous article where low standards of irrationality were arguably adopted were, in fact, legitimate according to these chosen methods of evaluation. However, this is an interim conclusion because, for reasons of word length, the author is unable to complete a full assessment here. It is therefore proposed that a subsequent article will continue to examine the constitutionality of these cases. Furthermore, the author will also try and establish a zone of executive decision-making, for reasons of democracy, where the courts are excluded from irrationality review. If the author is unsuccessful in this regard, the final conclusion of this study will inevitably be that low standards of judicial intervention exist without limit—a clear assault on the constitutional principle stated above.

Psychological models of mental disorder, human rights, and compulsory mental health care in the community

Recent amendments to the 1983 Mental Health Act in the UK (Mental Health Act 2007) include the controversial provision for: “supervised treatment in the community for suitable patients following an initial period of detention and treatment in hospital”. This provision is widespread, and more formal, in other English-speaking jurisdictions. Reviews of the international literature, human rights considerations and the perspective of psychological approaches to mental health care suggest that proposed ‘supervised community treatment orders’ are valuable, lawful, and compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights if certain specific conditions are met. Provisions for ‘supervised community treatment orders’ in the UK should be supported, but with the provisos that: the powers of the Mental Health Act are limited as in Scotland, to persons whose “ability to make decisions about the provision of [care] is significantly impaired”, that each order is time-limited and subject to review by a properly constituted Tribunal, and that the use of such orders should represent a benefit to people in terms of more appropriate treatment, or be a least restrictive alternative, or better preserve the person's private and family life.     

Land Reform: Unfulfilled Obligation in Southern Africa and Beyond

ABSTRACT

Land reform remains a relevant but contentious issue in southern Africa. It nearly caused the collapse the Southern African Development Community (SADC) after its tribunal ruled against the Zimbabwe land reform programme (which resulted in the removal of white settlers from land they had occupied for decades and, in some cases, for over a century). The major challenge for southern Africa and most of the African continent is to untangle itself from the provocative and salient legacy of social, economic and psychological apartheid on its territory for almost a century without disrupting development endeavours (Chigara 2012). This article exposes the theoretical foundations influencing the powers at play that compromise most of the efforts that have been directed at trying to facilitate transitions from colonialism and its legacies to societies egalitarian. Land rights have suddenly become very important and it appears that these rights only apply to those whose ownership of land has been legitimised by colonialism. The article recommends the application of already existing legal frameworks at domestic, regional, continental and global levels to meaningfully engage land reform challenges that confront SADC and the continent of Africa as whole as a consequence of the general non-compliance to the rule of law and justice itself.     

谈第四次修宪之现实价值

2004年3月14日第十届全国人民代表大会第二次会议通过了宪法修正案,这是1982年宪法制定以来的第四次修改,具有极其重大的现实意义。修改内容包括:“三个代表”和“政治文明”入宪;增加“国家尊重和保障人权”;明确和保护公民的私有财产权;提高非公有制经济地位;扩大爱国统一战线的阶级基础等。修宪内容从头至尾包含着“以人为本”的思想。     

论我国监狱制度下罪犯的适当生活水准权——以国际人权公约为视角

适当生活水准权作为国际人权公约规定的一项基本人权,具有丰富的内涵和其自身的特殊性.在我国监狱制度下,罪犯享有适当生活水准权是不断提高的.同时,我们要努力完善监狱制度,进一步改善监狱设施,加强监狱法制建设,使罪犯权利的保护符合国际人权公约的要求.     

Unveiling The Headscarf Debate

In March 2004 the French parliament controversially adopted legislation regulating the wearing of symbols indicating religious affiliation in public educational establishments. This note discusses several features of the new law indicating its origins, its rationale and its position within French constitutional discourse on religious freedom and secularity. It is based on a panel discussion held in April 2004 within the Gender Studies Programme at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute, Florence. Placing the French legislative initiative in the context of recent developments in national and European case law (suggesting clear limitations to freedom of religion), the note explores the complexity of issues of gender, identity and difference in the present debate, especially when considered in the light of reactions to the law in Islamic countries.     

人精浆特异蛋白P_30的分离纯化与鉴定

本文介绍人精浆特异蛋白P_(30)分离纯化及鉴定的方法。人精浆经蒸馏水透析后经Sephadex G100、G150和G75三种不同的柱层析即可获得精浆特异蛋白。SDS-PAGE、免疫电泳、免疫双扩散证明其纯度和特异性均符合要求。它与已知抗P_(30)血清呈强阳性反应,用其免疫制备的抗血清和已知抗P_(30)血清,在免疫电泳中只与精浆或精浆特异蛋白形成一条完全相同的沉淀线,SDS-PAGE测得分子量约为30,000。故笔者将其亦定名为P_(30)。     

试论行政立法与人权保障——兼以行政许可为例分析

行政立法应当以保障和不侵犯人权来证成自己道义上的正当性.为了保障人权,必须对行政立法的权限和目标进行控制.行政立法不得限制基本人权,对非基本人权的限制也要程度适当.行政立法必须制约行政权力、保障行政相对人权利.在行政许可设定上只有坚持法律保留原则、依法设定原则、许可设定公开原则、公众参与原则,限制行政许可设定的范围,贯彻行政立法的"无为"精神和有限政府的理念,才有利于保障公民的权利与自由.