Alternatives to EU Membership and the Rational Imagination

The domestic scenario following a Brexit vote is likely to be characterised by high stakes, uncertainty and fissile political debate. No off‐the‐peg arrangement touted for Brexit—be it Norwegian, Swiss, Turkish or Canadian—was designed to engage with such a context. Nor does it seem wise to rush to medium‐term commitments which might pre‐empt democratic politics and wise choices. Far more important will be the legitimacy of any institutional settlement governing this arrangement, which will provide the context for its revision and development and the space for democratic reflection over how these policies are to be governed. It will be suggested that here there is much insight to be gained from looking at regional arrangements beyond the EU.     

Improving the Police Complaints System: Stakeholder Collaboration as a Vehicle for Systems Change

Systems change efforts seek to alter the status quo by shifting the form and function of a targeted system. Evaluation is a critical component, yet little research has examined a collaborative forum as a vehicle for change in the criminal justice system. Over 150 citizens and police were brought together to work collaboratively at improving a Canadian police complaints system. Using survey, participant observation, and focus group data, this study investigates the perceptions of this Forum as a vehicle for systems change in police oversight mechanisms. We find the Forum provided both opportunities for, and barriers to, collaborative systems change work. However, these findings need to be understood within the context of police-community relations as fear and mistrust of police influence problem definitions and potential solutions. Therefore, the collaboratives model is not a one-size-fits-all approach to systems change work in the criminal justice system.     

iFairness – Constructing fairness in IT (and other areas of) law through intra- and interdisciplinarity

As information and communication technologies have gradually invaded every aspect of our daily lives, the body of law that we call IT law has not only expanded, but it also pushes traditional areas of law to become more tech-savvy. This article makes a plea for a more intra- and interdisciplinary approach towards developing the future IT law, on the one hand, and towards educating the future IT lawyer, on the other hand. It substantiates the need for lawyers from different fields and non-lawyers to engage in a constructive dialogue when determining, interpreting and enforcing fairness standards in contemporary and future IT law, and outlines directions for integrating such dialogue in university curricula.