Property rights and the challenge of the technological modernization of the mexican state

This article focuses on the technological challenges arising from two broader challenges of the Mexican state: growth and equity. In order to face the first one, Mexico needs safer and more comprehensive property rights, especially given the changing array of goods characteristic of contemporary economies. Mexico also needs to take into account the new context of a global economy, subject to rapid changes and highly dependent on information flows. Securing property rights and growing within a global economy call for the technological modernization of the Mexican state. The second challenge, equity, also requires of such modernization: nowadays policy-making in areas such as education, health, etc. requires complex analytical capacities and extensive data bases. That is more the case when the Mexican state needs to act through incentives and market signals instead of through the traditional mechanisms of command and control.     

New Challenges for International Rules Against Cyber-Crime

In light of the borderless nature of cyber-crime, international legislation and action are essential to combat the phenomenon. Current legal instruments, as well as continuing efforts of international organizations, provide a significant basis in this area. However, important issues are still open, such as a uniform or harmonized definition of the crimes and of the sanctions to be imposed on perpetrators, which are a prerequisite for avoiding domestic legislation taking different approaches to the subject matter. The clarification of these issues is also a prerequisite for enhancing international cooperation and making it effective, if this has to be based on the respect for the principle of dual criminality. In this context, it must also be stressed that interstate cooperation may not be sufficient if the private sector, including companies producing hardware and software, are not involved. Finally, a harmonized approach to jurisdictional issues, including careful consideration of the universality principle, would also play a critical role in combating cyber-crime.     

Selling the Public on Sustainable Watershed Conservation

Abstract:  The city of Quito, Ecuador, began working in 2000 to protect the ecologically fragile watershed area for its drinking water. In order to protect the Papallacta watershed, the independent Fund for the Conservation of Watersheds (FONAG) was launched to finance and manage economically sound sustainability projects in the area. FONAG is funded in part through start up grants from several organisations and a 1 per cent fee on all Quito water bills, but it has been unable to build an endowment sizeable enough to begin implementing conservation projects. We measure perceptions of the fund among Quito's university–based residents in two settings and evaluate the quality of the fund's proposed communication campaign based on existing communication theory. Further, we propose an adapted environmental education model based on a synthesis of existing theory and the empirical findings from our examination of the FONAG example. The Papallacta case study illuminates the potential strengths and weaknesses of the cultural ecology and political will of this type of collaborative sustainability project for addressing water problems in a developing country in a mountainous setting, centred around the themes of water conservation and sustainable development.     

前南国际刑事法庭刑事程序中的普通法和大陆法传统：油能溶于水吗

在前南刑事法庭刑事程序中,国际刑事案件的独特性使得越来越多的大陆法系传统因素开始注入普通法诉讼模式。两大法系之间的传统差异已经渐渐走向融合。这些不同的制度应灵活而和谐地相处,共同解决国际犯罪审判所特有的问题。