Managing commercial risks in open source software licensing

Legal context: The article reviews the commercial risk allocation clauses intypical open source licence terms and discusses their enforceabilityand implications. Key points: The enforceability of warranty disclaimers and limitation ofliability clauses in common open source licence terms is questionable,particularly in a cross-border context, and commercial licensorsshould take additional steps to protect themselves from down-streamrisks. Practical significance: Open source software presents a number of unusual commercialissues, because it is available free of charge and the providerstry to disclaim warranties and liabilities. End users and resellershave to adjust their own in- and out-licensing models to accommodatethis situation.     

Adoptions Gone Awry: Enhancing Adoption Outcomes Through Postadoption Services and Federal and State Laws Imposing Criminal Sanctions for Private Internet Rehoming

The federal government should invest in adopted children who make up the future of the country and are in dire need of rehabilitation and therapy because of their past circumstances. If the government steps in to rescue vulnerable children from inadequate or abusive birth parents by removal, it should also intervene when adopted families are faced with behavioral problems of adopted children that the adopted parents cannot address on their own. Postadoption services need to be accessible and effective to ensure the success of adopted families. Assisting families in crisis postadoption will lower the instances of dissolution and rehoming and keep adoptive families intact. In cases in which postadoption services fail, uniform federal legislation is necessary to make it a federal crime to advertise children for adoption on the Internet without proper certification and state legislation is required to make it a crime to pass on adopted children to strangers without judicial consent, to dissuade Internet rehoming. Internet rehoming of adopted children should be a serious crime as it is tantamount to child trafficking.© 2014 Association of Family and Conciliation Courts

Key Points for the Family Court Community:
• Postadoption services need to be more accessible and more narrowly tailored to the needs of adoptive families to ensure the success of adoptions.
• Better postadoption services create better adoptive families and adoptive parents will not reach the point of dissolution or private Internet rehoming.
• Adoptive parents should be provided with information regarding all available postadoption resources after adoption is finalized and a government Web site should be created that lists all available resources.
• The federal government needs to provide funding to states that specifically target postadoption services.
• A uniform federal statute is required to punish parties who use Internet forums to avoid government oversight and privately rehome their adopted children.
• States should enact laws that criminalize the unauthorized interstate placements of children.

     

The legal and administrative processes in adoption: views and experiences of newly formed adoptive families

The early stages of adoptive placements are important in achieving successful long-term outcomes for adopted children and their families. This paper reports on findings from the Wales Adoption Study, in which adoptive parents shared their views and experiences of the legal and administrative processes in obtaining an adoption order. Parents described a range of difficulties that added to anxieties and delays. These arose mainly through poor communication about the steps in the legal process and avoidable administrative errors or oversights. Some parents also experienced lack of information and support regarding agreed contact arrangements and work with their child to help them make sense of their adoptive status.     

Family succession through adoption in the Chosun Dynasty

Using a unique data source of genealogies of upper-status families, called Bulcheonwye families, we assess how the extent of family succession through adoption changed over five centuries from 1450 to 1949 in Korea. Our analysis shows the continued increase in the share of adopted sons among total family successors up to the end of the 19th century when three out of ten family successors were adopted. The trend of the increasing role of adoption is closely related to the declining number of sons per family, suggesting that not only the rising influence of Confucian culture but also demographic changes increased the demand for adoption. Finally, our comparison provides evidence that the likelihood of achieving high social status was significantly higher among adopted sons than biological ones, suggesting that the socioeconomic potential of adopted sons could be an important factor for adoption decision.     

Federal Support for Adoption Subsidies

ABSTRACT

Federal Title IV-E Adoption Assistance is an essential resource for states moving children from foster care to adoption. Secondary analyses indicate that federal funds support nearly half the costs of all adoption subsidies. Due to variations in eligibility, federal matching rates, and states' use of the program, the proportion of total subsidy costs supported by Title IV-E funds ranges from 25 to 72 percent among states. Multivariate analyses of recent adoptions demonstrate the importance of Title IV-E utilization for adopted children and their families, in that Title IV-E-eligible children are more likely to receive subsidies and to receive larger subsidies, compared to children who are not Title IV-E eligible. Variations in Title IV-E utilization have potential impacts on children, adoptive families and state child welfare agencies.     

从清末修律的局限性看中国对西方法律的借鉴

190 2～ 1911年间 ,清政府进行修律 ,制订了大批新式法典并由此建立起中国近代的法律体系 ,对后世的立法与司法活动产生了深远的影响。由于当时主客观条件的限制 ,这次变革实质是以资产阶级法律形式掩盖封建法律的内容 ,故存在很多缺陷。文章根据法律移植理论 ,对清末修律的局限性进行了分析 ,并探讨当前我国的法治建设对西方法律的借鉴及对中国传统法律的继承问题。     

Is the Care System Failing Children?

Public care is widely perceived to be failing children, and this belief is at the heart of government proposals set out in the Care Matters white paper. This article argues that on the contrary, research tends to find that children's welfare improves while they are in care. The reasons for the negative perception of care are considered and it is argued that care should be seen as a positive option for children in families experiencing severe difficulties and as a form of family support rather than an alternative option. This would move the United Kingdom toward a more European model for the place of care for children in difficult family situations, rather than an American model which focuses on minimizing the use of public care.     

Expressed‐Interest Legal Representation for Children in Substitute Care: Evaluation of the Impact of Representation on Children's Permanency Outcomes

Based on a combination of administrative data; juvenile court record review; and informed‐participant interviews of juvenile court judges, attorneys, and service providers, the current study examines the impact of the Foster Children's Project (FCP). FCP is a program that provides professional legal representation to children in substitute care. Legal representation by FCP attorneys is found to increase the rate of children's exit to adoption, leading to a higher overall rate of exit to permanence. The rate of exit to reunification is not, however, found to be affected by FCP representation. Implications for juvenile court policy and practice are discussed.

Key Points for the Family Court Community:
• The study is the first of its kind to examine the impact of client‐directed representation in cases of children in foster care through examination of Palm Beach County's Foster Children's Project (FCP), which provides professional legal representation to those in state care.
• FCP representation was found to increase the rate of children's exit to adoption, leading to a higher overall rate of exit to permanence. The rate of exit to reunification, however, remained stable.
• Research findings are based on administrative data; juvenile court record review; and interviews of juvenile court judges, attorneys, and service providers.