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"Since the start of the new millennium, many contemporary jurisdictions have been revisiting the fundamental principles of their civil procedures. Even the core areas of the civil process are not left untouched, including the way in which evidence is introduced, collected and presented in court. One generator of the reforms in the field of evidence-taking in recent decades has been slow and inefficient litigation. Both in Europe and globally, reaching a balance between the demands of factual accuracy and the need to adjudicate disputes in a swift, cost-effective and efficient way is still one of the key challenges. The second reason that many countries are reforming their law of evidence is related to cultural and technological changes in modern societies. As the balance between, on the one side, traditional human rights such as the right to privacy and due process is shifting towards, on the other side, the modern need for security, efficiency and quick access to justice, the perception of what is admissible or not in the context of evidence-taking is changing as well."--Back cover

This article examines how the Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls Inquiry (MMIWGI) will be evaluated and what it means for its design and ambitions. It argues that a public inquiry, like a law reform body, must aim to be a "truth-finding" body as well as a "truth-producing" enterprise. It must understand itself as wanting to create the right leverage so that meaningful changes can occur, irrespective of whether its recommendations are immediately adopted or not. It can accomplish such a goal by having a process that becomes the message, by ensuring that it does not get derailed, and by proposing recommendations that set the stage for change, such as addressing the accountability vacuum and aiming to design a process that models the values and behaviour that it wants other institutions to adopt. In this case, the MMIWGI's process must be grounded in strong reconciliation values that reflect an ethic of care that is responsive to families' needs, respects Indigenous laws, Nation-to-Nation dialogue, elders and traditional knowledge keepers, and work towards fairness for all, transparency, and independence. It should be alert to the risks of unfairness or excessive time or money that may decrease public support. Its recommendations should focus on gathering data, accountability mechanisms for under-policing, engaging multiple audiences in the transformative agenda, and presenting a bold vision of Indigenous women and girls' safety. The message is that the MMIWGI must challenge itself to be an instrument of change for the future—it is not an end in itself. The MMIWGI will be a "truth-finding" inquiry, it must also become a "truth-producing" vehicle.

THE RECENT VICTORY OF RAUL ALFONSÍN AND THE RADICAL Party in Argentina marks the end of forty years during which the Peronists were, overtly or covertly, the major factor in Argentine politics. It also sounds the death-knell of attempts to find a trans-class solution to the problem of political legitimacy in Argentina. It may not be inappropriate, then, to look back on the most sustained attempt to establish this legitimacy via an ideology of class collaboration: the ideology of Peronism.

This study undertakes to contest the concept of sphere of infl uence from a historical perspective with a focus on normative questions and international order. While the concept of sphere of infl uence is frequently used in political parlance, it has not been studied within the discipline of International Relations. What is more, the term "sphere of infl uence" is used in a pejorative sense to criticise Russian foreign policy. The research identifi es the pejorative uses of the concept and then proceeds to discuss normative aspects of spheres of infl uence in international theory. In the process, sphere of influence is transformed from a map metaphor into a concept which encompasses issues of justice and international order. The history of the concept of sphere of infl uence begins with identifying how it acquired its pejorative ring, that is, the concept became associated with the foreign policy of Russia. What follows are four chapters on the history and theory of spheres of infl uence. The fi rst episode explores historical examples such as suzerainty and colonialism, as well as the emergence of a hierarchical international order. The second reveals the untapped pool of ideas related to international order, sovereignty, great powers, the balance of power and non-intervention in the English School theory. The pluralist and solidarist underpinnings of international society come alive as a framework for linking the concept of sphere of infl uence to conceptualisations of international order. Spheres of infl uence are situated at the equilibrium point of a pendulum which sweeps an arc from the sovereign nation-state at one end to humanity at the other. The third chapter looks into theories on spheres of infl uence "between nation and humanity" which were developed in the turmoil of the world wars. The ideas of Friedrich Naumann, Carl Schmitt, E.H. Carr, James Burnham, Walter Lippmann and George Orwell focus more on bringing about peace than causing war and confl ict. Finally, a chapter on the Cold War, drawing on the example of the Cuban Missile Crisis, explores the period in history which has made the strongest impact on the present understanding of sphere of infl uence. It becomes clear that even Cold War spheres of infl uence are a source of theory which we have ignored. Once the historical and theoretical roots of the concept have been unveiled, Russian ideas on international order and infl uence beyond state borders are analysed in order to problematise the Western canon dealing with "Russia's sphere of infl uence". The Russian idea of a sphere of influence is clouded by an indecision in choosing between the pluralist and solidarist international orders. The Russian authors' unwavering defence of sovereignty and simultaneous admiration of "the concert of great responsible powers" has resulted in an inability to openly propose a system of international governance with spheres of influence. The unique contribution of this dissertation is to put forward normative considerations pertaining to spheres of infl uence instead of using the concept in a pejorative sense. The study connects the English School tradition, post-war international order, the Cold War and Russian thought with the concept of sphere of infl uence with the aim of initiating a debate which will enrich the discipline with a fresh outlook on an old but topical concept.