Suchergebnisse

AbstractThe private legal documents from Emar and its vicinity (late 14th to early 12th centuries B.C.E.) show evidence of creative jurisprudence in their attempts to reconcile the wishes of the parties with the norms of general law imposed by the courts, in particular the principles of social justice. Two areas are examined: i) contracts of sale and their relationship with the right of redemption by an impoverished seller; ii) testaments and their relationship with the customary status of women within the family. Les actes de droit privé provenants de la ville d'Emar et de ses environs (fin 14ème siècle jusqu'au commencement du 12ème siècle av.n.ère) font état d'une jurisprudence créative qui permet de réconcilier le volonté des contractants avec les normes du droit général imposés par les tribunaux, et en particulier avec les principes de la justice sociale. L'enquête porte sur deux domaines: i) les contrats de vente et leur relation au droit de rachat d'un vendeur appauvri; ii) les testaments et leur relation au statut coutûmier de la femme au sein de la famille.

Canada has been very much at the centre of the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC) since the momentum shifted in late-1994 from the International Law Commission (ILC) to more broadly representative bodies established by the General Assembly. It was Canada that chaired the 'like-minded', a group of states active during the several sessions of the Preparatory Committee and during the Diplomatic Conference in Rome from 15 June to 17 July 1998. The 'like-minded' were committed to invigorating the ILC's draft statute by enhancing the independence of the Prosecutor and trimming the sails of the Security Council. At Rome, Canadian diplomat Philippe Kirsch was elected chair of the Committee of the Whole, and he directed the intense negotiations throughout the five-week session. Kirsch crafted the final package of compromises that was submitted to the Conference at its close, on the morning of 17 July, and that succeeded in rallying the vast majority of delegations when put to a vote later that day. Since then, Kirsch and his team have presided over the ongoing work of the Preparatory Commission.

On May 25,2000, the United Nations General Assembly adopted by consensus two Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child: the Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (Children in Armed Conflict Protocol) and the Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Pornography and Child Prostitution (Sale of Children Protocol).1 These instruments represent major advances in the international effort to strengthen and enforce norms for the protection of the most vulnerable children, who desperately need the world's attention. The Children in Armed Conflict Protocol deals realistically and reasonably with the difficult issues of minimum ages for compulsory recruitment, voluntary recruitment, and participation in hostilities. The Protocol raises the age for military conscription to eighteen from fifteen years, as stipulated under existing international law; obliges states parties to raise the minimum age for voluntary recruitment to an age above the current fifteen-year international standard; and requires states parties to take all feasible measures to ensure that personnel in their national armed forces who are not yet eighteen do not take a direct part in hostilities.

Prisoners in Europe have frequently resorted to the European Commission and Court of Human Rights over the past 30 years. While many applications have been unsuccessful the Court has given a number of important decisions which have had a significant impact on prison law and policy, especially in the United Kingdom. After consideration of the advantages and disadvantages of applying a general human rights treaty to the prison environment the article moves on to examine the decisions of the Commission and Court in relation to a number of specific issues. These are prison conditions, communications with the outside world, prison discipline and release from prison. The article argues that this judicial involvement has been uneven, with the Strasbourg institutions showing a reluctance to intervene in relation to prison conditions or matters of internal administration. Overall while the decisions of the Commission and Court show an aversion to authoritarian approaches to prison management and a strong support for judicial supervision of what happens in prisons, the application of a human rights approach still seems to leave substantial discretion to the prison authorities regarding the underlying philosophy of punishment.

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO commented on an issue concerning the responsibility of federal departments, agencies, or independent establishments to pay for water and sewer services provided to them by the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (WASA). GAO was also asked to comment on what legal powers are available to the Department of the Treasury to obtain payment from agencies that are delinquent in making deposits into the United States Treasury account to facilitate federal payments to WASA. GAO held that: (1) District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 1990 established that the Secretary of the Treasury is to pay the District of Columbia for water services provided to federal agencies and that federal agencies are required to make payments to the United States Treasury account from appropriated funds; and (2) GAO is unaware of any law that grants the Secretary of the Treasury the power to unilaterally transfer from an agency's appropriation to the Treasury any amount the agency was required to but did not deposit into the account."

Over the past few years, over 24 states and Congress have passed legislation under the slogan of `three strikes and you're out'. As part of the general political thrust to mandate increasingly tougher prison terms for repeat offenders, this form of legislation seeks to ensure that habitual offenders receive the toughest sentence available to the state absent the death penalty - life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. In this article, a review of what has been the impact of these laws is made. Surprisingly, with the noted exception of California, there has been virtually no impact on the courts, local jails or state prisons. Nor does there appear to be any impact on crime rates. Even in California, where the law was expected to have a major impact, it appears that all of the projections were in error. The article concludes that this form of legislation was carefully crafted to be largely symbolic. However, the gross errors in predicting the impact of these and other laws by some of the most prestigious researchers underscore how little we know about change within the criminal justice system.

The Airbus scandal has been a matter of fairly intense political interest since initial allegations of influence-peddling were made against several parties, including former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Of legal note, however, has been a challenge mounted by another party implicated by the Department of Justice's investigation into the matter, which has recently been pronounced upon by the Supreme Court of Canada. The Court's judgment in Schreiber v. Canada (Attorney General) provides an interesting view of conflicting societal values: the Charter-guaranteed freedom from unreasonable search and seizure raised in opposition to the state's interest in efficient and unfettered means through which to combat crime with a transnational aspect. The Schreiber case is significant as an indicator both of the Court's evolving view of the limits of the application of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and of the Court's perception of the course being charted for Canada's participation in the fight against international crime. The court's decision more generally highlights some of the domestic implications of inter-state cooperation in the area of criminal law.

Territory — Effects of changes of sovereignty — Legal status of Germany after 1945 — So-called "Eastern Territories" — Recognition as part of Poland under Germany-Poland Border Treaty, 1990 — Whether depriving individuals of their private property rightsExpropriation — Compensation — Property within territory of expropriating State — German-owned property in "Eastern Territories" expropriated by Polish authorities after 1945 — 657Expropriation without compensation — Whether per se unlawful — Public policy — Scope of applicationState responsibility — Interference with property — Duty of Germany to protect property rights of its nationals — Whether violated by conclusion of Germany-Poland Border Treaty, 1990, recognizing permanent status of their mutual orderState responsibility — Acts and omissions of State and its organs — Duty to provide diplomatic protection to nationals in relation to foreign States — Discretionary nature of duty — Scope of judicial reviewStates — Conduct of foreign relations — Treaty negotiations — Balancing of political interests of State with private interests of individuals — Whether subject to judicial reviewTreaties — Conclusion and operation — Constitutional limitations — Treaties with a general political character — Whether violating rights of individuals — Scope of judicial review — The law of the Federal Republic of Germany

Modern civil-military relations theory is concerned with the distribution of power and influence among individual elements representing the civilian authority and the armed forces. This review presents a brief examination of civil-military relations in Croatia - including past and present factors affecting its development. The Croatian Constitution, the Law on Defense and other defense legislation represent legal parameters defining the special relationship between popularly elected politicians appointed bureaucrats and soldiers. The Croatian Ministry of Defense and its General Staff are in the process of reforming and reorganizing. The new structures, although tailored for Croatia's needs, are also very similar to those of Western defense institutions. The present civil-military challenge for Croatia lies in achieving the adequate balance between its "desire" for democratic development on the one hand, and its conservative "need" for military security on the other. In Croatia's case, it is a question of the extent and nature of the application of civilian control exercised by the political leadership. Primarily, this implies the critical role of the Croatian Parliament, or rather the potential role it could play in military affairs. (SOI : PM: S. 36)

Modern civil-military relations theory is concerned with the distribution of power & influence among individual elements representing the civilian authority & the armed forces. This review presents a brief examination of civil-military relations in Croatia -- including past & present factors affecting its development. The Croatian Constitution, the Law on Defense, & other defense legislation represent legal parameters defining the special relationship between popularly elected politicians, appointed bureaucrats, & soldiers. The Croatian Ministry of Defense & its General Staff are in the process of reforming & reorganizing. The new structures, although tailored for Croatia's needs, are also very similar to those of Western defense institutions. The present civil-military challenge for Croatia lies in achieving the adequate balance between its "desire" for democratic development & liberalization, on the one hand, & its conservative, traditional "need" for military security, on the other. In Croatia's case, it is a question of the extent & nature of the application of civilian control exercised by the political leadership. Primarily, this implies the critical role of the Croatian Parliament, or rather the potential role it could play in military affairs. 15 References. Adapted from the source document.

Housing policy in Britain in the postwar decades was important, politically, administratively and financially. In the I980s and 1990s, despite growing academic interest, professionalisation and sophisticated lobbying, housing is manifestly losing out as a policy priority to other areas such as health, social security and law and order. How does one account for this major shift, involving the progressive marginalisation of one ofthe major pillars ofthe welfare state? This article will examine a number of major explanations including crude demographics, structural economic change, ideology and electoral arithmetic. By looking at recent fluctuations in policy interest in housing some inferences are drawn on the circumstances which are still capable of bringing housing up the policy agenda. This also raises issues about the relationship between trends, long waves, and cycles in policy analogous to these phenomena in economics. Looking at the situation in other advanced countries casts further light on the general relationship between housing policy and stages of development. The paper concludes by drawing attention to the ways in which key aspects of housing policy have diffused into other adjacent policy arenas where they may attract different labels.

1Arbitration — Arbitration between State and international organization — Ad hoc tribunal — Procedure — Equality of parties — CostsDiplomatic relations — Privileges and immunities — Diplomatic agent — Director-General of international organization — Application by analogy to privileges and immunities of a diplomatic agent — Headquarters Agreement between the European Molecular Biology Laboratory and the Federal Republic of Germany, 1974International organizations — Privileges and immunities — Exemption from customs duties and taxation in host State — Whether scope of immunities governed by customary international law or by agreements establishing organization — Official activities — Definition of official activity — Whether limited to activities directly connected to specific objects of organization or extends to all activities tending to promote the objects of the organization — Headquarters Agreement between the European Molecular Biology Laboratory and the Federal Republic of Germany, 1974International organizations — Privileges and immunities — Head of international organization — Whether entitled to privileges of diplomatic agent — Whether privileges limited by provisions of Headquarters Agreement between organization and host State — Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961 — Headquarters Agreement between the European Molecular Biology Laboratory and the Federal Republic of Germany, 1974

Two general ethical problems in psychiatry are thrown into sharp relief by long term care. This article discusses each in turn, in the context of two anonymised case studies from actual clinical practice. First, previous mental health legislation soothed doubts about patients' refusal of consent by incorporating time limits on involuntary treatment. When these are absent, as in the provisions for long term care which have recently come into force, the justification for compulsory treatment and supervision becomes more obviously problematic. Second, Anglo-American law does not normally allow the preventive detention of someone who may be dangerous but has not actually committed any crime. The justification for detaining a possibly dangerous user of mental health services without his or her consent can only be based on risk assessment, but this raises issues of moral luck. Is the psychiatrist who decides not to take out a supervision order for a possibly dangerous patient with an initial psychotic diagnosis morally at fault if that person harms someone in the community, or himself? Or is the psychiatrist merely unlucky?

INFORMATION WARFARE REPRESENTS A THREAT TO AMERICAN NATIONAL SECURITY AND DEFENSE. THERE ARE TWO GENERAL METHODS IN WHICH A TERRORIST MIGHT EMPLOY AN INFORMATION TERRORIST ATTACK: (1) WHEN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) IS A TARGET, AND/OR (2) WHEN IT IS THE TOOL OF A LARGER OPERATION. THE FIRST METHOD WOULD TARGET AN INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR SABOTAGE, EITHER ELECTRONIC OR PHYSICAL, THUS DESTROYING OR DISRUPTING THE INFORMATION SYSTEM ITSELF AND ANY INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE (E.G., POWER, COMMUNICATIONS, ETC.) DEPENDENT UPON IT. THE SECOND WOULD MANIPULATE AND EXPLOIT AN INFORMATION SYSTEM, ALTERING OR STEALING DATE, OR FORCING THE SYSTEM TO PERFORM A FUNCTION FOR WHICH IT WAS NOT MEANT (SUCH AS SPOOFING AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL). A PERENNIAL DILEMMA OF COMBATING TERRORISM IN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY IS FINDING THE RIGHT BALANCE BETWEEN CIVIL LIBERTIES AND CIVIL SECURITY. THE SPECIAL PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH IT ARE EXAMINED. THE US NATIONAL SECURITY ESTABLISHMENT NEEDS TO USE A FLEXIBLE, INTEGRATED RESPONSE TO COUNTER INFORMATION TERRORISTS--ONE WHICH EMPLOYS INFORMATION WARFARE TACTICS TAILORED TO COUNTER GRAY-AREA PHENOMENA, BUT WHICH ALSO POOLS RESOURCES FROM "CONVENTIONAL" COUNTER-TERRORISM AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES.