Suchergebnisse

ABSTRACT
For a long time, international trade law's interest in science has been limited to the provisions of the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement. However, the role of science in international trade law goes beyond the SPS Agreement. The Australia – Plain Packaging dispute has shown that the assessment of non-SPS provisions can also involve complex scientific questions. Moreover, the discussion should be extended to preferential trade agreements (PTAs). Against this background, this article investigates the nature and potential impact of standards of scientific evidence in PTAs. After the introduction, Section II lays out the methodology of the article. Section III opens with a brief recall of the relevant WTO provisions. Section IV reviews the standards of scientific evidence embedded in the PTAs concluded by the European Union (EU) and by the United States (USA), showing that both trading blocs have started introducing more stringent standards in recent PTAs. Section V describes the trends that emerge from the analysis. Some of these innovations seem to expand the application of the SPS science-based provisions to TBT chapters. Others simply introduce new standards of scientific evidence in WTO-X chapters on regulatory cooperation, environment, and labor. In conclusion, the article argues that we should pay much more attention to the role of standards of scientific evidence in PTAs.

Criminal trial has recently been focusing on scientific evidence, in particular DNA evidence ensures reliable results. Peculiarities of this evidence cause a discussion in the search for a balance between individual guarantees and efficiency of criminal justice. This is regulated by Italian Law 85/2009, following the Treaty of Prüm. There are four main critical aspects related to this legislation. 1) Coercive nature of the DNA sample, that in certain conditions is taken without consent. 2) Individuals whose DNA samples are taken from: suspect, victim, but also third parties or even a larger number of people like in the case of "mass screening". 3) Privacy: entire families are exposed to unexpected discoveries and to their diffusion by media. 4) Reopening of the trial after definitive judgment: DNA can be used as "new evidence" to justify reopening of the case after conviction, but this can never happen in Italy after an acquittal. Key words: DNA - Criminal - Proceedings

In the UK mobile phone ownership is high, however, there are conspicuous local protests against mobile phone masts. Protesters' concerns often focus on the claimed ill health effects of mobile phone technology, which are frequently dismissed by industry and scientific experts. This paper provides an in-depth study into the attitudes and beliefs of one local protest. It considers to what extent health issues dominate the group's concerns and how the campaigners have engaged with scientific knowledge to form their opinion. Surprisingly, mobile phone ownership was high within the protest group. This apparent paradox could be rationalized, however, by considering the location of the group and the ways in which the protesters used their mobile phone. Few believed that the precautionary approach had been fully applied to mobile phones. The campaign can be interpreted as one that questions the presumption that science and technology lead to increased economic performance and quality of life.