Adjudication Of Cases Research Articles

Pragmatic Adjudication of Election Cases in the European Court of Human Rights

Abstract During the past 30 years, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has been constantly expanding its footprint in the area of democratic rights. However, the Court’s approach to election cases has been arguably more cautious compared to its jurisprudence on freedom of speech, association and assembly. Despite a growing body of scholarship on the ECtHR and democratic processes, this caution is yet to be adequately contextualized. This article aims to fill the gap by developing a normative model of how external considerations affect the ECtHR election jurisprudence. American judge-scholar Richard Posner has proposed pragmatic adjudication as a blueprint for incorporating external considerations into political disputes before the courts. I rely on this blueprint to gauge the level of deference to respondent governments in election cases at the ECtHR between 1987 and 2020. I find that, while the Court gives states wide leeway over political competition, it is less deferential when cases concern access to political process. At the same time, the ECtHR increasingly relies on procedural oversight to detect unfair electoral practices without changing the general distribution of competences.

Parkinson's disease case ascertainment in a large prospective cohort.

BackgroundIn epidemiologic studies where physician-based case adjudication is not feasible, Parkinson’s disease (PD) case ascertainment is often limited to self-reports which may not be accurate. We evaluated strategies to identify PD cases in the Agricultural Health Study (AHS).MethodsDoctor-diagnosed PD was self-reported on all cohort-wide surveys; potential cases were also identified from death certificates. Follow-up surveys asked about PD-related motor and non-motor symptoms. For PD confirmation, we collected additional diagnosis, symptom, and treatment data from 510 potential PD cases or their proxy (65% of those contacted) in a supplemental screener and obtained medical records for a subset (n = 65). We classified PD cases using established criteria and screener data.ResultsOf 510 potential PD cases, 75% were considered “probable” or “possible”; this proportion increased among participants diagnosed by a specialist (81.2%), taking PD medication (85.2%), or reporting ≥5 motor symptoms (86.8%) in a regular AHS survey. Of those with medical records, 93% (57 of 61) of probable or possible PD was confirmed. Never-smoking and non-motor and motor symptoms reported in prior AHS surveys were more common with probable/possible PD than unconfirmed PD.ConclusionIn this retrospective PD case ascertainment effort, we found that PD self-report with information on motor symptoms or medications may be a reasonable alternative for identifying PD cases when physician exam is not feasible. Because of intervening mortality, screeners could not be obtained from about one-third of those contacted. Thus, findings warrant replication.

تأملات فی بعض المتناقضات بین مبدأی سلطان الإرادة والتوحید الاتجاهات الحدیثة فی قانون التجارة الدولیة

يعد مبدأ سلطان الإرادة في عقود التجارة الدولية حجر الزاوية، والصفة الدولية لهذا النوع من العقود تجعل سلطان الإرادة يتجسد في أقوى صورة، فقد أکدت عليه مبادئ العقود التجارية الدولية Unidroit، واتفاقية البيع. وفي المقابل يهدف قانون التجارة الدولية إلى التوحيد تجنبا للجوء إلى القوانين الوطنية وتفسير مضمونها. وتبدو مشکلة البحث في أن المبادئ والاتفاقيات الدولية– ونخص منها: مبادئ اليونيدروا، والقانون الموحد للبيع الدولي- والتي تهدف بصفة رئيسة إلى توحيد قانون التجارة الدولية، هي ذاتها تکرس سلطان الإرادة وحرية تطبيقها أو استبعادها. وهو ما ينعکس بآثاره السلبية على اختلاف التطبيقات القضائية– سواء أحکام المحاکم أو هيئات التحکيم- عند الفصل في الدعاوي المتعلقة بتطبيق هذين المبدأين. The principle of authority of will is considered the cornerstone in international trading contracts, and the international character of this type help the power of will to be in its strongest form. Unidroit principles and CISG confirmed this. By contrast, the international trade law seeks to unify law in order to avoid the using of national laws and interpreting its content. Unidroit principles and CISG which mainly aimed to unifying international trading law. It dedicates the authority of will and the freedom of apply or exclude it. It reflects an adverse effect on various judicial applications, both court decisions and arbitral tribunal, in the adjudication of cases on the application of these two principles.

Presumption of Innocence – Application in Exercising Prosecution Rights, Supervising the Investigation and Adjudication of Criminal Cases under Vietnam Legal

The presumption of innocence is one of the fundamental principles, widely applied in modern legal science, as the basis for achieving fair and humane justice. This principle was formed very early in the history of the human law, in addition, the Vietnamese law has also absorbed the progressive thought early, recognized as one of the basic principles to ensure human rights and the overall effectiveness of criminal proceedings. The article analyzes the history, nature as well as the practice of applying this principle in the settlement of criminal cases in Vietnam according to the functions and duties of the People's Procuracy.

Experimental Analysis on the Measurement of the Formation Time of Carbonless Copy Handwriting by “Fading” Gray Value Measurement Method

Carbon free carbon copy paper is a special writing material, which often appears in many commercial disputes and cases. The handwriting identification of carbon free carbon copy paper has often become one of the key factors in case adjudication. However, the existing handwriting inspection methods of carbon free carbon copy paper are not effective, and cannot analyze the law of the formation time of carbon free carbon copy handwriting. For this reason, this paper proposes an experimental analysis based on the “fading” gray value measurement method to determine the formation time of carbon free copy handwriting. The characteristics of solvents have an important impact on the formation of handwriting. Therefore, this paper analyzes the characteristics of the existing main pen solvents in terms of fading and copying ability. In this paper, according to the characteristics of carbonless copy characters, combined with the gray value measurement method, the calculation method is optimized. The optimized method is more suitable for the determination of the formation time of carbon free copy handwriting, and has the advantage of simplifying the calculation steps. In the specific test experiments, the relationship between extraction rate and time change, handwriting reproducibility and other items are tested. The experimental results show that the extraction rate of carbon free copy handwriting decreases rapidly with the increase of formation time, and gradually tends to be stable. In this paper, the characteristics of the solvents and colorants for pen and their influence on the formation of handwriting are analyzed. It is concluded that the types and use of solvents and colorants have an impact on the formation time of carbon free copy handwriting.

“Thou maiest inforce my body but not mee”: Racializing Consent in John Marston’sThe Wonder of Women

“Thou maiest inforce my body but not mee”: Racializing Consent in John Marston’s<i>The Wonder of Women</i>

The Application of Principles of Simple, Fast, and Low Cost in the Adjudication of Criminal Case of 2020 Regional Head Election at the General Courts

Local elections or regional head elections are a means of implementing popular sovereignty in the regions. This is part of the development of the government administration system of the Republic of Indonesia experiencing various changes. The change in question is the principle of autonomy which means the freedom to regulate their own regions in each region. One of the challenges in carrying out this Pilkada is a violation that results in a criminal offense. The formulation of this research is: 1) What is the type of criminal case for the election of Regional Head in the general courts? 2) how is the application of the principle of simple, fast, low cost in the adjudication of criminal cases in the election of Regional Heads 2020 in the general courts? The research method used is normative juridical. The findings showed that first, there were 36 types of criminal cases in the election of regional heads in the general court, for this reason the Supreme Court issued a Regulation of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Indonesia No. 1, 2018 concerning Procedures for the Settlement of Election and Election Criminal Acts. Second, the application of the principle of simple, fast, low cost in the resolution of criminal cases in the election of Regional Heads 2020 in the general court environment by combining several cases that are closely related that is assessed from 36 types of criminal acts committed during election that can be combined in one type in a practical and rational manner. This case can be resolved together with the plaintiffs.

The Religion of Race: The Supreme Court as Priests of Racial Politics

The tumultuous summer of 2020 has opened the eyes of many Americans leading to a general consensus on one issue — racism still exists. This Article offers a new descriptive account of America’s history that can contextualize the zeitgeist of racial politics. It argues that the Founding Fathers created a national civil religion based on racism when they compromised on the issue of slavery in the creation of the Constitution. This religion, called the Religion of Race, is built on a belief system where whiteness is sacred, and Blackness is profane. The sacred text is the Constitution, and it is interpreted by the Supreme Court, who uses the adjudication of cases as a ritual to advance this religion. This Article argues that the Reconstruction Amendments and attendant Civil Rights Acts can best be understood as an attempt by Congress to end this Religion of Race and put all citizens on a path to equality. This attempt was resisted by the Supreme Court, however, as evidenced by cases adjudicated immediately following the Reconstruction period, and thus a contest ensued that has shaped American racial politics ever since — whether the Supreme Court is interpreting the Constitution of Slavery or the Constitution of Reconstruction, and, therefore, whether it will perpetuate or dismantle the Religion of Race.

Lay participation in the South African criminal justice system: An assessment of the assessor system

This paper sets out to demonstrate that the South African assessor system is not structured in a manner that holds the promise of adequately catering for the intended goal of promoting lay participation by community members in the adjudication of criminal cases. It identifies several challenges with the current assessor system in South Africa such as the unjustifiable differentiation between the assessor system in the magistrates’ courts and the high court which undermines this system as a form of lay participation. In the high court, assessors are required to have experience in the administration of justice or some other skill deemed useful in the case tried. This is not required of assessors in the magistrates’ courts. The paper also illustrates that there are no legislative guidelines on the appointment of assessors which leads to wide discretion being given to presiding officers in the appointment of assessors, which could potentially lead to the adoption of different approaches to similar cases. The key argument presented is that the discretion enjoyed by presiding officers when considering whether to use assessors should be limited by legislation. Most importantly, it is argued that that the legislature should consider reforming the assessor system with a view to establishing a system that will be equally applicable to both the high court and magistrates’ courts as the current differentiation seems unjustifiable.

The Constitutional Court of the Federal Republic of Germany

Abstract Decisions made so far by the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany have always been characterized by their writing and content, even down to details, precision, accuracy, professional legal style of writing, always clear in the elaboration and adjudication of cases from its competence, but surprisingly, in our country, only a few have paid attention to the German Court in a scientific context, which can be seen from the only few materials we possess in the Albanian language. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of this Court, so that the comparative aspects can be made, highlighting its advantages and disadvantages, in case of dictating the state need for reform of the Constitutional Courts. Those who have institutionalized this constitutional institution know its value in the system of constitutional justice, which performs it in terms of protection of constitutions, its principles and value, and most importantly in the protection of freedoms and rights of human beings and citizens. The Federal Constitutional Court of Germany, to this date, has conveyed the efficiency of the protection of the German legal order, the serious approach and law interpretation, for the protection of freedoms and human rights, which ranks this court into a high level among all other powers in the German law system. The author, in the following paper, gives an overview of this Court starting with its history, organization and functioning, which today undoubtedly constitutes one of the most important constitutional courts in the world.

A scalable tool for adjudication of time sensitive cases during COVID-19 pandemic.

BackgroundDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, prioritization of care and utilization of scarce resources are daily considerations in healthcare systems that have never experienced these issues before. Elective surgical cases have been largely postponed, and surgery departments are struggling to correctly and equitably determine which cases need to proceed. A resource to objectively prioritize and track time sensitive cases would be useful as an adjunct to clinical decision-making.MethodsA multidisciplinary working group at Emory Healthcare developed and implemented an adjudication tool for the prioritization of time sensitive surgeries. The variables identified by the team to form the construct focused on the patient’s survivability according to actuarial data, potential impact on function with delay in care, and high-level biology of disease. Implementation of the prioritization was accomplished with a database design to streamline needed communication between surgeons and surgical adjudicators. All patients who underwent time sensitive surgery between 4/10/20 and 6/15/20 across 5 campuses were included.ResultsThe primary outcomes of interest were calculated patient prioritization score and number of days until operation. 1767 cases were adjudicated during the specified time period. The distribution of prioritization scores was normal, such that real-time adjustment of the empiric algorithm was not required. On retrospective review, as the patient prioritization score increased, the number of days to the operating room decreased. This confirmed the functionality of the tool and provided a framework for organization across multiple campuses.ConclusionsWe developed an in-house adjudication tool to aid in the prioritization of a large cohort of canceled and time sensitive surgeries. The tool is relatively simple in its design, reproducible, and data driven which allows for an objective adjunct to clinical decision-making. The database design was instrumental in communication optimization during this chaotic period for patients and surgeons.

Racial and gender inequities in the implementation of a cannabis criminal justice diversion program in a large and diverse metropolitan county of the USA

BackgroundDiversion programs are considered alternatives to the arrest and incarceration of non-violent drug offenders, including those found in possession of smaller amounts of cannabis in states with prohibitive laws. Despite the progressive nature of such programs, the inability to complete diversion program requirements can often result in greater involvement with the criminal justice system than traditional case adjudication. Few studies have evaluated racial group differences in cannabis diversion program completion. MethodsThe current study examined a sample of 8323 adult participants in Harris County, Texas’ Marijuana Misdemeanor Diversion Program (MMDP) between March 2017 and July 2019. Gender, age, and race/ethnicity were examined as predictors of program completion and time to completion using Chi square, Kruskal Wallis tests, and Cox proportional hazard regression models. ResultsBoth males and African Americans were over-represented (80 % and 50 %, respectively) among participants of Harris County’s MMDP. African American (HR = 0.782, 95 % CI [.735–.832], p < .001) and Latino American MMDP participants (HR = .822, 95 % CI [.720–.937], p = .003) had significantly lower odds of MMDP completion and a longer interval to program completion as compared to non-Latino White participants. ConclusionsThe current study identified racial/ethnic and gender disparities in a large county’s cannabis diversion program. These findings may be related to law enforcement disparities which disproportionately target males and people of color. Findings may serve to inform the continued reform of the criminal justice system, particularly laws relating to cannabis.

The Religion of Race: The Supreme Court as Priests of Racial Politics

The tumultuous summer of 2020 has opened the eyes of many Americans leading to a general consensus on one issue — racism still exists. This Article offers a new descriptive account of America’s history that can contextualize the zeitgeist of racial politics. It argues that the Founding Fathers created a national civil religion based on racism when they compromised on the issue of slavery in the creation of the Constitution. This religion, called the Religion of Race, is built on a belief system where whiteness is sacred, and Blackness is profane. The sacred text is the Constitution, and it is interpreted by the Supreme Court, who uses the adjudication of cases as a ritual to advance this religion. This Article argues that the Reconstruction Amendments and attendant Civil Rights Acts can best be understood as an attempt by Congress to end this Religion of Race and put all citizens on a path to equality. This attempt was resisted by the Supreme Court, however, as evidenced by cases adjudicated immediately following the Reconstruction period, and thus a contest ensued that has shaped American racial politics ever since — whether the Supreme Court is interpreting the Constitution of Slavery or the Constitution of Reconstruction, and, therefore, whether it will perpetuate or dismantle the Religion of Race.

Are College Students' Attitudes Related to Their Application of Sanctions for Campus Sexual Assault Cases?

With growing attention to adjudication of campus sexual assault cases, more is known regarding students' views of sexual assault, but little the literature focuses on how students perceive "justice" in terms of assigning sanctions or guilt/responsibility for such cases. The present study focused on understanding whether college students' preformed attitudes and beliefs were associated with the severity of sanctions they applied across a range of sexual assault cases as well as their assignments of guilt and responsibility to the parties involved. To determine students' attitudes and beliefs mediating effects on sanction choices, five scales (i.e., rape myth acceptance, downplaying the severity of rape, sexism, just world beliefs, and right-wing authoritarianism) were adapted and used for this project. College students (n = 846) responded to one of four versions of a randomly distributed survey each containing eight vignettes varied to represent levels of 14 factors employed because of their relevance to campus sexual assault cases. Across all versions, sexism was associated with increased responsibility given to the victim. In addition, stronger endorsement of both downplaying significance of rape and rape myth acceptance scales were associated with giving a milder sanction to the perpetrator and increased responsibility and guilt assigned to the victim. Just world beliefs and right-wing authoritarianism associations were inconsistent across the four versions, suggesting these beliefs were situation-specific. Preformed attitudes that are more directly related to the context of sexual assault influenced the designation of sanctions applied to perpetrators and perceptions of guilt and responsibility. Findings are discussed in terms of implications for research and prevention programming.

Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters in the Process of Dealing with Child Sexual Abuse Cases in Vietnam

International cooperation can be understood as competent bodies of the Social Republic of Vietnam and other countries coordinating, supporting each other in investigation, prosecution, adjudication and execution of criminal cases. International cooperation in criminal procedure includes mutual legal assistance in criminal, extradition, receipt and transfer of prisoners and other activities as stipulated in Criminal Procedure Code 2015, international laws on mutual legal assistance and conventions of which the Social Republic of Vietnam is a member. Child sexual abuse cases in Vietnam and other countries in the world, especially in ASEAN region, have become increasingly complicated. Many Vietnamese children were and have been victims of sex trafficking to foreign countries, a lot of them were fooled by job opportunities and then were sold into prostitution near the border of China, Cambodia, Laos and other Asian countries, namely Malaysia, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand... Therefore, prevention of child sexual abuse is an integral task and a top priority of Vietnam currently. Solving child sexual abuse cases consisting of international factors requires Vietnam to have close international cooperation with other countries. This article focuses on the analysis of the provisions of criminal procedure law and the practical implementation of mutual legal assistance in the process of solving child sexual abuse cases. In addition, the article provides solutions to improve the effectiveness of mutual legal assistance in solving child sexual abuse cases.

The Perioperative Services Response at a Major Children's Hospital During the Peak of the COVID-19 Pandemic in New York City.

The Perioperative Services Response at a Major Children's Hospital During the Peak of the COVID-19 Pandemic in New York City.

The Colombian Special Jurisdiction for Peace

Abstract The Colombian Special Jurisdiction for Peace (Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz, SJP) is the judicial component of the Comprehensive System of Truth, Justice, Reparation and Non-Repetition created by the Peace Agreement signed between the Government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia — People’s Army in November 2016. The SJP started functioning in March 2018 and has already selected a few priority cases, some of which include sexual and gender-based crimes. It is to be expected that more cases involving these crimes will be initiated in the future. This article aims to offer some considerations for the SJP as it begins its investigation and adjudication of cases involving sexual and gender-based crimes. These considerations relate to ensuring that the full scope of sexual and gender-based violence is captured, including the experiences of male victims and the gender components of non-sexual crimes; and that the contextualization of sexual violence is prioritized over unnecessary considerations about the personal motives of the perpetrators.

“Justice Is Something That Is Unheard of for the Average Negro”: Racial Disparities in New Orleans Criminal Justice, 1920–1945

Abstract Historians of race relations and criminal justice have emphasized the ways in which the rule of law emerged as a mechanism of racial control in the early twentieth-century South, gradually supplanting rough justice. This essay examines the protracted, uneven pace of this transformation and the development of Jim Crow criminal justice in New Orleans. An analysis of the adjudication of homicide cases in New Orleans between 1920 and 1945 reveals that the majority of black-on-white homicides did not result in convictions, and only a small minority of African Americans suspected—or even convicted—of interracial murder went to the gallows. But racial disparities in convictions and executions widened dramatically during the interwar era. Thus, this essay analyzes the social, cultural, and legal shifts that expanded race-based differentials in criminal justice. It also argues that, ironically, Jim Crow prescriptions intensified white fears of African American crime and helped to generate the anxieties that legal measures were imposed to address, increasing racial disparities and making racial biases in criminal justice self-perpetuating.

Z V. State of Bihar: Reproductive Autonomy and State Liability

In this case note, I analyse the judgement of the Supreme Court of India in Z v. State of Bihar. I focus on the important contribution that the case makes in the context of reproductive health rights of women, and in particular, victims of rape. I argue that the case provides a foundation for further development of the law on various issues of reproductive rights and compensation jurisprudence for state failures in guaranteeing statutory and constitutional rights of women, including victims of rape. I further argue that the case also provides a framework for adjudication of cases in the criminal justice system, which involve pregnant women.

Students’ Perceptions of Justice: Application of Sanctions, Guilt, and Responsibility in Campus Sexual Assault Cases

Despite growing attention to adjudication of campus sexual assault cases, little is known how students perceive “justice” for such cases. The present study examined whether victim, perpetrator, and assault characteristics influenced students’ perceptions of: whether a sanctionable violation occurred; the type of sanction to be applied; perceived severity of the sanction; proportion of guilt attributable to the victim and perpetrator; and level of responsibility of the victim and perpetrator. Fourteen factors pertaining to potential negative evaluation of rape victims were derived; thus, a non-factorial vignette survey design focusing only on each main effect was employed. 846 college students responded to one of four versions of a randomly distributed survey each containing eight vignettes that varied to represent all levels of the 14 factors. Students were not consistent in their application of sanctions or assignment of guilt or responsibility for the sexual assault vignettes, but rather were influenced in their ratings for 10 of the 14 factors. Students responded differentially to levels of the following factors: psychological impact on the victim, victim’s medical consequences, reason for the victim’s incapacitation leading to assault, consistency of victim’s and perpetrator’s accounts of the assault, sexual orientation of the victim, type of forced sex, number of perpetrators involved, fraternity membership of the perpetrator, gender of the perpetrator, and victim’s initial display of sexual interest in the perpetrator. Cases consistent with rape myths appear to influence students’ perceptions of justice. Findings are discussed in terms of implications for research and prevention programming.