Expert Bodies Research Articles

Assessing the risk of transfusion-transmitted variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: a European perspective.

Several countries have recently reassessed the international risk of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) transmission through transfusion of blood and blood components (red blood cells, platelets and plasma) and relaxed donor deferrals based on geographic and transfusion exposure in countries formerly considered to be high risk, such as the UK. In this regard, the European Blood Alliance organised a consensus meeting of experts and involved professionals to discuss current knowledge, epidemiological data, prevention and various methods for assessing the risk of transfusion-transmitted vCJD, as well as to develop an appropriate position on possible approaches to address these challenges in Europe. Participants reached a consensus that the current risk of transfusion-transmitted vCJD associated with blood donors who either travelled to or received transfusions in the UK during the vCJD outbreak is minimal. In addressing such risks, it would be pragmatic that assessments and guidelines are developed by European expert bodies, rather than individual assessments by Member States. Regardless of the approach used, European or national, a qualitative risk assessment based on a review and analysis of available data, considering all the uncertainties and experiences of other countries, would provide crucial information to reassess blood donation strategies regarding the transfusion-associated vCJD risk.

Factors associated with handgrip strength across the life course: A systematic review.

Muscle strength is essential for healthy ageing. Handgrip strength (HGS) has been recommended by expert bodies as the preferred measure of muscle strength, in addition to being considered a strong predictor of overall health. Cross-sectional studies have shown several potential factors associated with HGS, but a systematic review of factors predicting HGS over time has not previously been conducted. The aim of this study is to systematically review the literature on the factors associated with adult HGS [at follow-up(s) or its rate of change] across the life course. Searches were performed in MEDLINE via Ebsco, Embase and SPORTDiscus databases. Longitudinal studies assessing potential factors impacting adult HGS over time were included in the analyses. Based on previously established definitions of consistency of results, a semiquantitative analysis was conducted using the proportions of studies supporting correlations with HGS. A total of 117 articles were included in this review. Factors associated with HGS were grouped into 11 domains: demographic, socioeconomic, genetic, early life, body composition, health markers/biomarkers, health conditions, psychosocial, lifestyle, reproductive and environmental determinants. Overall, 103 factors were identified, of which 10 showed consistent associations with HGS over time (i.e., in at least four studies with ≥60% agreement in the direction of association). Factors associated with greater declines in HGS included increasing age, male sex, higher levels of inflammatory markers and the presence of cardiovascular diseases. Education level, medication use, and self-rated health were not associated with the rate of change in HGS. Increased birth weight was associated with a stronger HGS over time, whereas depressive symptoms were linked to a weaker HGS, and smoking habits showed null associations. Comparison between studies and estimation of effect sizes were limited due to the heterogeneity in methods. Although sex and age may be the main drivers of HGS decline, it is crucial to prioritize modifiable factors such as inflammation and cardiovascular diseases in health interventions to prevent greater losses. Interventions to improve birth weight and mental health are also likely to produce positive effects on muscle strength. Our results point to the complexity of processes involving muscle strength and suggest that the need to better understand the determinants of HGS remains.

Towards an All-Ireland Diamond Open Access Publishing Platform: The PublishOA.ie Project—2022–2024

The Government of Ireland has set a target of achieving 100% open access to publicly funded scholarly publications by 2030. As a key element of achieving this objective, the PublishOA.ie project was established to evaluate the feasibility of establishing an all-island [Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland] digital publishing platform for Diamond Open Access journals and monographs designed to advance best practice and meet the needs of authors, readers, publishers, and research funding organisations in Irish scholarly publishing. It should be noted in this context that there is substantial ‘north–south’ cooperation between public bodies in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom, some of whom operate on what is commonly termed an ‘all-island’ basis. The project commenced in November 2022 and will run until November 2024, with the submission of a Final Report. This article originated as an interim project report presented in September 2023 at the PubMet2023 conference in Zadar, Croatia. The project is unique in its mandate to report on the feasibility of a shared platform that will encompass scholarly publishing across the two jurisdictions on the island of Ireland, which are now, post-Brexit, inside and outside the European Union (EU): the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom. The project is co-led by the Royal Irish Academy (RIA), Ireland’s leading body of experts in the Sciences and Humanities, and the Trinity Long Room Hub Arts & Humanities Research Institute of Trinity College Dublin. There are sixteen partners and affiliates from universities and organisations from the island of Ireland. The feasibility study will be based on a review of the publishing practices in the island of Ireland, with gap analysis on standards, technology, processes, copyright practices, and funding models for Diamond OA, benchmarking against other national platforms, and specifications of the requirements, leading to the delivery of a pilot national publishing platform. A set of demonstrator journals and monographs will be published using the platform, which will be actively trialled by the partner publishers and authors. PublishOA.ie aims to deliver an evidence-based understanding of Irish scholarly publishing and of the requirements of publishers to transition in whole or in part to Diamond OA. This paper provides an interim report on progress on the project as of September 2023, ten months after its commencement.

Procedural elements of the complete examination and screening of the healthy term neonate: a protocol for a scoping review and evidence map

IntroductionAll newborns undergo a Complete Examination and Screening of the Neonate (CESoN) to verify the general health and well-being of the neonate and to screen for signs and symptoms of...

The Future of Plant-Based Diets: Aligning Healthy Marketplace Choices with Equitable, Resilient, and Sustainable Food Systems.

The future of plant-based diets is a complex public health issue inextricably linked to planetary health. Shifting the world's population to consume nutrient-rich, plant-based diets is among the most impactful strategies to transition to sustainable food systems to feed 10 billion people by 2050. This review summarizes how international expert bodies define sustainable diets and food systems and describes types of sustainable dietary patterns. It also explores how the type and proportion of plant- versus animal-source foods and alternative proteins relate to sustainable diets to reduce diet-related morbidity and mortality. Thereafter, we synthesize evidence for current challenges and actions needed to achieve plant-based sustainable dietary patterns using a conceptual framework with principles to promote human health, ecological health, social equity, and economic prosperity. We recommend strategies for governments, businesses, and civil society to encourage marketplace choices that lead to plant-rich sustainable diets within healthy, equitable, and resilient agroecological food systems.

Aukštų pareigūnų skyrimas pusiau prezidentiniame modelyje: Lietuvos atvejis*

Both academics who study presidential powers and political practitioners acknowledge that Lithuanian president enjoys the power to appoint high-ranking officials. This article investigates the determinants of success (or failure) of presidential decrees by which nominations of high-ranking public officials are submitted to Seimas. Presented theory and results are also discussed in a wider context of literature on semi-presidentialism: what does this power say about the role of presidents and the functioning of such regimes? Analysis employs an original data set, which consists of 337 decrees by presidents of Lithuania from 1993 to 2023 that were submitted to Seimas for consent regarding the appointment of respective public officials. The statistical analysis is complemented by information from semi-structured interviews with several high-ranking politicians. The study reveals several key points. First, high success rate of decrees (about 92.7 percent) is explained by the incentives of the constitutional algorithm and the informal practice of coordinating nominations between the president and the ruling majority before submitting them to Seimas. Second, quantitative analysis and qualitative interviews reveal that the success of decrees increases with the judicial appointments that are advised by a body of experts (Council of Judges) and decreases with appointments to heads of institutions. Third, some cases can also be explained by personal characteristics of nominees: age (result of quantitative analysis) or their self-presentation to Seimas (semi-structured interviews). Fourth, cohabitation – when the president and the parliamentary majority are of different political camps – only partially explains the success of decrees. Some unsuccessful decrees occur because of a short-term drop in the “temperature” of intra-executive relationship. However, this drop usually bounces back to cooperation phase – thus, the power to appoint high-ranking officials contradicts popular paradigm of literature on semi-presidentialism, namely that sees the relationship between president and government as competitive. The president himself together with the system of checks and balances around this power almost ideally embody the moderating power: important condition is that the moderator himself is also constitutionally “moderated”.

The social construction of sustainable futures: how models and scenarios limit climate mitigation possibilities

ABSTRACT This article shines a light on the act of social construction of climate change mitigation as a policy issue at the hands of expert bodies enjoying epistemic power, notably the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), using Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) as key tools. This is crucial to the politics of tackling climate change as IPCC models and scenarios profoundly shape what are seen as viable futures and mitigation policy options. Analysing how technocratic governance bodies broach climate change, its mitigation, and the associated economic costs and implications, reveals contestations within the technocratic politics of climate change. The particular social construction of mitigation as a policy issue through IAMs and IPCC scenarios has important and real socio-ecological consequences. This engagement with the technocratic politics of mitigation problematises five key assumptions that are fed into modelling, and reveals why and how they matter politically. We also highlight ways in which contestable assumptions built into IPCC IAMs undermine their credibility and usefulness for planning mitigation strategies.

Pushed to Breaking Point? The Prohibition of ‘Constructive’ or ‘Disguised’ Refoulement under International Law

Abstract The cornerstone of international refugee law is the principle of non-refoulement, which protects refugees, asylum seekers, and other persons with protection needs from being returned against their will to a place where they risk facing persecution or other fundamental rights violations. A person who is protected against refoulement may, however, return voluntarily. Determining when such returns are truly voluntary is an issue increasingly at the heart of discussions about the lawfulness of returns, including recently in the Lake Chad Basin, East Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Europe, and Australia. Today, there does not appear to be a generally agreed legal standard to determine when a return is truly voluntary. Likewise, international law does not define a clear line at which State action to ‘incentivize’ or ‘induce’ returns amounts to refoulement or an unlawful expulsion. However, recent publications by international law expert bodies and ensuing debate among States have provided some indications as to where international law stands on the issue and the direction in which it might develop. Thus, this article first examines the interplay between voluntary returns and the principle of non-refoulement. Secondly, it analyses recent positions taken by the International Law Commission and the United Nations Committee against Torture concerning legal limits on the measures that States may take to incentivize or induce returns. Thirdly, the article considers certain measures taken by States to incentivize or induce the ‘voluntary’ return of a person and indicates when such measures may amount to acts of coercion or force in violation of international law.

The Critical Analysis of the Viability of Cosmopolitan Democracy in the 21st Century: Cosmopolitanism, the Present and the Future

This review aims to critically analyse the concept of cosmopolitanism as applicable to global democracy. It firstly questions the viability of cosmopolitan democracy from the practicality of this concept on a pragmatic, rather than an idealistic lens, to its 'world state' concept where a decentralised system of governance is sustained by various decision-making sources whilst honouring states with some level of national autonomy. Issues raised, such as distributive justice, coercion and partiality, the cosmopolitan conceptual legitimacy at a global level, citizenship, reciprocity and sovereignty, oppose the legitimacy and practicality of this concept, giving statists, sovereigntists, nationalists and other sceptics of the cosmopolitan Agenda reasons to question this ideology. The second part of this review aims to answer these questions, explaining how this concept practically fits into today's global society as an effective form of global governance. The Moderate-Moral Cosmopolitan ideology will be used to critically address the issues of military interventions: the legality of human rights, the preference for transnational laws over international laws in the propagation of cosmopolitan rights and the role of expert bodies in ensuring that the enforcement of these rights whilst spreading cosmopolitan democracy is effective.

Effect of a 12-Week Multi-Exercise Community Program on Muscle Strength and Lipid Profile in Elderly Women.

This study targeted elderly women over 60 years old (109 persons), divided them into an exercise group and a control group, and implemented a 12-week physical activity program for the exercise group. Body composition, muscle, blood tests, depression, quality of life (QoL), nutritional status, and physical strength were compared and analyzed. The physical activity program was organized through a consultative body of experts, was performed for about 60 min each time in the type and order of exercise appropriate for elderly women, and consisted of a combination of exercise using a band, gymnastics, and stretching. Changes in the muscle index and muscle mass before and after the program were selected as the primary efficacy evaluations. In the exercise group, waist circumference significantly decreased, and the muscle index significantly increased compared to the control group. The number of subjects who showed sarcopenia with a muscle index of 5.4 or less in the exercise group significantly decreased from 22 (38.6%) before program implementation to 13 (22.8%). According to the results of secondary effectiveness evaluation, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and apolipoprotein (Apo) A were significantly increased in the exercise group compared to the control group, and Apo B, triglyceride, and c-reactive protein showed a significant decrease. Regular physical activity is very important for improving the health and QoL of elderly women, and as a result of applying a customized program, effects such as increased muscle index, improvement of sarcopenia, and improvement of blood lipid status were confirmed. Therefore, it is believed that the physical activity program developed through this study can be applied as a community program for elderly women.

Group A Streptococcus pharyngitis in Children: New Perspectives on Rapid Diagnostic Testing and Antimicrobial Stewardship.

The most common cause of bacterial pharyngitis is Group A Streptococcus (GAS). Accurate diagnosis of GAS pharyngitis is crucial to identify children who would benefit from antibiotic treatment. Rapid diagnosis has the potential to reduce antibiotic overuse. Current national guidelines differ in their recommendations for GAS testing. While rapid antigen detection tests (RADTs) are widely used, their sensitivity is considered too low for stand-alone testing by several expert bodies. Newer molecular tests using nucleic acid amplification show higher accuracy and fast results, but their cost, complexity, and very high sensitivity may limit widespread adoption. This review provides up-to-date evidence regarding rapid diagnostic testing and antimicrobial stewardship in children with sore throat. We discuss discrepancies across GAS testing guidelines at the international level, patient selection for testing for GAS, rapid test accuracy, and the potential role of rapid GAS tests to promote antibiotic stewardship, with emphasis on emerging rapid molecular tests.

The improvised expert: Staging authority at an OECD Nuclear Energy Agency workshop in Fukushima.

In recent years, concerns about a crisis of expert authority have been expressed across the globe. Japan is no exception to this trend. Scandals surrounding the (mis)management of the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster severely damaged public confidence in state institutions, posing an additional challenge for those engaged in radiological protection. This article examines how claims to expert authority are made in these conditions of low public trust. To this end, I offer an ethnographic account of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency's (NEA) Workshop on Post-Accident Food Safety Science-an event staged at the request of the Japanese Cabinet Office with the aim of inspiring confidence in Fukushima produce. I analyse the practices through which the organizers craft a credible public persona using the idiom of dramaturgical improvisation; drawing attention to the 'performed resourcefulness' with which they adapted extant institutional scripts in response to a discerned crisis of public reason. Concretely, improvisation invites us to consider how and why nuclear policy actors have sought to demarcate two variants of the deficit model: the (psychological) discourse of 'radiophobia' and the (economic) discourse of 'reputational damage'. Where prior scholarship has identified the continuities between the two discourses, an attention to this boundary work reveals the dramaturgical advantages of 'reputational damage' over 'radiophobia' in contesting critics' claims to the mantle of victimhood, securing international support, and producing the expert's body as a site of evidence.

Experts as crisis managers: The case of the Swedish response to the Covid‐19 pandemic

AbstractThe academic discussion on the role of experts in crisis decision making subject is scattered and diverged. The debate has foremost been connected to the discussion of centralized versus decentralized responses. Inspired by the notion of contingency and Karl Weick, this article explores the role of the Swedish Public Health Agency in coping with the Covid‐19 pandemic. One of the key findings from the study is that even if experts might have a better technical understanding, at the same time, they risk getting stuck in identity concerns and previous experiences which result in rigid responses. The study also underlines that it is risky for decision‐makers to rely upon one single body of expertise at times when uncertainty is high and there is a lack of solid evidence and knowledge, given the likelihood of fixation and rigidity. Rather, policy makers should encourage a deliberative debate, involving a diversity of experts and expertise.

Independence of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office in the context of the appointment procedures

The personal independence of the European Chief Prosecutor and European Prosecutors is a prerequisite of the independence of the European Public Prosecutor's Office. Based on the experience of the first appointment procedures and a combined examination of EU law, areas of vulnerability can be identified which could jeopardise their independence. The definition and doctrinal positioning of prosecutorial independence, such as its separation from autonomy and accountability, is not a simple task in case of a supranational prosecutorial body. However, there are international expert bodies that have drawn attention to the central importance of guarantees in the appointment procedures and transparency in ensuring prosecutorial independence, which also underpins public confidence in the process. Although there are institutional safeguards in the appointment procedures for the European Chief Prosecutor and the European Prosecutors, the shortcomings of the legislation have been exposed by the recent experiences. There is insufficient transparency in the selection of the members of the selection panel and in its functioning. In addition, the legislation does not categorically exclude the possibility that political considerations without a legal basis may be introduced into the appointment procedure. The EU regulation governing the functioning of the European Public Prosecutor's Office and the operating rules of the selection panel should also be amended to ensure full transparency of the criteria used to select the members of the selection panel and the assessment of the selection panel during selection and ranking of the prosecutors. In addition, the relevant EU regulation should be amended to make the decision-making process in the Council of the European Union more transparent and to stipulate that the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament may base their selection decisions only on the criteria set out in the applicable legislation and the opinion of the selection panel.

The influence of civil society institutions on the implementation of public administration in the conditions of martial law in Ukraine

The article examines the impact of civil society institutions on the implementation of public administration in Ukraine under martial law. It has been established that civil society is understood as a free association of citizens, the purpose of which is to satisfy common interests, ensure values, and realize rights. The signs of civil society are singled out: it is formed exclusively on a voluntary basis and on the basis of common goals, interests, desires of a certain audience for the purpose of their development and satisfaction; cooperation of civil society as a whole and its institutions in particular with state institutions, being at the same time independent from them to a certain extent; in the formation of public institutions, the greatest value is a person, a person, a citizen, in particular his rights, freedoms and legitimate interests, as well as their implementation in reality; the presence of a certain special and specific structure, the level of development of civil society depends on the level of its complexity. It has been established that the interaction of civil society institutions with state bodies is manifested in participation in the initial development and discussion of draft legal acts, which, among other things, are aimed at the normalization of all spheres that have suffered in one way or another from the aggressor state. It was determined that the influence of civil society institutions in martial law is manifested in their exercise of public control over the activities of state authorities in the form of public monitoring of the preparation and implementation of decisions, examination of their effectiveness. It has been established that the form of interaction between the analyzed subjects is the submission by civil society institutions to state authorities of their own expert proposals, the formation of joint advisory and expert bodies, councils, commissions, and groups to ensure that public opinion is taken into account in the formation and implementation of state policy. It has been established that an important duty of public administration subjects as a form of response to all actions of civil society institutions is to conduct appropriate monitoring and analysis of public opinion, as well as to ensure timely public response to public proposals and comments.

ЕФЕКТИВНІСТЬ УПРАВЛІННЯ У СФЕРІ ЗАСТОСУВАННЯ ПРОГРАМ ДОПОМІЖНИХ РЕПРОДУКТИВНИХ ТЕХНОЛОГІЙ

The article substantiates the directions for increasing the efficiency of management in the field of application of assisted reproductive technology programs in Ukraine. It was noted that for the successful implementation of new approaches to the management of the DRT sphere, the government, all management bodies and society in general should investigate in more detail the complex of management measures in order to increase the efficiency of the functioning of this system. It is emphasized that the management of the field of DRT is closely related to the management of risks arising from globalization and modernization, which requires management participants to have the skills and ability to recognize and solve problems both in the field of health care and in other areas where risks arise. Attention is focused on the fact that in the process of studying the issues of the effectiveness of DRT management, it is worth focusing on specific Sustainable Development Goals: Goal 3 "Strong health and well-being" and Goal 17 "Partnership for sustainable development". Performance evaluation criteria are proposed, which will contribute to the improvement of the quality of management in the field of application of DRT programs at the current stage of the development of the Ukrainian state. This list of criteria can be further expanded and improved, because these proposals contain those performance indicators that are absolutely necessary at today's stage of development of management relations in the field of DRT application, when the sector is given over to self-regulation, programmatic and regulatory documents are not adopted for years. It is concluded that in order to achieve the maximum effectiveness of management in the field of application of DRT, it is advisable to implement the following principles of health management, which are combined in the general societal and national approaches: management through cooperation; management by involving citizens; management through a combination of regulation and persuasion; management through independent agencies and expert bodies; management through adaptive policies, sustainable structures and forecasting results.

Caffeine: Benefits and Risks for Health and Wellbeing

Background: Tea contains a variety of compounds, including caffeine, which have a range of health impacts. The presence of caffeine in tea often raises questions about the benefits of its consumption, including potential effects on cognition, behavior, mood and exercise performance as well as areas of concern such as anxiety, stress, hydration and heart health. The aim of this review is to evaluate the benefits and risks of caffeine consumption with a focus on tea and other compounds present in tea, which may interact with caffeine. Methods: Evidence was considered from Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) published over the last 15 years investigating the effects of caffeine on cognition, alertness, behavior, hydration and mood. Systematic reviews, meta-analyses and expert panel reviews were included in the wider discussion. Results: Evidence suggests that caffeine intakes of 3-6mg/kg/bw/(body weight)/day may benefit cognitive function and exercise performance in adults. Many expert bodies state that there are no safety concerns with daily intakes of ≤ 200mg caffeine in pregnant women and ≤ 400mg in other adults. Evidence indicates that children and adolescents should limit their daily caffeine intake to 2.5mg/kg/bw. Tea contains a lower concentration of caffeine than most other caffeinated drinks as well as providing fluid for hydration and polyphenolic compounds for health, particularly cardiovascular health. L-theanine in tea moderates the potential negative impact of caffeine on stress and anxiety whilst improving attention and speed of mental performance. Conclusion: On balance, moderate amounts of caffeine provide benefits in terms of cognitive function, alertness and exercise performance in adults with minimal risk of adverse effects. Further research is required to determine safe, beneficial intakes in children and adolescents. Tea, with its lower caffeine content, in combination with flavonoid polyphenols, fluoride and L-theanine, may provide an acceptable benefit/risk ratio for people aged 4 years and over, assuming age-appropriate intakes of 1-8 daily servings.

DEVELOPMENT OF TECHNIQUE FOR STRUCTURING OF GROUP EXPERT ASSESSMENTS UNDER UNCERTAINTY AND INCONCISTANCY

Context. The issues of structuring group expert assessments are considered in order to determine a generalized assessment under inconsistency between expert assessments. The object of the study is the process of synthesis of mathematical models of structuring (clustering, partitioning) of expert assessments that are formed within the framework of Shafer model under uncertainty, inconsistency (conflict).
 Objective. The purpose of the article is to develop an approach based on the metrics of theory of evidence, which allows to identify a number of homogeneous subgroups from the initial heterogeneous set of expert judgments formed within the framework of the Shafer model, or to identify experts whose judgments differ significantly from the judgments of the rest of the group.
 Method. The research methodology is based on the mathematical apparatus of theory of evidence and cluster analysis. The proposed approach uses the principles of hierarchical clustering to form a partition of a heterogeneous (inconsistent) set of expert evidence into a number of subgroups (clusters), within which expert assessments are close to each other. Metrics of the theory of evidence are considered as a criterion for determining the similarity and dissimilarity of clusters. Experts’ evidence are considered consistent in the formed cluster if the average or maximum (depending on certain initial conditions) level of conflict between them does not exceed a given threshold level.
 Results. The proposed approach for structuring expert information makes it possible to assess the degree of consistency of expert assessments within an expert group based on an analysis of the distance between expert evidence bodies. In case of a lack of consistency within the expert group, it is proposed to select from a heterogeneous set of assessments subgroups of experts whose assessments are close to each other for further aggregation in order to obtain a generalized assessment.
 Conclusions. Models and methods for analyzing and structuring group expert assessments formed within the notation of the theory of evidence under uncertainty, inconsistency, and conflict were further developed. An approach to clustering group expert assessments formed under uncertainty and inconsistency (conflict) within the framework of the Shafer model is proposed in order to identify subgroups within which expert assessments are considered consistent. In contrast to existing clustering methods, the proposed approach allows processing expert evidence of a various structure and taking into account possible ways of their interaction (combination, intersection).

Practicing modernity at home: Expert discourses and women's narratives on household in late socialist Poland

AbstractThis article explores gendered notions of modernity in late socialist Poland in the context of the household. It examines the scenarios of modernity for the household that were developed by various expert bodies and popularised by the mass media, and women's memoirs written as competition entries that describe their everyday practices. The main aim of this analysis is to examine how the memoirists responded to expert discourses about gendered modernity at home. The article shows that although they appear to have understood how to produce their life stories to interweave their experiences with official political discourse, the memoirs can be considered a valuable source that describes how individuals understood modernity, and how expert discourses affected their value system.

Bioetika i diplomacija

The Declaration on Human Cloning was adopted at the 82nd United Nations plenary meeting on 8 March 2005. This Declaration crowned the efforts taken by France and Germany since 2001 to adopt a convention against the so-called reproductive human cloning. The negotiation was initially conceived as a bioethical debate that should have led to a general agreement to ban human cloning. However, more often, it took the form of a discussion on human rights, cultural, civil and religious differences among people, their interaction and the question of who or what has priority in case of potential conflicts among heterogeneous value systems. Neither the Declaration nor the negotiations gave any answers to these difficult questions, but they did allow superficial insight into the problems. They showed that international legislation falls into apories when professional argumentation does not prevail in conflicting attitudes, i.e. when political and other differences are in the middle of the dialogue. If one reads the Declaration carefully, it has an unexpected result since, because of its generality and attempts to establish a compromise between difficult-to-combine interests and definitions, it neither defines cloning of people nor prohibits it directly and unconditionally, including cloning for reproductive purposes. Finally, maybe it would have been better if the debate on the cloning controversies and subsequent comprehensive regulations were first left to scientists, philosophers and corresponding expert bodies and panels, who would explain the basic mechanisms of the cloning process and, more importantly, the bioethical implications of the process itself, because cloning is in intrinsic relation with a deliberate act and with the thinking of acting thinking, and only after the public had been fully informed about it, the relevant supranational institutions should deal with this problem.