Legal Legislation Research Articles

Alzheimer's disease and the law: positive and negative consequences of structural stigma and labeling in the legal system

ABSTRACTObjective: To explore the meaning and consequences of labeling on structural stigma in the context of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in the legal system.Method: This qualitative study was made up of three focus groups including social workers and lawyers (n = 26). Participants were asked to report their experience in circumstances in which persons with AD and their family members engage with the legal system. Thematic analysis using the constant comparative method was used.Results: The discussions in the focus groups raised two overall themes. (1) The significance of the medical diagnostic labeling of AD in the legal system and (2) the consequences of labeling of AD within the legal system. This last theme included four sub-themes: (a) negative consequences of labeling; (b) reasons associated with negative consequences of labeling; (c) positive consequences of labeling; and (d) reasons associated with positive consequences of labeling.Conclusion: Findings of the study provide a first foundation for future research on the meaning and consequences of labeling in legal cases involving persons with AD. They suggest that increasing judges' knowledge about AD and reforming the existing ‘status-based’ legal capacity legislation might benefit by limiting the legal weight given today to the medical diagnosis.

Las reformas procesales penales en Colombia

<p>Colombia no ha sido ajena a los cambios legislativos de índole procesal; precisamente en este campo se han registrado cambios radicales entre el procedimiento anterior y el posterior a la Constitución de 1991. Antes de la Constitución de 1991, nuestro país contó con un procedimiento penal mixto que tenía una clara tendencia inquisitiva al centralizar las funciones de acusación y juzgamiento en un mismo funcionario: el juez de la causa. Igualmente en la fase de instrucción predominaba la forma escrita; y en el juzgamiento, la oral. Con la creación de la Fiscalía General de la Nación, en 1991, la legislación procesal buscó en el sistema mixto una tendencia acusatoria real, al otorgar la función de investigar a un estamento diferente a los jueces. La Ley 600 de 2000 es un sistema procesal mixto con rezagos inquisitivos, pero con una marcada tendencia acusatoria. La Ley 906 de 2004 establece en Colombia una legislación penal acusatoria que empezó a regir a partir del 2005 y que pretende un código fuerte en su acusación, con posibilidades de defensa en la contradicción, con la participación del Ministerio Público en interés de la sociedad, recuperando la categoría cultural del juez.</p>

Relationship between environmental management systems implementation and environmental performance: Findings from Turkish EMS certificated businesses

Gradually, increasing environmental awareness has increased the demand for goods and services. These manufactured goods and services are made in compliance with environmental standards to protect and enhance environmental assets and natural resources as important competitive factors. Numerous standards and legal legislations have been developed to guide businesses on environmental issues. Therefore, various businesses sectors are more inclined to develop and implement environmental policies these days. Many of these policies are developed with the guidance of ISO 4001 — Environmental Management Systems (EMSs). The businesses which have adopted the standards of the EMSs have to protect the environment and ensure its continuity. Thus, businesses require the reflection of environmental management activities on businesses performance evaluation in terms of price competitiveness and cost effectiveness. To this end, this research aims to study Turkish businesses which have adopted and got EMS certification and accordingly analyze the development and implementation of EMS and how its implementation in turn affects environmental performance. Descriptive Statistics, Correlation, and Linear Regression Analyses were used to assess the association between EMS implementation and environmental performance. The results revealed that EMS implementation has a significant positive impact on environmental performance.

Challenging Conditions of Labour Contract in Bankruptcy

The recent amendments to the civil law show an evident trend of strengthening the influence of civillaw in the exclusive jurisdiction of labour law. Increasingly, judicial practice resorts to some conditionsof labour contracts with the principals of a company based on the federal laws On Limited LiabilityCompanies and On Public Companies to rule major transactions and related party transactions valid.At that, recent Article 53 of the Russian Federation Civil Code in point 4 stipulates that the relationsbetween a legal person and the persons belonging to it are subject to the code and other laws on legalpersons, which provided grounds to some civil law experts consider such practice legal and justified.However, Chapter 43 of the Civil Code on the features of legal regulation of the labour of the head of acompany and the members of collective executive body of the company remained unchanged. In turn,the rules of the latter as well as of the Civil Code in general do not provide for the ways of challengingemployment contracts due to interest and violating the rules of entering into a major transaction. Thepaper stresses the contradictory nature of the case practice on challenging labour contracts with theprincipal. Another example of interpreting civil law is challenging the conditions of labour contractwithin bankruptcy cases. The Federal Law On Insolvency (Bankruptcy) makes it possible to apply tolabour contract the rules on invalid transaction under the law and civil legislation. The paper shows thepriority as to bankruptcy law the provisions of legal legislation which do not consider labour contractinvalid and hence do not require charging salary from the employees. The issue is proposed to besolved by amending the legislation. In particular, rendering an employment contract invalid and its legalconsequences should be specified in the Labour Code.

Взаимодействие органов предварительного следствия и общеуголовного сыска в России во второй половине XIX – начале XX в

The article deals with the problem of legal regulation of the criminal proceedings and practical activity of the court investigator and Criminal Police in the fight with crime. The author analyses legal acts of the Russian empire late XIX — early XX centuries and a wide range of archival and literary sources of this chronological period. The author points the systemic contradictions in the practice of the fight against crime, resulting from unresolved legal doctrine and legislation of the late of XIX — early XX centuries. The author considers issues of investigation and inquiry, and inquiry and investigation. The article notes that external expression drawbacks of legal regulation of pretrial criminal proceedings under the Charter of criminal proceedings in 1864 was the duplication of functions and ignoring ordinary criminal investigation by court investigators and police authorities of the total. And this fact led to the stagnation of the entire law enforcement system and the need to fill organizational lack of judicial reform through the establishment of a part of the general police detective offices caused a new problem — the interaction between the general and the police detective’ analyzing the interaction between the preliminary investigation and the general criminal investigation the author consistently reveals the process of legal, organizational and structural differentiation of functions of the Russian pre-trial criminal proceedings, which began with the judicial reform of 1864 and expressed in the institutionalization of the preliminary investigation, inquest and general criminal investigation.

Rights, responsibilities, and resistance: Legal discourse and intervention legislation in the Northern Territory in Australia

AbstractIn the shadow of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted and endorsed by 143 nations on 17th September 2007, the then Howard Government suspended the Racial Discrimination Act in Australia to implement the Northern Territory Emergency Response Bill, commonly referred to as the Northern Territory intervention. This legislation included the compulsory acquisition of townships; the suspension of the permit system to access Aboriginal communities; the removal of customary law or cultural practices in any legal considerations in sentencing; the abolition of the Community Development Employment Projects; and the quarantining of a proportion of welfare benefits for all recipients in designated communities. While Australia was one of only four nations who did not endorse the Declaration in 2007, the UN Declaration was subsequently adopted and endorsed in April 2009 by the then Rudd Labor Government. The ratification of the UN Declaration may appear to reflect a change of policy, yet amidst significant Indigenous opposition and criticism of the United Nations, the Gillard Labor Government continued the central tenants of the NT Intervention for a further ten years in the form of the Stronger Futures legislation in 2012. This essay explores some of the tensions and contradictions inherent within legal and political discourse in the recognition of rights between the rights of the child on the one hand, and Indigenous rights and citizenship rights within the Northern Territory Intervention legislation and policy of Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory.

إشکالیات الصحافة الاستقصائیة فی الصحف الفلسطینیة من وجهة نظر الصحفیین الاستقصائیین دراسة میدانیة

الهدف من الدراسة: التعرف على الإشکاليات التي تعيق عمل الصحافة الاستقصائية في الصحافة الفلسطينية من وجهة نظر الصحفيين الاستقصائيين، وتندرج هذه الدراسة ضمن الدارسات الوصفية التي تهدف إلي جمع المعلومات والحقائق والبيانات عن ظاهرة الإشکاليات التي تعيق وجود صحافة استقصائية فلسطينية. نوع الدراسة والمنهج المستخدم: تنتمي هذه الدراسة إلى الدراسات الوصفية واعتمدت على منهج المسح الذي يتم من خلاله جمع البيانات عن المتغيرات کما توجد في الواقع. أداة الدراسة والعينة: استعانت الدراسة بصحيفة استقصاء صممت لتخدم أهداف البحث، وتمثلت عينة الدراسة في عينة عمديه في کل الصحفيين الاستقصائيين الواردة أسماؤهم في التحقيقات الاستقصائية المنشورة في صحف الدراسة وعددهم 13 صحفي وصحفية، موزعون على النحو الآتي: (ستة صحفيين من جريدة الحياة الجديدة، وصحفيتين اثنتين من جريدة فلسطين، وخمسة صحفيين من جريدة الرسالة). أهم ما توصلت إليه الدراسة: أن الإشکاليات التي تواجه الصحافة الاستقصائية تمثلت في نقص الکوادر الصحفية، وضعف الدعم المادي والمعنوي, والأوضاع السياسية، وعدم وجود تشريعات قانونية تؤکد حق الحصول على المعلومات، وأجمع الصحفيون على أن تطور الصحافة الاستقصائية في فلسطين يتمثل في التعبير عن مصلحة المواطنين والالتزام بأخلاقيات المهنة ومعايير العمل الصحفي وضمان تأمين وحماية الصحفي الاستقصائي. کما أن سبل النهوض بالصحافة الاستقصائية وتطورها من وجهة نظر الصحفيين، تمثل في التعبير عن مصلحة المواطنين بعيدا عن أي اعتبارات خاصة أو مصالح ذاتية، و الالتزام بقيم وأخلاقيات ومعايير العمل الصحفي بعيدا عن التهويل أو التهوين، وتجنب نشر الموضوعات التي تتضمن شائعات أو وقائع غير مثبتة لتعزيز مصداقية، وضمان تأمين وحماية الصحفي الاستقصائي. Title: Problems of Investigative Journalism in Palestinian Newspapers from the Perspective of Investigative Journalists Researcher name: Dr. Hassan Mohammed Abu Hashish, Assistant Professor of Media, Islamic University of Gaza. Mr. Mohammed Saber Al-Sharafi, media and academic. The objective of this study: To identify the problems that hinder the work of investigative journalism in the Palestinian press from the point of view of investigative journalists. Type of study and methodology: This study belongs to the descriptive studies and relied on the survey method through which data are collected on the variables as they exist in reality. Study tool and sample: The study used a survey newspaper designed to serve the research objectives. The sample of the study consisted of a sample of all the investigative journalists named in the investigative reports published in the study's 13 newspapers and journalists, distributed as follows: Two journalists from Palestine newspaper and five journalists from Al-Resala newspaper. The most important findings of the study: 1-The problems facing investigative journalism were the lack of press cadres, the lack of material and moral support, the political situation, and the absence of legal legislation confirming the right of access to information, and journalists agreed that the development of investigative journalism in Palestine is to express an interest Citizens must abide by professional ethics and standards of journalistic work and ensure the security and protection of investigative journalists. 2- The means of promoting investigative journalism and its development from the viewpoint of journalists are to express the interests of citizens away from any special considerations or self-interests, and to adhere to the values, ethics and standards of journalistic work away from intimidation or humiliation, and to avoid the publication of topics that contain unverified rumors or facts To enhance credibility, ensure the insurance and protection of investigative journalist.

Organization and regional distribution of centers for the management of children and adolescents with diabetes in Italy.

BackgroundThe incidence of type 1 diabetes in childhood is increasing by 3 % per year, placing growing demands on healthcare professionals and medical expenditures. Aim of this study wars to assess the organization of care to children with diabetes in Italy.MethodsDuring 2012 a structured questionnaire was sent to all of the members of Italian Society of Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetology (ISPED). Questions examined organizational structure of Centers, personnel dedicated to the care of children with diabetes, number of subjects followed, local legal legislation supporting centres.ResultsA total of 68 centers taking care to 15,563 children and adolescents with diabetes under 18 years of age were identified with a prevalence of 1.4 per 1,000 people. A wide variation in the organizational background was also reported. Fourty-four centers were organized as outpatient departments, 17 as simple units, 5 as complex units and 2 as simple departmental structures. Most centers had a multidisciplinary team. Ten out of twenty Italian regions had introduced supportive regional legislation, but it was fully applied only in six of them.ConclusionGreat differences between regions were found in organizational structures, staffing levels and supportive legislation. The national legislation on diabetes was broadly implemented throughout the country regions. Further efforts are needed to improve standards and consistency of pediatric diabetes care in Italy.

“No safe haven”: denying entry to the corrupt as a new anti-corruption policy

Purpose – This paper aims to provide an overview of the “no safe haven” anti-corruption commitment recently announced by the G20. The essence of this approach lies in denying entry to individuals reasonably believed to be complicit in massive corruption. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on the analysis of international legal instruments and relevant domestic legislation (US statutes, in particular the Magnitsky Act 2012), as well as on scholarly discussions. Findings – Proceeding from the analysis of deficiencies in the current anti-money laundering regime, this paper makes an argument in favour of adoption of the “no safe haven” policy as a legal standard in anti-corruption cooperation, rather than a voluntary initiative. Practical implications – The adoption by states of the approach advocated in this paper will strengthen, or so it is submitted, the international anti-corruption regime. Importantly, it will help curb impunity of those who are shielded from investigation and prosecution in their home countries. Originality/value – This paper considers basic legal and policy arguments that support the “no safe haven” anti-corruption policy. Due to the novelty of this approach and the dearth of academic literature on this topic, this may be a valuable contribution to the current anti-corruption discussions.

Правовые модели и эксперимент в сфере культуры

The article discusses the draft federal law “On Culture in the Russian Federation”, as the legal base model legislation in the sphere of culture, reveals its basic features in comparison to the current legal regulation, based on the laws of the Russian Federation on culture. There are three basic models of implementation of the bill: conservative, positive and negative, as well as their significant characteristics. It is concluded about the need for legal experiments in making basic laws in a certain area of social relations. Currently the legal regulation of legal experiments in the Russian Federation is absent. It is proposed to conduct two legal experiments to assess the implementation of the draft federal law “On Culture in the Russian Federation”. The article describes the baseline characteristics of these experiments and the legal order of their conduct. In conclusion the study is summarized and conclusions are formulated.

Legal Issues and Legislation on Re-Audit Decision ― Focusing on the Discussion since Supreme Court Full Bench Decision 2007Du12514 Delivered on June 25, 2010 ―

Legal Issues and Legislation on Re-Audit Decision ― Focusing on the Discussion since Supreme Court Full Bench Decision 2007Du12514 Delivered on June 25, 2010 ―

Contribution of Legislations to Safeguard the Interests of Consumers in the Indian Context

Consumers are the essential component for any economy to be successful and in this age of globalisation they are being provided with a great diversity of goods and services. But at the same time, they are exposed to several new threats in the domestic as well as international markets. This phenomenon exposes the consumer to new threats of the market and hence it becomes necessary to understand the nature and types of threats. This article delves into the legal framework, various legislations and measures provided in the legal framework of India to shield the consumers from the hazards of not only the domestic markets but also of the global players in the field and to ensure that their understanding of what they purchase and reality of the product or the service they avail is the same.

Political Financing in Africa: A Comparative Study of Kenya and Nigeria: Proposal for Reform

The linkage between money and polities is a powerful one with implications for democracy, especially in new democracies. Political finance has been identified as a source of political corruption in several countries. Political finance laws and regulations, through which political parties and candidates for office declare their funding sources, are among the main instruments. The relationships between party financing and corruption are so significant that to ignore party funding is simply to open wide the donor for corruption. Looking into Nigerian and Kenyan political history one realizes that there is much that need to be done in this regard. This is why the financing of political life is both a necessity and a problem. The frequency with which new laws concerning campaign and party finance are enacted is testimony to the failure of many existing legal frameworks and legislations. For instance, the Electoral Acts of 2002, 2006 and 2010, the Election Campaign Financing Bill 2012, the Public Collections Act 1960 review the current status of campaign and political finance regulations in Nigeria and Kenya. The cover among other issues: the regulation, management, expenditure and accountability of election campaign funds during election and referendum campaigns. This is because hardly a month goes by without a new scandal involving political money breaking out in some in this part of the globe. Political parties constitute one of the core groups of institutions in Kenya and Nigeria’s democratic systems. The parties that emerged in Nigeria for instance, since Nigeria’s Fourth Republic, however, are characterized by undemocratic practices and exhibited gross misconducts against transparency and accountability. At their best, political parties should nurture and articulate the expression of socio-political interest and opinion. Under current Nigerian conditions, however, most political parties lack ideologies, not issue oriented, but are merely zero-issue alliances of notables who are able to control and, often enough, manipulate party structures, candidacies and even the general electoral process itself. Most parties are vehicles in the hands of few “political entrepreneurs” who invest huge amount of money and expect concurrent rewards on such investment (in the form of public works and procurement contracts, prebendal appointments of cronies to public offices and other forms of prebendal activity). The fallout has led to mass electoral/political violence and political destabilization and disempowerment of the generality of the Nigerian electors, the exclusion of alternative parties seeking to participate in electoral politics and the absence of an effective system to regulate political finance. This paper seeks to explore the concept of political finance. It will equally attempt to concisely analyze the extant legal framework regulating political finance in Kenya and Nigeria, highlight their inadequacies with a view of reforming these inadequacies for a better political finance management and best practices and proffer suggestions on the ways forward drawing freely from the instructive practices of other emerging and advanced democracies.

Free Banking and Economic Growth in Lower Canada, 1817-1851

Generally, the historical literature presents the period from 1817 to 1851 in Lower Canada (modern day Quebec) as one of negative economic growth. This period also coincides with the rise of free banking in the colony. In this paper we propose to study the effects of free banking on economic growth using theoretical and empirical validations to study the issue of whether or not economic growth was negative. First of all, using monetary identities, we propose that given the increase in the stock of money and the reduction in the general price level, there must have been a positive rate of economic growth during the period. We also provide complementary evidence drawn from wages that living standards were increasing. It was hence impossible for growth to have been negative. Secondly, we propose that the rise of privately issued paper money under free banking in the colony had the effect of mitigating the problem of the abundance of poor quality coins in circulation which resulted from legal tender legislation. It also had the effect of facilitating credit networks and exchange. We link this conclusion to the emergence of free banking which must have been an important contributing factor. Although we cannot perfectly quantity the effect of free banking on economic growth in Lower Canada, we can be certain that its effect on growth was clearly positive.

Assisted suicide: Models of legal regulation in selected European countries and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights.

This paper presents three different models of the legal regulation of assisted suicide in European countries. First, the current legal regime governing assisted suicide in the Netherlands is described where both euthanasia and assisted suicide have been legalised. This section also includes some empirical data on euthanasia and assisted-suicide practices in the Netherlands, as well as a comparison with the current legal legislation in Belgium and Luxembourg. Next, Switzerland is presented as a country where euthanasia is punishable by law but assisted suicide is legally allowed, provided it is not carried out with selfish motives. This section also focuses on the assisted-suicide-related case law of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights. Last, the current legal situation regarding assisted suicide in Austria and Germany is described. While the Austrian Penal Code explicitly prohibits assisted suicide, assistance with suicide is not specifically regulated by the German Penal Code. However, medical doctors are not allowed to assist suicides according to the professional codes of conduct drawn up by the German medical associations under the supervision of the health authorities.

Quality Assurance Paradigms in Web Archiving Pre and Post Legal Deposit

This article discusses quality assurance paradigms in the pre and post legal deposit environments, exploring how workflows and processes have adapted from a small-scale, selective model to domain-scale harvesting activity. It draws comparisons between the two approaches and discusses the trade-offs necessitated by the change in scale of web harvesting activity. The requirements of the non-print legal deposit legislation of 2013 and the change in scale in web archiving operations have necessitated new quality metrics for the web archive collection. Whereas it was possible to manually review every instance of a harvested website, the new model requires that more automated methods are employed. The article looks at the tools employed in the selective web archiving model such as the Web Curator Tool and those designed for the legal deposit workflow such as the Annotation and Curation Tool. It examines the key technical issues in archiving websites and how content is prioritized for quality assurance. The article will be of interest to people employed in memory institutions including national libraries who are tasked with preserving online content as well as a wider general audience.

Disabling discourses and human rights law: a case study based on the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities

This article examines the symbolic power of language to construct and convey disabling discourses, albeit ample rhetoric, on the need to reinstate and safeguard disabled people's human rights and entitlements. The role of language and its discursive ramifications need to be explored and problematized in the light of legal mandates and antidiscrimination legislation to abolish stigmatizing and exclusionary regimes on the grounds of disability. Such a critical engagement necessitates a reflective knowledge and constant interrogation of the ways in which language is implicated in power interplays to construct meanings and to legitimize/conceal existing power inequities. The article uses critical discourse analysis in order to discuss the role of language in the construction, sustenance, and dissemination of disabling discourses, taking as an example the First Report of Cyprus on the Implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.

The Right to Housing: Related legal issues and Legislation

The Right to Housing: Related legal issues and Legislation

Classic Cases Revisited — Medical Manslaughter, Corporate Liability and the Death of Sean Phillips

The legal reasoning, case law and legislation relevant to negligence and gross negligence are discussed, using the case of a patient who developed shock after elective knee surgery. It highlights that there is individual and corporate accountability for negligence and is especially relevant given the recent investigation into Mid Staffordshire Foundation NHS Trust.

Electronic Legal Deposit and the Advocates Library

AbstractThe Advocates Library provides a library and information service to around 470 members of the Faculty of Advocates, the Scottish Bar. The library also acts as the national law library for Scotland, having the privilege of claiming law materials on legal deposit. The Senior Librarian, Andrea Longson (the author of this article), and the library's management group work closely with staff at the National Library of Scotland and have been involved in strategic discussions about the drafting and implementation of legal deposit legislation for over ten years.