Journals

Between pedagogy and practice: developing and delivering international justice coursework in North America

Abstract  While the need for new and innovative international coursework in North America has been recognized, developments in North
American Universities have been few. Building on Mathias Reimann’s (Penn State International Law Review [...]

Alternative sanctions for drug users: fruitless efforts or miracle solution?

Abstract  In most Western European countries, including Belgium, judicial alternative sanctions are increasingly being used for drug
users. Because no study into the effectiveness of Belgian judicial alternatives for drug users has yet been [...]



Kamm on Inviolability and Agent-Relative Restrictions

Abstract  Agent-relative restrictions prohibit minimizing violations: that is, they require us not to minimize the total number of their
violations by violating them ourselves. Frances Kamm has explained this prohibition in terms of the moral worth of persons,
which, in turn, she explains in terms of persons’ high moral status as inviolable beings. I press the following criticism
of this account: even if minimizing violations are permissible, we need not have a lower moral status provided other determinants
thereof boost it. Thus, Kamm’s account is incomplete at best. And when, to address this incompleteness, it is insisted that
our moral worth derives from specific moral statuses, the inviolability account comes to seem deficient because it begs the
question against those who are not initially persuaded that minimizing violations are impermissible.

  • Content Type Journal Article
  • DOI 10.1007/s11158-009-9085-3
  • Authors
    • Kasper Lippert-Rasmussen, University of Copenhagen Section of Philosophy, Department of Media, Cognition, and Communication Njalsgade 80 2300 Copenhagen S Denmark

Compensation for industrial accidents and incentives for prevention: a theoretical and empirical perspective

Abstract  This paper examines the compensation systems for industrial accidents in Belgium, Germany and Great Britain, thereby taking
into account some recent empirical data on industrial accident rates and (although hardly available) amounts of compensation
paid out to employee victims. The key question of this paper, derived from past research in law and economics, is whether
these particular compensation systems include elements that may contribute to the prevention of industrial accidents. While
the three countries examined here all have at least some incentive-based elements, notably in the way those systems are financed,
there appears to be room for improvement both in Belgium and Great Britain. The German case study leads to the proposition
that giving an organisation the responsibility for both compensation and prevention may have a beneficial effect on the accident
rate.

  • Content Type Journal Article
  • DOI 10.1007/s10657-009-9103-0
  • Authors
    • N. J. Philipsen, Maastricht University METRO Institute for Transnational Legal Research P.O. Box 616 6200 MD Maastricht The Netherlands

Differential enforcement across police jurisdictions and client demand in paid sex markets

Abstract  Police officers on the ground, as well as their senior officers, generally accept the view that arresting prostitutes and
their clients is simply not as important as arresting many other types of ‘offenders’. Police officer preferences and priorities
will differ such that the discretion applied to the enforcement of paid sex market related offences varies across locations.
Motivated by increasing policymaker interest in considering demand-side policies, a simple model is developed to help analyse
how clients will be likely to respond to enforcement level differences across jurisdictions. A range of policy implications
that arise are also identified and discussed.

  • Content Type Journal Article
  • DOI 10.1007/s10657-009-9107-9
  • Authors
    • Alan Collins, University of Portsmouth Department of Economics Richmond Building, Portland Street Portsmouth PO1 3DE UK
    • Guy Judge, University of Portsmouth Department of Economics Richmond Building, Portland Street Portsmouth PO1 3DE UK


Mediator Assessment, Documentation, and Disposition of Child Custody Cases Involving Intimate Partner Abuse: A Naturalistic Evaluation of One County’s Practices

Abstract  
The contentious and costly nature of the adversarial process for resolving child custody disputes has prompted scholars, practitioners,
and policy makers to advocate for the development and implementation of less divisive forms of dispute resolution, notably,
mediation. Mediation has been championed for its potential to resolve disputes with less acrimony among disputants, reduced
economic costs, increased satisfaction with outcomes, and fewer adverse consequences for family members. Despite the increasing
popularity, arguments have cautioned against the use of mandated mediation when intimate partner abuse (IPA) is alleged. This
research documents a mediation screening process and models mediators’ decision-making process as instantiated, naturally,
in one jurisdiction.

  • Content Type Journal Article
  • Category Original Article
  • DOI 10.1007/s10979-009-9181-0
  • Authors
    • Connie J. A. Beck, University of Arizona Psychology, Policy and Law Program, Department of Psychology 1503 E. University Blvd., Room 312 P.O. Box 210068 Tucson AZ 85721-0068 USA
    • Michele E. Walsh, University of Arizona Evaluation and Research Development Unit, Department of Psychology 1503 E. University Blvd., Room 312 P.O. Box 210068 Tucson AZ 85721-0068 USA
    • Mindy B. Mechanic, California State University, Fullerton Department of Psychology P.O. Box 6846 Fullerton CA 92834-6846 USA
    • Caitilin S. Taylor, University of Arizona Department of Psychology 1503 E. University Blvd., Room 312 P.O. Box 210068 Tucson AZ 85721-0068 USA

Welfare improving ignorance and negligence rule

Abstract  The literature considers that the ignorance of activity levels by the courts is a major source of inefficiency to minimize
the social costs of accidents. In this paper, we show that the inefficiency of the negligence rule based on a standard of
care (and correlatively ignoring the activity level) is not established if certain dimensions of care are not verifiable.
In other words, if care and activity levels are the only relevant variables of the injurer’s set of actions to reduce the
risk of
accident, it is true that inefficiency arises when the court ignores one element of this set. But, considering that some dimensions
of care are in practice not verifiable, it can be efficient for the judge not to take into account the activity level of the
defendant. We propose a simple model with three variables: observable and unobservable precautionary measures and activity
level.

  • Content Type Journal Article
  • DOI 10.1007/s10657-009-9102-1
  • Authors
    • Bruno Deffains, EconomiX, CNRS and University of Paris Ouest Paris France
    • Laurent Franckx, ARCADIS Belgium nv Department Strategic Policy Advice Antwerpen Belgium