Precedent and Justice

Precedent is the cornerstone of common law method. It is the core mechanism by which the common law reaches just outcomes. Through creation and application of precedent, common law seeks to produce justice. The appellate courts\u27 practice of issuing unpublished, non-precedential opinions has generated considerable discussion about the value of precedent, but that debate has centered on pragmatic and formalistic values. This essay argues that the practice of issuing non-precedential opinions does more than offend constitutional dictates and present pragmatic problems to the appellate system; abandoning precedent undermines justice itself. Issuance of the vast majority of decisions as nonprecedential tears the justice-seeking mechanism of precedent from the heart of our common law system

Creating partnerships for capacity building in developing countries - the experience of the World Bank

The authors discuss a variety of experiences in a number of transition, and developing countries to build institutional capacity for economics education. A flexible approach met with some success. The approach uses partnerships that combine the often different needs of a number of private donors, with the World Bank on the supply side. Much of the success was due to adopting each effort to the individual country situation. The authors also provide a brief summary of five academic institutions, and four research networks in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America.Public Health Promotion,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Decentralization,ICT Policy and Strategies,ICT Policy and Strategies,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Tertiary Education,Scientific Research&Science Parks

Congress and National Strategy

While the author suggests that he is not sure what is gnawing at the innards of Congress as regards national security, he does indicate two dominant and interrelated themes

Capacity building in economics : education and research in transition economies

The development of the institutional capacity to create and evaluate economic policies remains a critical need-and constraint-in most transition economies if they are to complete the successful passage to fully functioning market economies. To take an active role in the transition process, economic policymakers, business leaders, government officials, and others need a thorough grounding in market-based economics. This requires strengthening economics education and providing support for qualified economists to teach economics at all levels and to carry out high-quality research and policy analysis. Although the education systems in a handful of countries have already risen to the challenge, in many other transition countries, the structure of educational and research institutes remains grounded in the Communist model. This paper presents findings from a comprehensive study assessing the state of economics education and research in 24 countries in East-Central Europe and the former Soviet Union. While 20 countries were initially included because preliminary assessments showed that they lacked the capability to offer high-quality economics education, four additional countries-the Czech Republic, Hungary, Russia, and Ukraine-were included to highlight five centers of excellence that they already host. Based on the experience of these successful centers, the study's findings, and information gathered from a series of donor meetings in Berlin, New York, and Washington, D.C., this paper presents an approach to building new indigenous capacity for teaching and research on market-based economics in regions where the need is particularly critical-the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Southeast Europe.Curriculum&Instruction,Decentralization,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Teaching and Learning,Public Health Promotion,Tertiary Education,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Teaching and Learning,Curriculum&Instruction