Regulating disasters? The role of international law in disaster prevention and management

Purpose – This article explores the role of international law in disaster prevention and management, with a particular focus on the emerging field of international disaster law, and its relationship with international human rights law. It further introduces the four articles of the special column of this journal issue, dedicated to disasters and international law. Design/methodology/approach – The analysis is based upon primary sources of legislation and policy, as well as academic literature on disasters and international law. Findings – Although the field of international disaster law is at its infancy, we argue that this emergent area does have the potential to gain widespread recognition as a distinct field of law, and that this could be of benefit for the wider disaster management community. Originality/value – The article introduces key legal features and themes relating to international law and disasters, highlighting their relevance for disaster management. The added value is to widen the discussion on aspects of disasters regulated by international law, thus facilitating the future exchange with other academic subjects and operational fields. Keywords – disasters; international law; disaster management; treaties; human rights; international disaster law; international human rights law. Paper type – Research pape

The use of courtrooms in U.S. District Courts : a report to the Judicial Conference Committee on Court Administration & Case Management.

"July 18, 2008."Shipping list no.: 2009-0092-P.Includes bibliographical references.Project staff, court liaisons, and technical advisory group -- Executive summary -- Purpose and history of the study -- Nature of the study -- Nature of the courtroom data -- The courthouses and courtrooms included in the study -- Actual use of courtrooms -- Variations in courtroom use by district, courthouse, and courtroom characteristics -- Scheduled time in the courtrooms -- Combined actual use and unused scheduled trial time -- Reservations for courtroom time and outcome of the reservations -- Concurrent use: how often all the courtrooms in a courthouse in use? -- Findings from the case study analyses -- Judges' views of and experience with courtroom use -- Attorneys' views of and experiences with courtroom use -- Final comments on the study and its findings -- Appendices.Mode of access: Internet

L’idéologie dans Se una notte d’inverno un viaggiatore (1979) d’Italo Calvino

Dans lesœuvres d'Italo Calvino écrites dans les années 70 et 80 et qui contiennent des pages intéressantes du point de vue de positions politiques bien précises, le rapport avec l'idéologie en général compte pourtant plus qu'une idéologie déterminée. La relation avec l'idéologie, par exemple dans Se una notte d'inverno un viaggiatore, implique celle avec des modèles et celle entre théorie et pratique. Ces thématiques se retrouvent à plusieurs niveaux textuels: dans la mise en scène de la liberté du lecteur vis-à-vis du texte, dans les métaphores de la lumière et de l'ombre ou encore dans l'accent mis sur l'opposition entre tradition et nouveauté

Fiscal stringency and fiscal sustainability : panel evidence from the American state and local governments

Most state (and local) governments in the U.S. operate under formal fiscal rules which limit their ability to run budget deficits and resort to debt financing. A priori, one would expect to find evidence in favor of an intertemporally balanced budget, or fiscal sustainability, for these states, especially those characterized by a relatively high degree of fiscal stringency. We test this hypothesis for a panel of 47 state&ndash;local government units (1961&ndash;2006) using four budget balance definitions and several subsamples defined based on regional classifications, or presence of certain balanced budget requirements (BBRs). Our results, obtained from panel estimation techniques that allow for general forms of serial and cross-sectional dependence, suggest that a sufficient condition for &ldquo;strong&rdquo; sustainability is consistently satisfied for the full sample and all subsamples in relation to balances that include special funds and/or federal grants. However, we find evidence consistent with the &ldquo;weak&rdquo; version of sustainability for the full sample and some regional subsamples (particularly Far West dominated by California) in at least one of the two balances that exclude these items. Finally, the BBRs seem to matter only in relation to the sustainability of the more narrowly defined balances. We discuss the implications of these findings for the role of fiscal rules and federal grant policies.<br /