Law, Liberty and the Rule of Law (in a Constitutional Democracy)

In the hunt for a better--and more substantial--awareness of the “law,” The author intends to analyze the different notions related to the “rule of law” and to criticize the conceptions that equate it either to the sum of “law” and “rule” or to the formal assertion that “law rules,” regardless of its relationship to certain principles, including both “negative” and “positive” liberties. Instead, he pretends to scrutinize the principles of the “rule of law,” in general, and in a “constitutional democracy,” in particular, to conclude that the tendency to reduce the “democratic principle” to the “majority rule” (or “majority principle”), i.e. to whatever pleases the majority, as part of the “positive liberty,” is contrary both to the “negative liberty” and to the “rule of law” itself

Primary multifocal osseous Hodgkin's lymphoma

BackgroundHodgkin's disease (HD) most commonly presents with progressive painless enlargement of peripheral lymph nodes, especially around the cervical region. A few children have systemic symptoms and weight loss. At the time of diagnosis, osseous involvement is uncommonCase presentationA case is described of Primary Multifocal Osseous Hodgkin's Lymphoma in a seven-year-old boy. He presented with a painful swelling in the sternum, and further investigations revealed deposits in his L1 vertebra, the left sacro-iliac joint and the right acetabulum.ConclusionThe clinical, radiological and histological features of this disease can mimic other medical conditions, including Tuberculosis, making the diagnosis difficult and often leading to delays in treatment. This is a very rare condition and we believe this to be the youngest reported case in the literature

The rule of law as the measure of political legitimacy in the Greek city states

This paper explores how a conception of the rule of law (embodied in a variety of legal and political institutions) came to affirm itself in the world of the ancient Greek city states. It argues that such a conception, formulated in opposition to the arbitrary rule of man, was to a large extent consistent with modern ideas of the rule of law as a constraint to political power, and to their Fullerian requirements of formal legality, as well as to requirements of due process. Section 2 analyses how this ideal was formulated in the Archaic period, and how it became a key feature of Greek identity. Section 3 argues that in the fifth and fourth centuries BCE it came to be used as the measure of the legitimacy of Greek political systems: democracy and oligarchy, as they engaged in an ideological battle, were judged as legitimate (and desirable) or illegitimate (and undesirable) on the basis of their conformity with a shared ideal of the rule of law. Then as now, to quote Tamanaha, ‘the rule of law’ was ‘an accepted measure worldwide of government legitimacy’

Privacy rights and democracy: a contradiction in terms?

This article argues that people have legitimate interests in privacy that deserve legal protection on democratic principles. It describes the right to privacy as a bundle of rights of personal choice, association and expression and shows that, so described, people have legitimate political interests in privacy. These interests reflect the ways that privacy rights can supplement the protection for people’s freedom and equality provided by rights of political choice, association and expression, and can help to make sure that these are, genuinely, democratic. Feminists have often been ambivalent about legal protection for privacy, because privacy rights have, so often, protected the coercion and exploitation of women, and made it difficult to politicise personal forms of injustice. However, attention to the differences between democratic and undemocratic forms of politics can enable us to meet these concerns, and to distinguish a democratic justification of privacy rights from the alternatives. [First paragraph

Eqüidade no tempo de espera para determinadas cirurgias eletivas segundo o tipo de hospital em Sorocaba, SP Equity in waiting time for some elective surgeries according to hospital type in Sorocaba, SP

INTRODUÇÃO: A eqüidade na atenção à saúde tem sido alvo de grande preocupação, incluindo países em desenvolvimento e desenvolvidos. A eqüidade horizontal, entendida como tratamento igual de indivíduos que se encontram na mesma situação de saúde, tem sido investigada nos diferentes níveis de atenção à saúde. OBJETIVOS: O presente estudo busca verificar se existem disparidades no tempo de espera para cirurgias eletivas (safenectomia, colecistectomia, hemorroidectomia e histerectomia) segundo o tipo de hospital, público ou privado. METODOLOGIA: Realizou-se, em Sorocaba, um estudo transversal com 40 pacientes atendidos por hospital privado e 40 atendidos por hospital público, no período de outubro e novembro de 2005. Além do tempo de espera e tipo de hospital, foram pesquisados sexo, idade, escolaridade, renda, situação conjugal, procedência, tipo de cirurgia realizada e presença de determinadas comorbidades. RESULTADOS: Observou-se um tempo de espera maior nas categorias: hospital público (5,5 meses; p<0,001), baixa escolaridade (3,5 meses; p<0,001), menor renda (Spearman=-0,4426; p<0,001), procedência de outros municípios (2 meses; p=0,009), e cirurgia de safenectomia (5 a 7 meses; p=0,04). Após o ajuste para as variáveis comorbidade, renda, escolaridade ou procedência, o tempo de espera no hospital público se manteve significantemente maior (diferença mínima de 4,93 meses quando ajustada por renda; IC95% 3,4-6,4; p<0,001). CONCLUSÃO: Verifica-se relevante iniqüidade na atenção à saúde relacionada ao tipo de prestador de serviços de saúde.<br>INTRODUCTION: Analyzing the waiting time for certain elective surgeries (saphenectomy, cholecystectomy, hemorrhoidectomy, and hysterectomy) according to hospital type, the present study intends to find if there are differences in health care. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed in Sorocaba with 40 individuals from a private hospital and 40 from a public hospital, interviewed in October and November 2005. RESULTS: A longer waiting time was observed for the following categories: public hospital (5.5 months; p<0.001), lower education (3.5 months; p<0.001), lower income (Spearman=-0.4426; p<0.001), residence out of Sorocaba (2 months; p=0.009), and saphenectomy (5 to 7 months; p=0.04). Adjusted for confounding, comorbidity, income, education, or residence variables, waiting time in public hospitals still was significantly longer (a difference of at least 4.93 months, when adjusted for income; 95%CI 3.4-6.4; p<0.001). CONCLUSION: There was a relevant inequity in health care related mainly to the type of health care provider

Modelling Reasoning with Precedents in a Formal Dialogue Game

. This paper analyses legal reasoning with precedents in the setting of a formally defined dialogue game. After giving a legal-theoretical account of judicial reasoning with precedents, a formal method is proposed for representing precedents and it is discussed how such representations can be used in a formally defined dialectical protocol for dispute. The basic ideas are to represent cases as argument structures (including pro and con arguments, and the arguments for adjudicating their conflicts) and to define certain case-based reasoning moves as strategies for introducing information into a dispute. In particular, analogizing and distinguishing are conceived as elementary theory construction moves, which produce new information on the basis of an existing stock of cases. The approach also offers the possibility of using portions of precedents and of expressing criteria for determining the outcome of precedent-based disputes. The analysis, which is partly based on argument-based sema..