Legal methods for resolving apparent conflicts between fundamental rights

The subject of this thesis are apparent conflicts between fundamental rights, which represent one of the most important problems contemporary legal systems are faced with. More specifically, this thesis presents and analyses different legal methods that have been suggested as answers to the problem. Contemporary constitutions usually contain provisions protecting certain fundamental rights, such as the right to life, the right to privacy, the right to freedom of expression, personality rights, the right to health, etc. The problem can arise when two (or more) provisions protecting fundamental rights are relevant to the specific situation. The question can then arise: should the behaviour be permitted or prohibited? Judges may then be faced with the situation of having to decide the case without any explicit or clear guidance on how to decide the case. In such situations, lex superior, lex posterior and lex specialis are usually inapplicable, because the provisions regulating fundamental rights are usually on the same hierarchical level, were enacted at the same time and no general – special relationship can be established between them. The problem is further complicated by the fact that the norms expressing fundamental rights are generally understood as legal principles, supposedly different from legal rules. These cases are commonly referred to and known in the literature as hard cases. In order to decide such cases and solve the problem we are faced with various legal methods have been proposed. These methods represent possible answers to the problem of the resolution of the apparent conflicts between fundamental rights. The term “apparent” is used, since there is a debate regarding the existence of “real” conflicts between fundamental rights. The objective of the thesis is to provide an answer to the research question: What are the legal methods of resolving apparent conflicts between fundamental rights and what are their merits in comparison to each other? In order to answer the research question, different legal methods that have been suggested as an answer to the problem of apparent conflicts between fundamental rights are presented, analysed and compared. In this way, the thesis aims to contribute to the understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the different legal methods that have been proposed to solve the problem. To achieve this, the thesis is divided into three main chapters, each of which presents and analyses different legal methods on apparent conflicts between fundamental rights. In Chapter I and Chapter II, the main legal method proposed to resolve apparent conflicts between fundamental rights – judicial balancing – is presented and analysed. In Chapter III, alternative, non-balancing legal methods for resolving apparent conflicts between fundamental rights are presented and analysed. Chapter I presents and analyses Alexyan theory of judicial balancing, developed by Robert Alexy and further refined by his disciples Jan-Reinard Sieckmann, Martin Borowski and Matthias Klatt. Chapter II presents and analyses approaches from Aharon Barak, Manuel Atienza, José Juan Moreso, Riccardo Guastini and Susan Lynn Hurley. In Chapter III, alternative, non-balancing legal methods for resolving apparent conflicts between fundamental rights are presented and analysed. The authors whose approaches are analysed and presented in this chapter are, in this order: Ronald Dworkin, Luigi Ferrajoli, Juan Antonio García Amado, Lorenzo Zucca and Ruth Chang

Proseminararbeit: Die Unversalisierbarkeit bei Kant als Basis für die unversale Geltung der Menschenrechte - eine kritische Betrachtung

Proseminararbeit: Die Unversalisierbarkeit bei Kant als Basis für die unversale Geltung der Menschenrechte - eine kritische Betrachtun

Total hip replacement: increasing femoral offset improves functional outcome

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to assess the independent effect of radiographic measures of implant position, relative to pre-operative anatomical assessment, on the functional outcome of total hip arthroplasty according to change in the Oxford hip score (OHS) 1 year post surgery. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was preformed to assess whether improvement in functional outcome (change in OHS at 1 year) and the relationship with femoral offset and length, and acetabular offset and height. After a power calculation 359 patients were recruited to the study and radiographic measures were performed by blinded observers. Regression analysis was used to assess the independent effect of the four radiographic measurements after adjusting for confounding variables. RESULTS: There was a significant (p < 0.001) decrease in acetabular offset [5.3 mm, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 4.4–6.2] and increase in femoral offset (6.1 mm, 95 % CI 5.4–6.8). Hence there was no significant change in overall offset. Femoral offset was the only radiographic measure to be achieved statistical significance (r = 0.198, 95 % CI 0.063–0.333, p = 0.004) in relation to clinical outcome, with increasing offset being associated with a greater improvement in the OHS. On combining femoral and acetabular offset increasing offset was associated with a greater improvement in the OHS (r = 0.10, 95 % CI 0.01–0.19, p = 0.04). CONCLUSION: This study supports the long-held biomechanical theory of medialisation of the acetabular component with compensatory increased femoral offset results in improved functional outcome

Single-incision mini-sling for the treatment of female stress urinary incontinence: Is it actually inferior to transobturator vaginal tape and tension-free vaginal tape?

Objectives: The aim of the study was to report the extended long-term results of the use of single-incision mini-sling (SIMS), tension-free vaginal tape (TVT), and transobturator tape (TOT) for the treatment of female stress urinary incontinence (SUI) at the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics of the University Medical Center Ljubljana. Materials and Methods: Enrolled women were evaluated by Patient Global Impression of Severity (PGI-S), Patient Global Impression of Improvement (PGI-I), Sandvik severity scale, Urogenital Distress Inventory (UDI-6), Incontinence Impact Questionnaire (IIQ-7), and Incontinence Questionnaire-Urinary Incontinence (ICIQ-UI) Short Form and data about diagnosis, procedures, complications, reoperations, postoperative results, and satisfaction with procedure were recorded. Results: In analyzed group of patients (n = 357), 116 (32%) underwent SIMS procedure, 189 (53%) TOT, and 52 (15%) TVT. The SIMS, TOT, and TVT groups did not differ significantly from each other in PGI-S, PGI-I, Sandvik severity scale, UDI-6, IIQ-7, and ICIQ-UI Short Form or in postoperative complication rate. Repeat surgery was needed in 9.5% after SIMS, in 13.2% of TOT patients and in 23.1% of TVT patients (P = 0.194). Urinary retention occurred in 9.5% of the SIMS patients, in 9.5% of the TOT patients, and in 13.5% of the TVT patients (P = 0.682). Mesh erosion/inflammation occurred in 3.4% of the SIMS patients, in 6.3% of the TOT patients, and in 3.8% of the TVT patients (P = 0.485). Conclusion: The efficacy and safety of SIMS, TOT, and TVT in the surgical treatment of SUI are comparable. The choice of the technique should be based on the relative pros and cons of techniques and the surgeon's experience

Shear force in the femoral neck affects clinical outcome of total hip arthroplasty

Case-reports of broken modular femoral necks have implied increased shear loading as the main culprit. The study aim was to determine whether total hip endoprostheses with modular femoral necks produced larger magnitudes of shear force, smaller leg length discrepancy and better WOMAC score in comparison to nonmodular implants. A single-surgeon series of unilateral uncemented primary total hip arthroplasties (50 modular ProfemurZ and 52 nonmodular Zweymüller) was compared retrospectively in hip force magnitudes computed with a previously validated static biomechanical model, radiographic changes before/after total hip arthroplasty, leg lengths and WOMAC. Modular implants ProfemurZ on average had larger shear force magnitudes in the femoral neck than nonmodular Zweymüller, but there was no significant difference in leg-length discrepancy or WOMAC score. In multivariate regression (adjusted for implant type, gender, age, BMI, leg length discrepancy) increase in shear force magnitude was an independent predictor of better WOMAC score, regardless of the implant type

Orchestrating Digital Wallets for On- and Off-Chain Decentralized Identity Management

Digital identity is becoming one of the core elements during the digitalization age, when more and more processes and interactions are taking place in the digital sphere. Therefore, current identity management approaches will define how these interactions will look in the future, but different fields and communities often approach management with their own solutions and tools, despite their similarities. This includes decentralized digital identities, where the identity is managed with asymmetric cryptographic keys, and no centralized entity oversees the whole identity system. This paper focuses on managing on- and off-chain decentralized digital identities, with the former being used for blockchain networks and the latter for self-sovereignty and privacy. While both types of decentralized identity build on the same cryptographic and identity primitives, there is no single wallet that handles both. Therefore, this paper proposes an orchestration solution for both wallet types, which enables their convergence to a single universal wallet and validates it with a real-life decentralized identity use case