DNA-Profiling and information technology:A new weapon for crime detection and prevention?

Since DNA-profiling involves complicated micro-biological issues, it is imperative to have an understanding of what DNA is and how the DNA-profiling is conducted. Therefore, in the first part the author will very briefly explain what DNA is and how the DNA-profiling is performed. In the second part, the issue is discussed whether the DNAprofiling can be a new wonder weapon for crime prevention and detection in general. For this purpose author outlines the legal status of DNA- profiling in various countries. Thereafter, the impact that DNA-profiling can and will have in conjunction with information technology on crime prevention and privacy rights will be analyzed. At the end the article will give an outlook to future developments and some critical remarks about DNA-profiling in general This article was previously published in European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice 1994,issue 4, pp. 359-37

Die Rechtswirkungen von WTO panel reports im Europaeischen Gemeinschaftsrecht sowie im deutschen Verfassungsrecht

Spaetestens seit der Einfuhrung der EG-Bananenmarkt-Verordnung Nr. 404/93 ist die Frage nach dem Verhaeltnis von Voelkerrecht, EG-Recht und Nationalem Verfassungsrecht ins Zentrum der Wissenschaftlichen Diskussion geraten. Obwohl der Streit um die Bananenmarkt-VO vordergrundig eher ein Randgebiet betrifft, liegt diesem Streit doch ein fundamentaler und vielschichtiger Fragenkomplex zugrunde. Die zentrale Frage ist, in welchem rechtlichen Verhaeltnis stehen Voelkerrecht, EG-Recht und Verfassungsrecht zueinander und wie ist ein derartiger rechtlicher Konflikt zu loesen. Der Artikel is fruher veroeffentlicht in Europarecht, Vol.34, No. 3, May-June 1999, pp. 289-308

Datenschutz in Europa:Am Beispiel der Datenschutzrichtlinie, des Schengen Information Systems (SIS) und Europol

Mit der vorliegenden Arbeit soll das Thema Datenschutz in Europa mit seinen vielschichtigen Problemen zunaechst rechtlich eingeordnet werden, um in einem zweiten Schritt kritisch den derzeitigen Stand und die moegliche zukunftige Entwicklung des Datenschutz auf europaeischer Ebene zu beleuchten. Der Artikel ist fruher veroeffentlicht in Datenschutz und Datensicherheit, July 1996, pp. 400-408

Disconnection clauses: an inevitable symptom of regionalism?

‘Disconnection clauses’ are legal provisions inserted into multilateral conventions to ensure that certain parties to the convention are not required to apply the rules of the convention because other relevant rules have already been agreed to among themselves. A disconnection clause can also be described more generally as a ‘conflict clause’ because it signals to all parties that parallel and potentially conflicting treaty obligations exist. This paper presents a discussion of the disconnection clause which argues that while these clauses make it possible for a limited group of parties to enhance the objectives of a treaty by taking measures that correspond to their special circumstance, this practice also creates a possibility that the inter se agreement will undermine the original treaty regime. The actual impact of a particular disconnection clause depends on how the clause is crafted, along with the changing nature of the regime that it refers to. The potential for a disconnection clause to undermine the object and purpose of the original treaty can therefore be removed during its design. Nevertheless, without full disclosure when negotiating the convention, any clause that seeks to replace treaty provisions with an alternative regime that would be applicable only between certain parties may, at worst, be creating different standards for different parties and, at best, be opaque and incoherent. This paper first describes the various types of disconnection clause, focusing on their purpose and development. It then assesses the main legal and political controversies surrounding these clauses before assessing whether these clauses could potentially create more legal problems than they are intended to solve or whether they are simply a practical response to deepening regionalism

A comparison of polarized and non-polarized human endometrial monolayer culture systems on murine embryo development

BACKGROUND: Co-culture of embryos with various somatic cells has been suggested as a promising approach to improve embryo development. Despite numerous reports regarding the beneficial effects of epithelial cells from the female genital tract on embryo development in a co-culture system, little is known about the effect of these cells when being cultured under a polarized condition on embryo growth. Our study evaluated the effects of in vitro polarized cells on pre-embryo development. METHODS: Human endometrial tissue was obtained from uterine specimens excised at total hysterectomy performed for benign indications. Epithelial cells were promptly isolated and cultured either on extra-cellular matrix gel (ECM-Gel) coated millipore filter inserts (polarized) or plastic surfaces (non-polarized). The epithelial nature of the cells cultured on plastic was confirmed through immunohistochemistry, and polarization of cells cultured on ECM-Gel was evaluated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). One or two-cell stage embryos of a superovulated NMRI mouse were then flushed and placed in culture with either polarized or non-polarized cells and medium alone. Development rates were determined for all embryos daily and statistically compared. At the end of the cultivation period, trophectoderm (TE) and inner cell mass (ICM) of expanded blastocysts from each group were examined microscopically. RESULTS: Endometrial epithelial cells cultured on ECM-Gel had a highly polarized columnar shape as opposed to the flattened shape of the cells cultured on a plastic surface. The two-cell embryos cultured on a polarized monolayer had a higher developmental rate than those from the non-polarized cells. There was no statistically significant difference; still, the blastocysts from the polarized monolayer, in comparison with the non-polarized group, had a significantly higher mean cell number. The development of one-cell embryos in the polarized and non-polarized groups showed no statistically significant difference. CONCLUSION: Polarized cells could improve in vitro embryo development from the two-cell stage more in terms of quality (increasing blastocyst cellularity) than in terms of developmental rate