Whistleblowers' standing in criminal proceedings

Заштита узбуњивача је добила на значају након светски познатих случајева који су допринели да се она прошири из својих темеља радног права на кривично право. Како би истражили овај феномен, спровели смо систематичну анализу са циљем да се утврди положај узбуњивача у кривичном материјалном и процесном праву Србије. Резултати истраживања су потврдили главну хипотезу да српско кривично законодавство може да пружи адекватну заштиту узбуњивача од одмазде, уз евентуална унапређења, као и одговарајућу примену појединих института у пракси. Истраживање је спроведено у три дела. У првом делу смо утврдили значење појма узбуњивач из теоријског и позитивно-правног аспекта у унутрашњем, компаративном и праву међународних организација, те изложили нашу диференцијалну дефиницију. У другом делу спроведено је истраживање положаја узбуњивача у кривичном материјалном праву кроз студију кривичних дела којима се може заштити узбуњивач као пасивни субјект од одмазде и анализу најчешћих кривичних дела која се могу ставити на терет узбуњивачу. Оно је указало да увођење посебног кривичног дела којим се штити узбуњивач од одмазде, није нужно на овом ступњу. Са друге стране, сфера одговорности узбуњивача за кривично дело извршено у вези са узбуњивањем завређује пажњу законодавца с обзиром да постојећа решења имају у појединим случајевима ограничен домашај. У трећем делу смо спровели анализу положаја узбуњивача у кривичном поступку. Резултати су показали да узбуњивач може бити значајан „процесни ресурс“ за откривање и доказивање кривичних дела која могу бити предмет узбуњивања. Из аспекта узбуњивача као окривљеног због кривичног дела учињеног у вези са узбуњивањем, подвукли бисмо да специфичност његовог положаја карактерише чињеница да евентуална осуда представља задирање у његово људско право на слободу изражавања.The protection of whistleblowers gained importance after world-famous cases that contributed to its expansion from its foundations within labor law to criminal law. In order to investigate this phenomenon, we conducted a systematic analysis with the aim of determining the position of whistleblowers in the criminal substantive and procedural law of Serbia. The results of the research confirmed the main hypothesis that the Serbian criminal legislation can provide adequate protection of whistleblowers from retaliation, with potential room for improvements, as well as the appropriate application of certain institutes in practice. The research was conducted in three parts. In the first part, we determined the meaning of the term whistleblower from the theoretical and positive-legal aspect in the national, comparative and law of international organizations, and presented our differential definition. In the second part, the research of the whistleblower`s standing in criminal substantive law was conducted through the study of criminal offences that could shield the whistleblower from retaliation and the analysis of the most common crimes that whistleblowers can be charged with. The research indicated that the introduction of a special offense in odred to protect the whistleblowers from retaliation was not necessary at this stage. On the other hand, the scope of responsibility of whistleblowers for a crime committed in connection with whistleblowing deserves the attention of the legislator, given that the existing legal solutions have a limited application in some cases. In the third part, we conducted an analysis of the position of whistleblowers in criminal proceedings. The results showed that the whistleblower can be a significant "procedural resource" for detecting and proving crimes revealed through whistleblowing. From the aspect of the whistleblower as a defendant for a crime committed in connection with the whistleblowing, we would underline that the distinction of his position is characterized by the fact that a possible conviction can constitute a violation of his human right to freedom of expression

Retrospective harm benefit analysis of pre-clinical animal research for six treatment interventions

The harm benefit analysis (HBA) is the cornerstone of animal research regulation and is considered to be a key ethical safeguard for animals. The HBA involves weighing the anticipated benefits of animal research against its predicted harms to animals but there are doubts about how objective and accountable this process is.i. To explore the harms to animals involved in pre-clinical animal studies and to assess these against the benefits for humans accruing from these studies; ii. To test the feasibility of conducting this type of retrospective HBA.Data on harms were systematically extracted from a sample of pre-clinical animal studies whose clinical relevance had already been investigated by comparing systematic reviews of the animal studies with systematic reviews of human studies for the same interventions (antifibrinolytics for haemorrhage, bisphosphonates for osteoporosis, corticosteroids for brain injury, Tirilazad for stroke, antenatal corticosteroids for neonatal respiratory distress and thrombolytics for stroke). Clinical relevance was also explored in terms of current clinical practice. Harms were categorised for severity using an expert panel. The quality of the research and its impact were considered. Bateson's Cube was used to conduct the HBA.The most common assessment of animal harms by the expert panel was 'severe'. Reported use of analgesia was rare and some animals (including most neonates) endured significant procedures with no, or only light, anaesthesia reported. Some animals suffered iatrogenic harms. Many were kept alive for long periods post-experimentally but only 1% of studies reported post-operative care. A third of studies reported that some animals died prior to endpoints. All the studies were of poor quality. Having weighed the actual harms to animals against the actual clinical benefits accruing from these studies, and taking into account the quality of the research and its impact, less than 7% of the studies were permissible according to Bateson's Cube: only the moderate bisphosphonate studies appeared to minimise harms to animals whilst being associated with benefit for humans.This is the first time the accountability of the HBA has been systematically explored across a range of pre-clinical animal studies. The regulatory systems in place when these studies were conducted failed to safeguard animals from severe suffering or to ensure that only beneficial, scientifically rigorous research was conducted. Our findings indicate a pressing need to: i. review regulations, particularly those that permit animals to suffer severe harms; ii. reform the processes of prospectively assessing pre-clinical animal studies to make them fit for purpose; and iii. systematically evaluate the benefits of pre-clinical animal research to permit a more realistic assessment of its likely future benefits

Using seismic targets as benchmarks for spectroscopic analyses of cool stars

The frequency of maximum oscillation power measured in dwarfs and giants exhibiting solar-like pulsations provides a precise, and potentially accurate, inference of the stellar surface gravity. An extensive comparison for about 40 well-studied pulsating stars with gravities derived by traditional means (ionization balance, pressure-sensitive spectral features or location with respect to evolutionary tracks) supports the validity of this technique and reveals an overall remarkable agreement with mean differences not exceeding 0.05 dex (although with a dispersion of up to ~0.2 dex). It is argued that interpolation in theoretical isochrones may be the most precise way of estimating the gravity by traditional means in nearby dwarfs. The use of seismic targets as benchmarks in the context of forthcoming large-scale surveys (such as the follow up of the Gaia mission) is briefly discussed.Peer reviewe

Estimating the p-mode frequencies of the solar twin 18 Sco

Solar twins have been a focus of attention for more than a decade, because their structure is extremely close to that of the Sun. Today, thanks to high-precision spectrometers, it is possible to use asteroseismology to probe their interiors. Our goal is to use time series obtained from the HARPS spectrometer to extract the oscillation frequencies of 18 Sco, the brightest solar twin. We used the tools of spectral analysis to estimate these quantities. We estimate 52 frequencies using an MCMC algorithm. After examination of their probability densities and comparison with results from direct MAP optimization, we obtain a minimal set of 21 reliable modes. The identification of each pulsation mode is straightforwardly accomplished by comparing to the well-established solar pulsation modes. We also derived some basic seismic indicators using these values. These results offer a good basis to start a detailed seismic analysis of 18 Sco using stellar models.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, to be published in A&

Asteroseismic modelling of the metal-poor star Tau Ceti

Context. Asteroseismology is an effcient tool not only for testing stellar structure and evolutionary theory but also constraining the parameters of stars for which solar-like oscillations are detected, presently. As an important southern asteroseismic target, Tau Ceti, is a metal-poor star. The main features of the oscillations and some frequencies of ? Ceti have been identified. Many scientists propose to comprehensively observe this star as part of the Stellar Observations Network Group. Aims. Our goal is to obtain the optimal model and reliable fundamental parameters for the metal-poor star Tau Ceti by combining all non-asteroseismic observations with these seismological data. Methods. Using the Yale stellar evolution code (YREC), a grid of stellar model candidates that fall within all the error boxes in the HR diagram have been constructed, and both the model frequencies and large- and small- frequency separations are calculated using the Guenther's stellar pulsation code. The \chi2c minimization is performed to identify the optimal modelling parameters that reproduce the observations within their errors. The frequency corrections of near-surface effects to the calculated frequencies using the empirical law, as proposed by Kjeldsen and coworkers, are applied to the models. Results. We derive optimal models, corresponding to masses of about 0.775 - 0.785 M? and ages of about 8 - 10 Gyr. Furthermore, we find that the quantities derived from the non-asteroseismic observations (effective temperature and luminosity) acquired spectroscopically are more accurate than those inferred from interferometry for ? Ceti, because our optimal models are in the error boxes B and C, which are derived from spectroscopy results.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, accepted by A&

Whistleblowers' standing in criminal proceedings

Заштита узбуњивача је добила на значају након светски познатих случајева који су допринели да се она прошири из својих темеља радног права на кривично право. Како би истражили овај феномен, спровели смо систематичну анализу са циљем да се утврди положај узбуњивача у кривичном материјалном и процесном праву Србије. Резултати истраживања су потврдили главну хипотезу да српско кривично законодавство може да пружи адекватну заштиту узбуњивача од одмазде, уз евентуална унапређења, као и одговарајућу примену појединих института у пракси. Истраживање је спроведено у три дела. У првом делу смо утврдили значење појма узбуњивач из теоријског и позитивно-правног аспекта у унутрашњем, компаративном и праву међународних организација, те изложили нашу диференцијалну дефиницију. У другом делу спроведено је истраживање положаја узбуњивача у кривичном материјалном праву кроз студију кривичних дела којима се може заштити узбуњивач као пасивни субјект од одмазде и анализу најчешћих кривичних дела која се могу ставити на терет узбуњивачу. Оно је указало да увођење посебног кривичног дела којим се штити узбуњивач од одмазде, није нужно на овом ступњу. Са друге стране, сфера одговорности узбуњивача за кривично дело извршено у вези са узбуњивањем завређује пажњу законодавца с обзиром да постојећа решења имају у појединим случајевима ограничен домашај. У трећем делу смо спровели анализу положаја узбуњивача у кривичном поступку. Резултати су показали да узбуњивач може бити значајан „процесни ресурс“ за откривање и доказивање кривичних дела која могу бити предмет узбуњивања. Из аспекта узбуњивача као окривљеног због кривичног дела учињеног у вези са узбуњивањем, подвукли бисмо да специфичност његовог положаја карактерише чињеница да евентуална осуда представља задирање у његово људско право на слободу изражавања.The protection of whistleblowers gained importance after world-famous cases that contributed to its expansion from its foundations within labor law to criminal law. In order to investigate this phenomenon, we conducted a systematic analysis with the aim of determining the position of whistleblowers in the criminal substantive and procedural law of Serbia. The results of the research confirmed the main hypothesis that the Serbian criminal legislation can provide adequate protection of whistleblowers from retaliation, with potential room for improvements, as well as the appropriate application of certain institutes in practice. The research was conducted in three parts. In the first part, we determined the meaning of the term whistleblower from the theoretical and positive-legal aspect in the national, comparative and law of international organizations, and presented our differential definition. In the second part, the research of the whistleblower`s standing in criminal substantive law was conducted through the study of criminal offences that could shield the whistleblower from retaliation and the analysis of the most common crimes that whistleblowers can be charged with. The research indicated that the introduction of a special offense in odred to protect the whistleblowers from retaliation was not necessary at this stage. On the other hand, the scope of responsibility of whistleblowers for a crime committed in connection with whistleblowing deserves the attention of the legislator, given that the existing legal solutions have a limited application in some cases. In the third part, we conducted an analysis of the position of whistleblowers in criminal proceedings. The results showed that the whistleblower can be a significant "procedural resource" for detecting and proving crimes revealed through whistleblowing. From the aspect of the whistleblower as a defendant for a crime committed in connection with the whistleblowing, we would underline that the distinction of his position is characterized by the fact that a possible conviction can constitute a violation of his human right to freedom of expression