WAR CRIMES IN INTERNATIONAL LAW: AN INTRODUCTION

Under international humanitarian law (IHL}, war crimes have been developed, particularly at great speed since the early 1990s and there have been many changes as, for example: the criminalization of violations of IHL. In this paper the author will examine, among others, the meaning of war crimes in international law, the concept of war crimes, list and definitions of the war crimes. The development of war crimes tribunal until the establishing of the International Criminal Court (ICC) can be found in this paper as wel

Spreading recruitment over time to cope with environmental variability

10 paginas, 3 figuras, 2 tablas.-- El PDF es la versión de autor.Seedling establishment is one of the most vulnerable life cycle stages, and a key component for the population dynamics in short-lived plants. In unpredictable environments, timing of emergence is critical for the success of plant performance, and different adaptive bet-hedging strategies have evolved to reduce the risk of failure in recruitment. In this study we describe the spatio-temporal pattern of seedling emergence (overall rate and timing) and survival in four contrasting Mediterranean habitats for Plantago coronopus, a small herb with dimorphic seeds. We then explore the importance of spreading germination within years, as well as the role of the two types of seeds from a broader temporal perspective. Populations strongly differed for all recruitment components analyzed in a given year, but this spatial differentiation diluted when a longer period was considered. Apical (smaller) seeds germinated later and in a significantly lower proportion than basal (larger) seeds. Both late emergents and seedlings from apical seeds had lower survival probability in a rainy year. However, our results suggest that in a population having the lowest production of apical seeds, late emergents coming from apical seeds may constitute a large fraction of yearly recruitment and that their performance was non-significantly different from that of early emergents over the 4-year study period. This study provides evidence of the importance of two related traits (spreading seedling emergence through time by producing dimorphic seeds) as bet-hedging strategies to cope with environmental unpredictability. This is at least partly accomplished by increasing the potential of recruitment in favourable years, instead of buffering such important process in extremely bad years.This study was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, under projects BOS2002-01162 and CGL2006-08507 to MBG.Peer reviewe

Geschlecht, "Rasse" und Klasse in Gerichtsverfahren: Bericht über ein Forschungsseminar zur empirischen Rechtssoziologie

"Beobachtungen von Gerichtsverfahren und Entscheidungsprozessen gehören zur klassischen empirischen Justizforschung auch im deutschsprachigen Raum (s. etwa Lautmann 1972, Ludwig-Mayerhofer 1997). In den bisherigen Forschungen vernachlässigt wurde allerdings eine Thematisierung und Verbindung mit Theorien und Debatten in den Gender Studies und aktuellen Forschungen zu gesellschaftlichen Differenzen entlang der Kategorien 'Rasse', Klasse, Geschlecht und deren Interdependenzen (dazu etwa Klinger 2003). Dabei ist zu vermuten, dass diese Kategorien und die damit verbundenen sozialen Hierarchien und Differenzen in rechtlichen Interaktionen wie insbesondere in Gerichtsverfahren, in denen Erzählungen, Identitäten und Lebenswirklichkeiten hergestellt werden und die Verfügbarkeit verschiedenartiger Ressourcen die Position im Verfahren bestimmt (s. Hoffmann 1989, Löschper 1999, Scheffer 2003), besonders wirkungsmächtig sind. Diesen bislang kaum diskutierten Fragen möchte ein Forschungsseminar zur empirischen Rechtssoziologie nachgehen, das von den Einreichenden im Sommersemester dieses Jahres an der Humboldt-Universität Berlin veranstaltet wird. Das Seminar richtet sich an Studierende der Gender Studies, Rechts-, Sozial- und Kulturwissenschaften. Es verfolgt einen innovativen Lehransatz, bei dem die Studierenden in die Methoden der qualitativ-empirischen Sozialforschung eingeführt werden und anschließend selbst ein Forschungsdesign für Gerichtsbeobachtungen und Interviews mit den Richterinnen und Richtern erarbeiten. Die Verfahrensbeobachtungen werden im Zeitraum von Ende April bis Ende Juni am Landgericht Berlin an einer Kammer für Strafsachen durchgeführt. In der Ausschreibung des Seminars heißt es: Um der Wirksamkeit der Kategorien Geschlecht, 'Rasse' und Klasse im Recht auf die Spur zu kommen, genügt es oft nicht, geschriebene Quellen wie die Gesetzgebung, Rechtsprechung und Rechtslehre zu untersuchen. Zusätzlich muss auch die Umsetzung des Rechts in der sozialen Wirklichkeit - häufig auch als 'Rechtswirklichkeit' oder 'law in action' benannt - in die Betrachtung einbezogen werden. Zu deren Untersuchung steht eine Vielzahl von Methoden der empirischen Sozialforschung zur Verfügung. Die Teilnehmenden des Seminars erproben die praktische Durchführung von Forschungsvorhaben in der empirischen Rechtssoziologie anhand von in Gruppen unternommenen Projekten. Sie entwickeln eine konkrete Forschungsfrage und deren methodische Umsetzung. Sodann führen sie Beobachtungen von Gerichtsprozessen (wahlweise auch Interviews) durch. Den Abschluss bilden die Analyse des so gesammelten Materials und die Präsentation der Ergebnisse. In dem Paper möchten die Verfasser einen Einblick in die Ergebnisse der Forschungsarbeit im Seminargeben, in erster Linie aber über Erfahrungen, Möglichkeiten und Probleme der Verbindung von Lehre und Forschung im Bereich der empirischen Rechtssoziologie berichten und diskutieren." (Autorenreferat

Molecular Imaging of Microglial Activation in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

There is growing evidence of activated microglia and inflammatory processes in the cerebral cortex in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Activated microglia is characterized by increased expression of the 18 kDa translocator protein (TSPO) in the brain and may be a useful biomarker of inflammation. In this study, we evaluated neuroinflammation in ALS patients using a radioligand of TSPO, 18F-DPA-714. Ten patients with probable or definite ALS (all right-handed, without dementia, and untreated by riluzole or other medication that might bias the binding on the TSPO), were enrolled prospectively and eight healthy controls matched for age underwent a PET study. Comparison of the distribution volume ratios between both groups were performed using a Mann-Whitney’s test. Significant increase of distribution of volume ratios values corresponding to microglial activation was found in the ALS sample in primary motor, supplementary motor and temporal cortex (p = 0.009, p = 0.001 and p = 0.004, respectively). These results suggested that the cortical uptake of 18F-DPA-714 was increased in ALS patients during the ‘‘time of diagnosis’’ phase of the disease. This finding might improve our understanding of the pathophysiology of ALS and might be a surrogate marker of efficacy of treatment on microglial activation

Implications of increasing Atlantic influence for Arctic microbial community structure

Increasing influence of Atlantic water in the Arctic Ocean has the potential to significantly impact regional water temperature and salinity. Here we use a rDNA barcoding approach to reveal how microbial communities are partitioned into distinct assemblages across a gradient of Atlantic-Polar Water influence in the Norwegian Sea. Data suggest that temperate adapted bacteria may replace cold water taxa under a future scenario of increasing Atlantic influence, but the eukaryote response is more complex. Some abundant eukaryotic cold water taxa could persist, while less abundant eukaryotic taxa may be replaced by warmer adapted temperate species. Furthermore, within lineages, different taxa display evidence of increased relative abundance in reaction to favourable conditions and we observed that rare microbial taxa are sample site rather than region specific. Our findings have significant implications for the vulnerability of polar associated community assemblages, which may change, impacting the ecosystem services they provide, under predicted increases of Atlantic mixing and warming within the Arctic region

Seafloor warm water temperature anomalies impact benthic macrofauna communities of a high-Arctic cold-water fjord

Amid the alarming atmospheric and oceanic warming rates taking place in the Arctic, western fjords around the Svalbard archipelago are experiencing an increased frequency of warm water intrusions in recent decades, causing ecological shifts in their ecosystems. However, hardly anything is known about their potential impacts on the until recently considered stable and colder northern fjords. We analyzed macrobenthic fauna from four locations in Rijpfjorden (a high-Arctic fjord in the north of Svalbard) along its axis, sampled intermittently in the years 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2017. After a strong seafloor warm water temperature anomaly (SfWWTA) in 2006, the abundance of individuals and species richness dropped significantly across the entire fjord in 2007, together with diversity declines at the outer parts (reflected in Shannon index drops) and increases in beta diversity between inner and outer parts of the fjord. After a period of three years with stable water temperatures and higher sea-ice cover, communities recovered through recolonization processes by 2010, leading to homogenization in community composition across the fjord and less beta diversity. For the last two periods (2010-2013 and 2013-2017), beta diversity between the inner and outer parts gradually increased again, and both the inner and outer sites started to re-assemble in different directions. A few taxa began to dominate the fjord from 2010 onwards at the outer parts, translating into evenness and diversity drops. The inner basin, however, although experiencing strong shifts in abundances, was partially protected by a fjordic sill from impacts of these temperature anomalies and remained comparatively more stable regarding community diversity after the disturbance event. Our results indicate that although shifts in abundances were behind important spatio-temporal community fluctuations, beta diversity variations were also driven by the occurrence-based macrofauna data, suggesting an important role of rare taxa. This is the first multidecadal time series of soft-bottom macrobenthic communities for a high-Arctic fjord, indicating that potential periodic marine heatwaves might drive shifts in community structure, either through direct effects from thermal stress on the communities or through changes in environmental regimes led by temperature fluctuations (i.e. sea ice cover and glacial runoff, which could lead to shifts in primary production and food supply to the benthos). Although high-Arctic macrobenthic communities might be resilient to some extent, sustained warm water anomalies could lead to permanent changes in cold-water fjordic benthic systems

5. Innenpolitik/Aussenpolitik

5.1. Die Schweiz und die UNO Als Antwort auf die Botschaft des Bundesrates über die Volksinitiative zum UNO-Beitritt der Schweiz vom 4. Dezember 2000 empfahlen beide Kammern des Eidgenössischen Parlaments dem Stimmvolk mit grosser Mehrheit und ohne Gegenvorschlag, am 3. März 2002 für den Beitritt der Schweiz zur UNO zu stimmen. Der Bundesrat wirbt mit grossem Engagement für den UNO-Beitritt der Schweiz. Die Debatte kreiste vornehmlich um die Frage der Neutralität der Schweiz. Deshalb wurde de..

5. Innenpolitik/Aussenpolitik

5.1. Die Schweiz und die UNO Als Antwort auf die Botschaft des Bundesrates über die Volksinitiative zum UNO-Beitritt der Schweiz vom 4. Dezember 2000 empfahlen beide Kammern des Eidgenössischen Parlaments dem Stimmvolk mit grosser Mehrheit und ohne Gegenvorschlag, am 3. März 2002 für den Beitritt der Schweiz zur UNO zu stimmen. Der Bundesrat wirbt mit grossem Engagement für den UNO-Beitritt der Schweiz. Die Debatte kreiste vornehmlich um die Frage der Neutralität der Schweiz. Deshalb wurde de..