The Significance of R. v. Albashir in the Evolution of Constitutional Remedies

This paper examines the impact of the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in R. v. Albashir on constitutional remedies under section 52(1) of the Constitution Act, 1982 and section 24(1) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Albashir marks a step in the evolution of constitutional remedies by adding to the list of factors that can justify a court declaring a law invalid on a prospective-only basis. It recognizes a new exception to the presumption of retroactivity that applies when a court declares a law to be invalid. Where a court suspends its declaration of invalidity, once the suspension expires, the effect of the declaration may be prospective only, if that is necessary to give effect to the purpose of the suspension. Prospectivity is justified where retroactivity would undermine the very purpose of the suspension. Albashir is also significant for confirming that a remedy under section 24(1) of the Charter is available to offset any negative consequences that prospective declarations might have. Any accused whose conduct had been unconstitutionally criminalized under the prospectively invalidated law, would have recourse to an individual section 24(1) remedy such as a stay of proceedings. The paper also examines the guidance given by the Supreme Court that courts should be more explicit about the temporal application of their remedial declarations. Albashir sets a new standard for remedial clarity, urging courts not only to explain their reasons for suspending declarations of invalidity, but also to explicitly address whether a declaration is to operate retroactively or purely prospectively once the suspension expires. The Court further provides suggestions on temporal clarity to lawmakers in crafting remedial legislation, through retroactive criminal legislation and transition provisions, although these seem unlikely to lead to the desired certainty. An annex to the paper including a “roadmap” chart, distills the relevant remedial principles to aid litigants in future cases involving declarations of constitutional invalidity

Krigen om nyansene : Fortidsbearbeidelse i debatten om "Max Manus"

I denne oppgaven drøfter jeg hvordan ulike syn på fortidsbearbeidelse kom til uttrykk i promoteringen av, og debatten rundt, filmen Max Manus i 2008-2009. Oppslag, intervjuer, anmeldelser og debattinnlegg som stod på trykk i et utvalg norske aviser i perioden høsten 2008-februar 2009 danner grunnlaget for analysen. På bakgrunn av disse ser jeg på hvordan ulike aktører i debatten forhandlet om fremstillingen av norsk okkupasjonshistorie, og hvilken rolle filmen, som minnested, spilte i denne forhandlingen. Teorier om minnekultur, kollektivtradisjon og overgangen fra kommunikativt til kulturelt minne står sentralt, i tillegg til en tolkning av selve begrepet fortidsbearbeidelse. Både film og debatt forstås i lys av de siste tiårenes utvikling innen okkupasjonshistorieforskning og offentlige fremstillinger av, og debatter om, krigen. Oppgaven faller således innenfor den delen av historiefaget som befatter seg med fortidens ettertid, og som belyser fortidens ulike funksjoner i nåtidige samfunns kultur og identitet

Quantitative Analysis of Experimental and Synthetic Microstructures for Sedimentary Rock

A quantitative comparison between the experimental microstructure of a sedimentary rock and three theoretical models for the same rock is presented. The microstructure of the rock sample (Fontainebleau sandstone) was obtained by microtomography. Two of the models are stochastic models based on correlation function reconstruction, and one model is based on sedimentation, compaction and diagenesis combined with input from petrographic analysis. The porosity of all models closely match that of the experimental sample and two models have also the same two point correlation function as the experimental sample. We compute quantitative differences and similarities between the various microstructures by a method based on local porosity theory. Differences are found in the degree of anisotropy, and in fluctuations of porosity and connectivity. The stochastic models differ strongly from the real sandstone in their connectivity properties, and hence need further refinement when used to model transport.Comment: to appear in Physica A (1999), in prin

Challenging empowerment: AIDS-affected southern African children and the need for a multi-level relational approach

Critics of empowerment have highlighted the concept's mutability, focus on individual transformation, one-dimensionality and challenges of operationalisation. Relating these critiques to children's empowerment raises new challenges. Drawing on scholarship on children's subjecthood and exercise of power, alongside empirical research with children affected by AIDS, I argue that empowerment envisaged as individual self-transformation and increased capacity to act independently offers little basis for progressive change. Rather it is essential to adopt a relational approach that recognises the need to transform power relationships at multiple levels. This analysis has implications for our wider understanding of empowerment in the 21st century. © The Author(s) 2013.This research was funded by DFID

Macroscopic Equations of Motion for Two Phase Flow in Porous Media

The established macroscopic equations of motion for two phase immiscible displacement in porous media are known to be physically incomplete because they do not contain the surface tension and surface areas governing capillary phenomena. Therefore a more general system of macroscopic equations is derived here which incorporates the spatiotemporal variation of interfacial energies. These equations are based on the theory of mixtures in macroscopic continuum mechanics. They include wetting phenomena through surface tensions instead of the traditional use of capillary pressure functions. Relative permeabilities can be identified in this approach which exhibit a complex dependence on the state variables. A capillary pressure function can be identified in equilibrium which shows the qualitative saturation dependence known from experiment. In addition the new equations allow to describe the spatiotemporal changes of residual saturations during immiscible displacement.Comment: 15 pages, Phys. Rev. E (1998), in prin

Liberal vs. Liberating Empowerment: A Latin American Feminist Perspective on Conceptualising Women's Empowerment

Paper prepared for presentation to the Conference: Reclaiming Feminism – Gender and Neo-Liberalism, Institute of Development Studies (IDS), Brighton, UK, 9-10 July 2007. A previous version of this paper was presented at the Pathways of Women’s Empowerment Research Programme Consortium Inception Workshop, Luxor, Egypt, September 2006.The term ‘women’s empowerment’ is viewed with a certain amount of distrust by feminists in Latin America. There has been some ambiguity surrounding the term in the region and in some cases it has been appropriated to legitimise actions that may not actually empower. This paper reflects on feminist conceptualisations of empowerment and how the process is believed to unfold. It outlines two basic approaches to conceptualising empowerment: ‘liberal’ and ‘liberating’ empowerment. It argues that ‘liberal’ empowerment depoliticises the process by taking the ‘power’ out of the equation, whilst ‘liberating’ empowerment keeps power as the central issue. The latter approach is consistent with the Latin American tradition of collective action and, in conclusion, the paper contends that empowerment in its ‘liberating’ form has been at work in the region since at least the late 1970s

Visible foliar injury and infrared imaging show that daylength affects short-term recovery after ozone stress in Trifolium subterraneum

Tropospheric ozone is a major air pollutant affecting plants worldwide. Plants in northern regions can display more ozone injury than plants at lower latitudes despite lower ozone levels. Larger ozone influx and shorter nights have been suggested as possible causes. However, the effects of the dim light present during northern summer nights have not been investigated. Young Trifolium subterraneum plants kept in environmentally controlled growth rooms under long day (10 h bright light, 14 h dim light) or short day (10 h bright light, 14 h darkness) conditions were exposed to 6 h of 70 ppb ozone during daytime for three consecutive days. Leaves were visually inspected and imaged in vivo using thermal imaging before and after the daily exposure. In long-day-treated plants, visible foliar injury within 1 week after exposure was more severe. Multivariate statistical analyses showed that the leaves of ozone-exposed long-day-treated plants were also warmer with more homogeneous temperature distributions than exposed short day and control plants, suggesting reduced transpiration. Temperature disruptions were not restricted to areas displaying visible damage and occurred even in leaves with only slight visible injury. Ozone did not affect the leaf temperature of short-day-treated plants. As all factors influencing ozone influx were the same for long- and short-day-treated plants, only the dim nocturnal light could account for the different ozone sensitivities. Thus, the twilight summer nights at high latitudes may have a negative effect on repair and defence processes activated after ozone exposure, thereby enhancing sensitivity

Percolation thresholds in chemical disordered excitable media

The behavior of chemical waves advancing through a disordered excitable medium is investigated in terms of percolation theory and autowave properties in the framework of the light-sensitive Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction. By controlling the number of sites with a given illumination, different percolation thresholds for propagation are observed, which depend on the relative wave transmittances of the two-state medium considered